The owner of a competition venue and livery yard is warning others to make sure they are well insured after a freak summer storm destroyed £700,000 of their facilities in just three hours.

Anvil Park Stud near Norwich, which had no history of flooding, has spent the winter rebuilding all its stabling and arenas after it was hit by a devastating localised storm on 16 August last year.

The deluge started while the venue was running a British Dressage competition and the show had to be halted when judges could no longer see the competitors and the arena boards started to be washed away.

“It just came out of nowhere,” Emma Alexander, who owns and runs the business with her partner Robert Reeve, told H&H. “In the morning I had a bit of a migraine, so I had gone into the house and left Rob and our livery manager Becky running the show.

“One of the liveries messaged me saying ‘should I come and ride or not?’ and I couldn’t see why it would be a problem as we have an indoor arena — but then I walked into our kitchen and it was flooded.

“I went outside and Rob said ‘I was just coming to get you, I’ve had to cancel the show as the dressage boards were floating away’.”

Water burst through the sides of both the 70m x 20m indoor arena and the smaller indoor arena, washing away the surface, as well as removing gravel and the membrane from the two large outdoor arenas and washing the surface into the nearby fields.

The floodwater also undermined the cafe, wrecked the horse walker and car park and flooded the stables, damaging the supporting brickwork and leaving horses standing up to their knees in water.

“It got so heavy so quickly, I think the drainage just couldn’t cope,” said Emma, who has since had new drains and a 6ft holding tank installed, to handle any excessive runoff.

“In some ways being damaged by water is worse than fire because of everything it brings with it. We didn’t know if the water that flooded the fields was contaminated or not.”

The livery yard had 42 horses on site, some of which were initially turned out but had to be brought back in again when the fields also began to flood.

Emma had to have temporary stables erected in the car park the next day; the horses remained there throughout the winter until the yard was rebuilt.

Friends and neighbours stepped up to take in her stallions, who she did not want to keep in temporary boxes.

“Liz and Mark Mills were amazing, they took my stallions and also allowed us to use their arenas whenever we wanted. John Egmore, Nic and Laura took my other stallion in and allowed arena use and Allister Hood took a couple of horses,” Emma said.

“They never asked when the horses were going to be picked up and looked after them as if they were their own.”

Emma said that when they walked round the yard after the storm to survey the damage, Rob was “heartbroken” but she was confident they would be able to start again.

“We’d put in so much work since we moved in five years ago but I thought it would be OK as I paid so much in insurance. We’re with NFU and they told me we were actually over-insured for all the damage and were brilliant helping us sort it out.

“So many people begrudge paying insurance and go for the cheaper option and don’t have the correct level but we would have been bankrupt if we hadn’t have been covered. We’d just put all of our savings into building a new outdoor arena.”

Some work is still going on at the venue, although the indoor is complete, having been rebuilt from the groundworks up, and the huge 100x100m outdoor is also finished, while the horses are now in their new boxes. Anvil Park has been ready to run shows again since 1 February and Emma is now waiting for Covid restrictions to lift.

“From 29 March we are going to start with arena hire for first week, then we are having an unaffiliated three-day show at the start of April, which will be 40-110cm,” she said. “From 9 April we will start BD and then hopefully it will be full swing from there.”

While the arenas were out of action, liveries were forced to hack, or use a jump field set up on grass or Emma’s friend’s facilities.

“It’s made us really appreciate the facilities we have got,” Emma added. “But at the same time I think we remembered that there is more to riding now, without arenas.

“When we went to Hickstead, we found the horses had really benefited from the practice on grass.”

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Emma added that she was grateful to all the liveries who had stayed with her throughout the massive rebuilding operation, as well as the companies that had finished the work as quickly as possible.

As well as the new, improved facilities, they have also expanded to include holiday cottages, enabling people to come and stay with their horses and take advantage of both the arenas and hacking.

“We’re also going to extend the outdoor to include a water splash, so we can run cross-country schooling,” she said. “Hopefully 2021 will be Anvil’s year!”

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As equine crime rises, rural insurers NFU Mutual has launched its Country Crime Fighters Awards 2014 to help prevent thefts.

H&H recently has reported on several high-profile break ins, including to dressage rider Sarah Turner and Olympic eventer Vittoria Panizzon.

NFU Mutual told H&H it was seeing hauls of up to £30,000 worth of tack being stolen from competition and livery yards — the highest amounts since 2011.

Now the company has launched a cash fund of up to £6,500 for people who help prevent equestrian crime.

The awards will help to recognise and celebrate unsung rural heroes by providing them with financial and practical support to help fund anti-crime initiatives.

All people have to do is visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/crimefighters and tell the insurer in 300 words or less why they or their community group deserve to win an award and how they have helped to reduce crime in their local area.

The categories for 2014 are:

• Crime Prevention using social media
• Equestrian crime prevention
• Farm crime prevention
• Local community crime prevention
• Wildlife crime prevention
• Rural business crime prevention
• Crime prevention using technology

The national winner will receive a trophy and a cheque for £1,500. Regional winners will receive a trophy and £500.

Nominations can be submitted online at the Country Crime Fighters webpage and closing on the 11 August.

To enter online visit: www.nfumutual.co.uk/crimefighters

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An equine scheme has received a national road safety accolade.

Insurers NFU Mutual, the British Horse Society and PRP Rescue Services received the Prince Michael International Road Safety award at a ceremony in London last month.

The campaign aims to reduce accidents involving horseboxes and trailers. To date, it has educated more than 1,000 horse owners and equine students across the UK.

The scheme highlights the importance of vehicle maintenance, safe driving and the rules and regulations surrounding the use of horseboxes and trailers.

“We are delighted that an equine road safety campaign has received such prestigious recognition,” said Nicki Whittaker, from NFU Mutual.

“Everyone involved in the project is committed to the safety of horse owners and the animals they transport. We look forward to continuing our programme of free safety seminars and vehicle weight checks in 2014 and beyond.”

Adrian Walsh director of The Prince’s Award Scheme said: “This initiative is a wonderful example of collaboration and its careful delivery and wide reach have already made many young people much safer drivers. It has huge potential to reach many more.”

Rug theft is on the rise as the weather turns colder — with rugs being taken from tack rooms and off horses’ backs.

“We’re having more reports,” said Nicki Whittaker of the NFU Mutual insurance company.

“Rugs are always a target at this time of year and we would recommend people mark them clearly, on the outside of the rug so that it makes them harder to sell on and easier to identify if they are recovered.”

Garry Porter from the UK Horsewatch Alliance echoed the warning. “It’s an annual problem. The weather changes and your new or freshly washed rugs go missing.

“But there is subtlety to it too — if you have a rotten old rug stolen, and you wonder why, don’t be surprised if the shiny new one you buy to replace it disappears soon afterwards. Do whatever you can to make your rug as unattractive as possible.”

Tack and rug theft is the most common claim handled by NFU — costing the company more than £750,000 between July 2011 and June 2012.

NFU also believes that the majority of the thefts were planned, rather than opportunistic crimes.

Ms Whittaker added: “Initials, a postcode or the horse’s freezemark can be stenciled, ironed or embroidered on the rug.

“Most stolen items are sold on at car boot sales, markets and internet auction sites so it makes sense that new or expensive rugs are more desirable for thieves.”

Last week a plea went out on the H&H forum after a horse owner in Dartford, Kent, had her rugs stolen.

“My yard was broken into last night, all the rugs were taken off the horses’ backs, along with all spares,” she wrote.

And rug thefts features prominently in the latest HorseWatch crime bulletin, which covers October 2012.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (29 November 2012)

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An insurance company has changed its policies to tackle concerns that owners are using unregistered farriers.

But professional equine podiatrists and other “trimmers” are concerned that the amendment is targeted at them.

NFU Mutual has added to its small print, stating: “Should a policyholder choose to use someone other than a registered farrier to provide foot care then, in the event of a claim involving or related to the foot, NFU Mutual could repudiate the claim.

“However, each situation is considered on its own merits and we take a fair and reasonable approach at all times.”

Nikki Whittaker of NFU Mutual said: “We changed our wording to ‘registered farrier’ to avoid policyholders using unregistered farriers and to ensure owners ask about the qualifications.

“Farriers are regulated by an act of parliament. This is not the case for barefoot trimmers and it can be difficult to establish what type of qualification people hold.”

She added the company “fully supports owners who choose to manage their horses using the barefoot method“.

Justine Jenkins of the Equine Podiatry Association UK said: “If they want people not to use unregistered farriers, it would be easy enough for them to put that in the wording, rather than tar us all with the same brush.”

Jo Grimes of the Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry said they approved the change if it included responsible barefoot practitioners.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (26 April 2012)

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Customers with one of the country’s leading equine insurers, NFU Mutual, are demanding an explanation for sharp increases in their premiums this year.

Long regarded as a reputable and good-value insurance company, NFU’s renewals in the first three months of 2011 showed noticeable hikes, with some policy-holders reporting massive 50-100% increases in premiums.

Internet forums are abuzz with stories of increases, even to policies where no claims have been made.

“When my renewal came through, my monthly payment had doubled,” said Caitlin Barnes, who insured her 19-year-old all-rounder Henry with NFU Mutual.

The trend appears not to be universal. Equine insurers KBIS and SEIB reported no increases beyond the rate of inflation, with a spokesman for KBIS adding that it had seen no pattern of increase in claims out of the ordinary.

Carl Stephens of Petplan said: “We haven’t seen any major events or reasons that would warrant massive premium increases.”

But he went on to add: “For years some insurers have been pricing their policies at unsustainable levels and now they are having to increase dramatically their premiums to cover the costs of this strategy. Unfortunately a lot of horse owners are now feeling the effects of this.”

NFU Mutual spokesman Tim Price said the increases had become inevitable after rising losses in the horse insurance market.

“Losses increased very steeply in 2010, but the major impact has been the increased cost of vets’ fees claims,” he said.

“The fees vets charge for basic services has increased steadily and we are also seeing more new treatments and diagnostic techniques, for example CAT scans.

“The average cost of vets’ fees claims has gone up from £1,000 in 2004 to £1,700 today,” said Mr Price.

He added that owners increasingly look to treat and restore horses to health who might previously have been written off.

Average premiums at NFU Mutual have risen by 15%, but Mr Price admitted much of the increase has been loaded on to older horses, with age-related price rises now starting at 13 and further increases at 17, 19 and 20.

Sharon Daly has a two-year-old gelding and a 14-year-old Welsh section A insured for vets’ bills of up to £5,000 and loss of use at £2,500 and £2,000 respectively.

She told H&H: “I’ve insured with NFU for five years without a claim. Last year, my premium was £65.38; at renewal this year, in May, it went up to £95.64, an increase of almost 50 per cent!

“I’ve been told that as my sec A is 14 the underwriters have loaded his policy and this is where the increase lies.”

H&H Editor Lucy Higginson has also seen a sharp increase in premium for her nine-year-old mare.

She said: “My NFU insurance quote for Rosie — who’s insured for £7,000, vets’ bills, tack and trailer — has shot up from £561.44 to £753.66.

“We have claimed vet treatment for a couple of one-off ailments and NFU has been excellent to deal with. But I was shocked by the size of the increase.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (2 June, 2011)

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Rural insurers NFU (National Farmer’s Union) Mutual is celebrating its centenary this year.

NFU Mutual was originally founded to ensure farmers against loss from hayrick fires. And now the company offers general insurance, life, pensions, investment and risk management services.

The Stratford-upon-Avon-based company was set up by seven Warwickshire farmers in a tea shop in 1910.

It was established with only £190 of working capital and now the company has assets under management of more than £10billion.

NFU has more than 300 local offices throughout the UK and says it is committed to maintaining a strong presence in rural towns and villages.

Lindsay Sinclair, group chief executive of NFU Mutual said: “By staying true to our philosophy of providing our customers with the insurance cover they need, at a fair price, and with a first class service, we can look forward to NFU Mutual’s great success story continuing.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now