Shearwater announce Owner Rider award at the EHOA dinner

On Thursday 10th November, leading insurance brokers Shearwater Insurance awarded Surrey based amateur rider, Catherine Thompson, a £500 award at the Event Horse Owners Awards Dinner in London.

Having searched for a worthy candidate to receive the Shearwater Owner Rider Award, the judges saw that Catherine showed true devotion to her horse, Fergu’nesake, having fought hard to gain the trust of the previously abused, tricky Thoroughbred. Catherine stuck by her horse through the tough times and has now completed four BE80 classes this year, placed 8th at the last event and aims to be out campaigning BE90 classes in 2012.

Though a tough decision to make, the judges at Shearwater felt that Catherine’s application showed both determination and commitment to the welfare of a horse she really believed in, and Managing Director of the company, Jeremy Lawton believed that Catherine deserved recognition for this dedication. “Catherine showed that she had battled on through adversity and the achievements she had made showed a true partnership between horse and rider,” he says. “We are looking forward to seeing how our support can encourage them and hopefully reach Catherine’s dream of qualifying for the Badminton Grassroots Championships.”

Catherine was over the moon to receive the support from Shearwater “I am amazed and so thrilled that my absolute faith in my lovely horse has been rewarded in this way. Thank you Shearwater.”

Courtesy of www.carolineormephotpgraphy.com

For more information about the services that Shearwater Insurance can offer tel: 01992 718666 or visit: www.shearwater-insurance.co.uk

Shearwater’s search for a scholar is over!

Earlier this year, we launched a nationwide campaign to find a candidate worthy of receiving a £500 training bursary. After receiving hundreds of impressive applications, the difficult decision was reached and a winner can now be announced.

Leicester based Clare Stringer is an amateur event rider who, in her own words, ‘competes for the fun and love of the sport!’ Our judges believed that Clare’s application showed her dedication and passion for the sport, and Managing Director of the company, Jeremy Lawton, recognised that Clare was also committed to working hard for her sponsors and representing the brand in the right light.

“Whilst it was a tough choice to make, Clare’s enthusiasm shone through and she proved that she understood Shearwater as a brand which is important to me when looking for an ambassador for the company,” Jeremy says. “I am very much looking forward to seeing how our support can help her progress.”

The amateur rider was overjoyed to receive the bursary, “I still can’t believe I have been selected,” she said. “This couldn’t have come at a better time and I’m extremely grateful and excited as to what the funding will enable me to achieve next season. I’m looking forward to working with Shearwater over the next 12 months and hope I can represent them well. I will feel very proud to wear their logo when competing.”

You can keep track of Clare’s progress, along with all the other Shearwater horses, through the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ShearwaterInsurance

For more information about the services that Shearwater can offer tel: 01992 718666 or visit: www.shearwater-insurance.co.uk

Image courtesy of MDR Photo.

 

Meet the team of Shearwater show jumpers!

Whilst we often talk about our event horses and dressage sponsorship, many people are unaware that we also have a string of Shearwater Show Jumpers based with the Whitakers. Here we thought we would introduce you to all of them…

SHEARWATER UPANDA (SADIE)

Sadie is a 10 year old  KWPN mare by No Limit.  We bought Sadie in the January when she was 5yrs and for the first two and a half years she was produced locally by Neil Fiddes.  She was a very consistent young horse and qualified for both Newcomers and Foxhunter Regional finals but when she was 6yrs she suffered an accident in the lorry which meant she could not compete for a lot of that summer and so was unable to  compete in them.  When she was  7yrs Neil broke his ankle and she moved to the Whitakers and was competed by Ellen’s younger brother Joe.  She moved up the levels fairly quickly then and was placed second in both the Young Riders B&C and the Blue Riband finals at the Scope Festival in 2008.  As an eight year old she started to compete at  Grand Prix level and qualified for the British Open A&B winter finals.  She then went on to get placed regularly at that level and went on to compete abroad very successfully.  After a purple patch at the beginning of last year she changed riders and was competing with both Steven and Ellen for a while allowing Joe to concentrate more on his younger horses.  She has now gone back to Joe and was recently picked up several placings at an International show in France.  She will be competing at Leszno in Poland from 3rd Nov to 7th Nov and then again from 10th to 13th November.

SHEARWATER MIKADO (MICKEY)

Mickey is a 9yr old gelding that we bred ourselves.  He is by the Belgian Warmblood Parco (competed at Nations cup level by Ludo Philappaerts)  out of a Hannoverian mare called Super G who used to belong to the Company (who is a half sister to Shutterfly).  He started his competitive career with a friend of Jeremy’s but was quickly moved to the Whitakers as we wanted a high profile rider.  He competed very lightly as a four year old but was well placed at the Scope Festival in the four year old style and performance classes where he won the qualifier and came fourth in the final with Ellen having gone a bit green jumping indoors for the first time.  He has gone from strength to strength and is now regularly competed by Ellen’s father Steven both nationally and internationally.  He has had wins and placings at the highest levels and has even been placed in international puissance classes despite never having grown to the height we expected and currently standing at well under 16 hands.  Mickey is a very exuberant character and will often be seen bucking between fences and this has often been the cause of him losing big classes when without the bucks he would have been quick enough to win.  He will be competing at Leszno in Poland from 3rd Nov to 7th Nov and then again from 10th to 13th November.

SHEARWATER ROME ROSE (ROSE)

Rose is a 6yr old mare who we bought as an unbroken 3yr old.  She has proved to be quite a challenge but is now competing successfully at Newcomers and Foxhunter level.

Keep up to date with all of our horses by ‘liking’ us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ShearwaterInsurance. For all of your insurance needs visit: www.shearwater-insurance.co.uk