Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

12 Horse& Hound22 August 2019

Pictures by Lenzon-Images and trevor-meeks-photography.co.uk

NEWSInsider

SUSTAINABILITYinitiatives

continuetobeattheforefront

ofequestrianorganisationsand

retailersastheystriveto“leadby

example”.

Companieshavesaidnew

technologyis allowingthemto

“mitigatetheamount”ofwaste

generatedastheylooktomore

eco-friendlyalternativesfor

energy,packagingandproducts.

TheorganisersofOlympia,the

LondonInternationalHorseShow

havebeenworkingalongside

thevenue,OlympiaLondon,to

introducefurtherinitiativesafter

replacingplasticcutleryand

strawsin 2018 andencouraging

visitorstotakeintheirown

reusablecupsandrefillbottlesat

waterpoints.

“Overthepasttwoyears

thevenuehasundergonea

programmeofreplacingits

permanentlightingtorenewable

LEDfittings.Inaddition,webuild

a lightingrigforthearenaandthis

yearwearebeginningtochangeto

LEDalternativeswhicharemore

sustainable,”a spokesmanforthe

showtoldH&H.

“Astechnologymoveson

andaspeoplegenerallybecome

moreenvironmentallyaware,it’s

becomingmoretopicalthanthree

yearsago.Lastyearwestarteda

rollingprogrammeoflookingat

sustainabilityoptionsavailable

andwillcontinuetodothat.”

Onlineequestrianretailer

DerbyHouselastyearintroduced

paperpackagingforitsown

legwear products, and this year

Morecompaniesareprioritisingtheirgreencredentialsto

gain an edge in an increasingly competitive marketplace

hasredesigneditsrugbags.

AspokesmanforDerbyHouse

toldH&H: “Werealisedthere

wasn’ta needfortheplastic

windowsowe’veeliminatedit

fromourown-brandrugbags.

We’reworkingwithoursuppliers

toimprovethatevenfurther.

“Ourcustomerbaseappreciate

theoutdoorsandsoit wasnatural

todothingstohelppreservethe

environment.Morethaneverit’s

moreappropriateforbusinesses

tostarttakingresponsibility.

We’rereallyenthusiasticabout

tryingtoleadtheway.”

Thecompanyhasachieveda

91.4%recyclingrateatits“highly

eco-friendly”warehousein2019.

“Inourwarehousewehave

automatedpackingmachines

which measure exact package

sizesandallowustoeliminate

void-fillingandsendoutplastic-

freeorderswherepossible.We’ve

alsoeliminatedthepolybags

previouslyusedforsome

accessories,”saidthespokesman.

“Ourgoalis tobeattheheart

oftheplasticandCO2reduction

movementwithinourindustry,

creatingthepositivechangeour

customersdesire.”

Suffolk-basedequestrianand

countryclothingcompanyGinger

andJardinehasintroduced

clothingmadefromsustainable

bamboo,includingridingsocks,

andhopestointroducehunting

andstockshirtsshortly.

CompanyfounderLynne

JardinetoldH&H: “Bamboois

thefastestgrowingplantonearth

andcangrowinpoorqualitysoil,

whichmakesit verysustainable.

“It’snicetotakepositivesteps

to help the environment.”

ByBECKYMURRAY

Eco-friendly focus

for equine world

▲FREEDOM

HereatH&H, we’reallabout

freedom,choice,freedomof

choice—althoughpossibly

notwhenit’syourhorse

exercisingitsfreedomto

choosewhetherornotto

comeinfromthefieldwhen

it’stimefora show—and

choosingthelatter.

▲CIRCUSES

Hatsofftothehunting

andeventingstalwartwho

steppedintojoina circusin

Oxfordaftera formercast

memberdroppedout,andis

nowina starringrole,riding

a whitehorse.Andtrousers

off,too,asit wasa lady

whodroppedout.That is a

fetchingfrock, sir!

▲IRONY

Spottedata showjumping

show,a paramedichopping

overtoa riderwhohadhad

a fall,ashisownlegwas

inplaster.Reassuringfor

thefallenasheknowshow

beinginjuredfeels?Orjust

a littlebitdisconcerting?

Answers on a postcard...

KEVIN

Overheardata show,asthe

riderintheringhadthefirst

fencedown:“That’syour

fault,Kevin.”Oneis unsure

whotheunseenmanwas,

orwhathe’ddonetogetthe

blame—butcomeon Kev,

sortit out,mate!

JUMP-OFFS

Theclockondisplayata

showlastweekendwas

causingsomeconfusion

asit seemedtobefailing

toresetitself,givingone

combinationa jump-offtime

of 657 seconds.“I knowI

didn’tmakethatlastturn,

butstill...”shejoked.If one

cangetcricketscoresof

time-faults,thathas to be an

Ashesspecial...

DADS

Overheardata show,a

fathertellinghissobbing

daughter:“It’saboutthe

takingpart,that’sallthat

matters.”Whichofcourse

is true.Butcomeon,we

allwanttogohomewitha

rosette,whether we’re

eight or 80.

GOODWEEK

BAD WEEK

Andfinally... sittight!

A PHOTOGRAPHERhad

anunexpectedsurprisewhile

snappingcompetitorsatAston-

le-Wallslastmonth.

TraceyWilkinsonwassitting

infrontofanintermediatefence

togeta headonshotofeventers

jumpingintothewaterinthe

advancedclass,withoutbeingin

thehorses’lineofsight.

Buthegotmorethanhe

bargainedforwhenCanadian

rider Madison Penfound

andtheaptly-namedQEH

OceanVoyage(Turtle)tookan

unplannedroute.

“IsawMadisoncomeclose

tofallingoffandastheygot

closerI thought,‘Theyaren’t

turning,’”saidMrWilkinson,

addinghejudgedthehorse

wasunlikelytocrashsomade

thesplit-seconddecisionto

keepstillasthehorseandrider

jumpedcleanlyoverthe fence he

was sheltering by.

The lighting rig at Olympia will use more sustainable bulbs in 2019