NOVEMBER 2022
Volume 46, No 9
WINTER WARMERS
Boots, socks and gloves to stock
FIBRE PROVIDERS IT’S IN THE BAG! ETN is the official media partner of BETA International
PLUS
• AMTRA ACCREDITED RAMA CPD FEATURE • RETAILER PROFILE • BENCH SADDLER OF THE MONTH
2023 September
NAEC Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, UK Main Sponsor
Main Sponsor
THE NEXT BIG THING IN BEDDING
P E L L E T S
Now you can offer your customers another healthy bedding choice from Bedmax - an ideal option for a tough winter ahead.
Find out more on our website. Call us for orders and sales support
strawmax.co.uk
01668 213467
ETN | NEWS
News Machinery brand eyes equestrian sector “The equestrian market is a growing sector for us,” said machinery maker Avant UK’s managing director Raimo AlaKorpi as he announced a new sponsorship deal with eventer Kevin McNab (pictured). The Surrey based Australian international rider uses Avant Tecno equipment to maintain his property just outside
Guildford where he has more than 40 horses. A favourite of Kevin’s is the 800 series Avant multifunctional loader. With over 200 attachments, it’s used for jobs such as aerating turf to create good going to unloading feed and bedding deliveries, sweeping and fencing.
Equestrian Trade News East Wing, Stockeld Park, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 4AW Tel: 01937 582111 Email: info@equestriantradenews.com Website: www.equestriantradenews.com Subscriptions Distributed on a controlled-circulation basis to the retail trade. Paid-for annual subscriptions are £39.95 (UK), £73.00 (Europe), £86.00 (rest of the world). Design & Print Designed and produced on behalf of EMC by DJ Murphy Publishers: www.djmurphy.co.uk Email: abi@djmurphy.co.uk Tel: 01428 601020
Advertising Manager Evie Edgar Email: etn@djmurphy.co.uk Tel: 01428 601031
NEED MORE NEWS? Receive ETN’s weekly e-newsletter directly to your inbox. It’s free and you can sign up at www.equestriantradenews.com
Abi Cannon Email: etn@djmurphy.co.uk Tel: 01428 601028
ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Bedmax OFC & 23 BETA Courses 30 BETA Membership 36 Bettalife OBC Citrus Lime 46 Dengie 31 Dodson & Horrell 37 Fieldhouse 21 Gallop IFC H.Bradshaws 23 Horse First 17 Horslyx 39 Jenkinsons 3&9 Just Togs 21 NAF 15 Premier Equine 13 Red Gorilla IBC Spillers 27 STUBBS ENGLAND 25
Digital Manager Nicki Lewis Email: nickil@beta-int.com The magazine is independent of all groups. Editorial views expressed in ETN are not necessarily the official view of any organisation or group. Copyright All material is copyright Equestrian Management Consultants Ltd
Publisher Equestrian Management Consultants Ltd Editor Liz Benwell Email: editor@equestriantradenews.com 4 | EQUESTRIAN TRADE NEWS NOVEMBER 2022
www.carbonbalancedpape r.com CBP123456
WWW.EQUESTRIANTRADENEWS.COM
NEWS | ETN
Winning formula to protect equestrianism SEIB Insurance Brokers won the marketing and customer engagement award at the UK Broker Awards in September. The accolade was presented in recognition of the work SEIB has done on the social licence to operate in equestrianism. As the broker’s marketing manager, Nicolina MacKenzie, explained: “Social license to operate is about public perception and social acceptance of an activity. “As, over time, the internet and social media have opened up snapshots of equestrian life to a far wider audience, we want to highlight the positives of the partnership between horses and humans to counter what is sometimes only a lack of knowledge of those that are not involved with horses or the sport of horse riding.” SEIB has been working with the likes of equine vet Jane Nixon and World Horse Welfare’s CEO Roly Owers on the project. Added SEIB’s CEO Suzy Middleton said; “It’s wonderful to receive this award as a result of the work done to help promote positive experiences within the equestrian industry.” SEIB also supports the amateur showing series Search for a Star and runs the SEIB Giving Awards that in 2022 donated more than £50K to good causes.
Pictured are Nicolina MacKenzie and Georgina Dewar collecting the UK Broker Awards 2022 trophy for marketing and customer engagement on behalf of SEIB Insurance Brokers from Paul Sinha.
SADDLERS CHAMPION THE ENVIRONMENT
Saddlers entering the President’s Choice class at the 2023 Society of Master Saddlers’ (SMS) National Saddlery Competition have been challenged to make leather items on an environmentally friendly theme. Past president Helen Reader came up with the concept and wants to see entrants incorporate repurposed leather items into their designs too. Entries for the class, which has a different theme each year, can be decorative, ornamental or practical. But they must be ‘fit for purpose’ and made of leather using traditional saddlery skills. “I’ve always tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible with my own business, especially when sending parcels out by reusing packaging and wanted to incorporate that philosophy into this year’s theme,” said Helen. “The entry can include new leather or other materials but it must be at least 60% repurposed from existing leather items. For example, a handbag could be made from a pair of leather boots or a headcollar crafted from a number of items, but it must be safe to use. “I really want members to get behind the idea and showcase what can be achieved by upcycling materials.”
WWW.EQUESTRIANTRADENEWS.COM
TOP OF THE CLASS
Hartpury University – a popular seat of learning for equestrians – has been ranked sixth in the UK and top in the south-west for teaching quality by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for 2023. The specialist institution, which offers courses in sport, equine, animal, agriculture and veterinary nursing, received university status in 2018.
Said Rosie Scott-Ward, pro vicechancellor: “During the past year, we’ve invested further in the facilities we have at Hartpury University to ensure we provide the very best learning environment alongside the highest quality teaching.” Professor Andy Collop took up his new post as vice-chancellor, principal and CEO of Hartpury in September.
EQUESTRIAN TRADE NEWS NOVEMBER 2022 | 5
ETN | BENCH SADDLER OF THE MONTH
Celebrating
the best bench saddlers...
This award, presented in conjunction with the Society of Master Saddlers (SMS), recognises those who uphold the highest standards of leathercraft skills. theatre, someone said ‘why don’t you just go and be a saddler as you are always making things for the horses’ and it seemed like a good idea.” In a bid to get an apprenticeship, Penny wrote to saddlers all over England. “Luckily Ron Hinton had just taken on the workshop at Canterbury Saddle Centre, and offered me a place,” she says. “I’ve worked in the trade ever since.”
MADE-TO-ORDER SADDLES
There’s always a new challenge when making saddlery, says Penny Dickson.
ETN/SMS BENCH SADDLER OF THE MONTH: PENNY DICKSON NOMINATED BY: Mark Romain of the Saddlery Training Centre, who says: “I first met Penny in the early 1980s when we had both entered the National Saddlery Competition. A decade later, she came to the Saddlery Training Centre to attend a traditional collar making course with Tony Byrne and made a lovely show collar. Penny has done very well in small business saddle making classes and also side saddle manufacture. Her work is always of the highest standard. ABOUT Penny Dickson Penny’s mother was a ceramic artist who worked in the theatre doing wardrobe and props. So Penny grew up helping her to make things and learning to sew from the wardrobe ladies. “I can remember making a God costume when I was about eleven,” she recalls. “At school, my best subjects were needlework, pottery and metalwork; I had a go at lots of different crafts. As a teenager, my bedroom was my workshop.” Although from a non-horsey family, Penny was allowed to have riding lessons “after a degree of pestering” when she was ten. “That was it, I was hooked,” she says. “A Saturday job at the local stables followed, then I worked in a yard for a year.”
CHANCE REMARK
A chance remark set Penny on a career in saddlery. “I used to make ribbon covered browbands and numnahs, and do simple restitching jobs for the riding school,” she explained. “When I was trying to decide whether to go into horses or the 16 | EQUESTRIAN TRADE NEWS NOVEMBER 2022
Saddles are Penny’s speciality and favourite thing to create. “They’re what I wanted to do right from the start, and still love to make. I only do madeto-measure to order, so each saddle is unique for each horse and rider.” Penny is most proud of her saddle that won the Small Business Saddle Class at the SMS National Competition in 1986. “It was the first time I had won there and I beat some very good saddlers, I was a bit chuffed with myself for that,” she recalls.
“When I started, synthetic tack was rare, but now it’s normal, as are adjustable trees.” “I’m also rather proud of the tack our horses wear. It’s rather nice when people admire it and ask where we got it from - and to be able to say ‘I made it, thank you.’” Penny’s continued enthusiasm for her craft shines through. “I really enjoy the fact there’s always a new challenge to make, something new to learn and new horses and riders to meet,” she says. “It’s great to see smiling faces on the horse and rider when you have made them a saddle and/or bridle. It’s especially the case when it’s a horse that has been difficult to fit and everyone is pleased with the result and outcome.
CAVEMAN’S BOOTS
When it comes to things she doesn’t enjoy quite so much, Penny names making lip straps, replacing zips in boots - and finding live WWW.EQUESTRIANTRADENEWS.COM
Penny Dickson with one of her winning entries in the Small Business Saddle Making class at the SMS National Competition.
creepy crawlies hiding in items to be repaired. “They make me shudder,” she confesses. Penny is happy to tackle unconventional commissions. “Over the years, I’ve made a lot of unusual items which get the brain ticking. “The ones that stick in my mind are leather washers for the toilets on a ferry, a leather ceiling and walls for an army truck that was being converted to a luxury camper van, caveman deerskin boots and strange assorted leather bits for vintage vehicles ranging from push-bikes to steam engines.”
WOMEN NOW ACCEPTED
Today, Penny is self-employed and has her own workshop near Sandwich in Kent. “I only do made-to-measure and repairs/restorations, but will take on most things so long as I think it’s do-able. I quite like a challenge,” she says. She’s seen many changes in the trade during her career. “When I started, synthetic tack was rare, but now it’s normal, as are adjustable trees. “Women are now happily accepted as saddlers. But we used to be very much the minority. And I would never have thought so much bling and bright colour would have made its way onto saddles and bridles.”
HORSEBACK ARCHERY
Away from the bench, Penny enjoys spending time with her horse, Bailey. More unusually, she’s a field archer and horseback archer, as well as a National Field Archery Society coach. “I practice Tai Chi and Equestrian Tai Chi for which I am a Level 1 Instructor. And I have a passion for equestrian theatre, costume concours and horse agility,” she adds.
WWW.EQUESTRIANTRADENEWS.COM
EQUESTRIAN TRADE NEWS NOVEMBER 2022 | 17
ETN | SOCKS, GLOVES, FOOTWEAR socks carrying a mixture of natural and synthetic fibres often wear longer and offer benefits of both yarns.
GLOVES
Socks range widely in price so if you do carry a good, better, best offering it’s important to display this in a way that the consumer understands your offer. Key features on socks for riding are: • Cushioned foot. • Foot arch and ankle support with extra elastication. • Well elasticated tops so they stay up when worn. • Made from wicking material and anti-bacterial finish. • Tall enough to come to below the knee. • Many are now thinner on the upper leg part to reduce bulk and allow for streamline and comfortable leg when boots are worn. • There are tall socks that now support the leg - compression socks. Some customers like natural fibres such as cotton, bamboo, and wool, whereas others like more technical fabrics that have nylon or polyester, and wick moisture through their properties. Ensure you have a good offer to satisfy both requirements. You’ll find that
Classified
Coming soon FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES contact Evie Edgar on tel 01428 601031 or email etn@djmurphy.co.uk
Equestrian Trade News East Wing, Stockeld Park, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 4AW Tel: 01937 582111 Email: info@equestriantradenews.com Website: www.equestriantradenews.com
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE WEEKLY ETN EMAIL NEWSLETTER
in ETN… JANUARY 2023 ISSUE
• • • •
SCAN ME
46 | EQUESTRIAN TRADE NEWS NOVEMBER 2022
Insurance for the trade and your customers Hoof care products Pets and wild birds Marketing, PR and advertising Editorial for consideration should be received by 23rd November 2022. Email editor@equestriantradenews.com For more information, contact Abi Cannon on tel 01428 601028 Evie Edgar on tel 01428 601031 email etn@djmurphy.co.uk
WWW.EQUESTRIANTRADENEWS.COM
Photo: fotorauschen/Shutterstock.com
CLOUD POS ECOMMERCE
Gloves are another essential part of any rider’s wardrobe and most regular riders will have several pairs. They are a necessary item to wear when riding as they help to give grip and anchor the hand when holding the reins. Traditionally, gloves were made from leather – this type of glove is still used for showing. More serious and professional riders often wear modern-day leather gloves that offer better shaping but perfect grip while riding. People looking after horses also often wear waterproof gloves on the yard to protect their hands against dirt and wet. These waterproof gloves can be quite expensive but will offer excellent protection. Key features on gloves for riding are: • Easy Velcro or elasticated entry point for quick removal and putting on. • Elasticated and durable stretch fabric across the back of the hand to allow the hand to grip. • Firm-grip palm fabric or silicone design on the palm so that the rider can anchor the rein in the hand. • Reinforced padding on thumb and index finger and further additional padding between the fourth and fifth finger where the reins will go when riding. • Easy wash and care. • Mobile phone finger so phone can be used while gloves are on. Make sure to offer summer and winter gloves and a variety of styles, colours, and price points so you’re covering all your customers’ needs.