Royal Ascot partners with military charities, plus the latest equestrian partnership news
Three armed forces charities have been chosen as the official nominated charity partners for Royal Ascot 2021.
The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the RAF Benevolent Fund are the official partners for the 2021 meeting.
Brigadier Peter Walker OBE, chairman of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity in Berkshire, said the three charities have been working with the racecourse at Royal Ascot since 2013 and it is “great pleasure we are able to continue and strengthen our relationship this year”.
“The members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF who will be at Royal Ascot are very much looking forward to the event, and the three charities would like to thank everyone involved for their support, which helps to assist armed forces personnel, both past and present, in times of need,” he added.
The charities have traditionally been supported and promoted on the Friday of Royal Ascot, with more than £20,000 normally raised from bucket collections alone on the day.
This year they will have an extended presence across the five days of the Royal Meeting to help them raise funds, which have been affected by the pandemic.
Ascot racecourse will raise awareness of the work the charities do, by promoting the personal stories of their servicemen and women.
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Donations from the sale of certain food and beverages, including its hampers as well as 1% of sales by its concessionaires on the Friday of the Royal Meeting, will also be made to the charities.
“We are delighted to confirm this charity partnership with the armed forces charities for Royal Ascot this year,” said Nick Smith, Ascot racecourse’s director of racing and public affairs.
“Typically, racegoers really engage with the three charities on the Friday and it will be fantastic to see some of the military personnel and volunteers back on site through the week.
“Having been unable to welcome them last year due to the pandemic, we are really pleased to extend our relationship across all five days and look forward to helping them raise much needed funds and awareness of the work they do.”
Schweizer-Effax
Seven-time Australian Olympic eventer Andrew Hoy has joined the Schweizer-Effax team of sponsored riders.
“My father taught me ‘If you want to be successful, place good people around you’ – and through the experience of 42 years in the international equestrian industry, I couldn’t agree more,” said Andrew.
“Competitions are won and lost at home – my time spent riding and training the horses is only a small part of our success. The care for our horses by our fabulous home team of grooms, work riders, physiotherapists, vets, farriers, nutritionists, biomechanic experts – and many more are the ones who make it all happen.
“At Somerby Stables, we only use products we believe in -and we have been using the Effol and Effax products for a long time – so it ́s wonderful to be able to turn our long-term association into a partnership. Since adding our children into the mix, the Effol kids range has entered the yard – with plenty of glitter and glamour for pony-mad little girls!”
Jörg Stegemann, business director equestrian at Schweizer-Effax, added: “Friendship needs care. This is not only a proven wisdom of life, but also our understanding of the relationship between man and horse. For us, friendship means responsibility, care, trust and appreciation. Effol puts the friendship to the horse in the centre, because cultivating [that] is not a chore, but a gladly practised friendship service. For over 100 years, we have
been committed to the vitality, performance and health of your horse – and we are delighted to now be taking care of all horses at Andrew Hoy ́s yard, too.”
KBIS
The equestrian insurance company has added Horse Events Hub to its list of sponsored associations.
The Horse Events Hub (HEHUB) allows anyone to sign up, with or without a horse for £20 per year, with the aim of bringing the national eventing community together across all areas, including riders, horses, owners and organisers.
The HEHUB includes the KBIS National Eventing League and the KBIS National Arena Eventing League. Riders will earn points from their one-day event and arena eventing results to be entered into these leagues.
“We are so excited to have partnered with KBIS for the launch of the Horse Events Hub,” said founder Fran Corkhill. “There is currently nothing like this on the market and we hope to bring all unaffiliated events across our platform together, allowing the eventing community to gain more from going eventing. We have lots of great prizes to be won throughout the year and very generously KBIS will be donating a ‘win an entry’ every fortnight to one of our lucky members.”
Markel
The global insurer and official partner of the Qatar Goodwood Festival will sponsor the Magnolia Cup charity race for the next three years.
The 2021 renewal marks the 10th running of the race, which has raised more than £1.6 million for multiple charities.
“Markel has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Goodwood and we have watched the Magnolia Cup go from strength to strength,” said Markel International president William Stovin.
“The values that the Magnolia Cup is built upon mirror the values that we hold as an organisation, so this partnership seemed like a natural evolution of our relationship with Goodwood.”
He added: “We hope that across the next three years we can raise awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion across all industries and the opportunities that it presents, along with being able to support some very worthy causes.”
Charlie Longsdon Racing
International breeding and racing operation Merriebelle Stable has signed a sponsorship agreement with Charlie Longsdon.
Meriebelle Stable is based in the US and Ireland and was founded by John Moores and Charles Noell in 2013.
Charles Noell, who is heading the sponsorship, has long been a keen horseman and has owned jumps horses for many years, including Moon King, who is currently in training at the Longsdon yard.
Charlie said: “It’s wonderful to form a new partnership with Merriebelle Stable. We hope to do them proud and celebrate many winners together.”
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Al Shira’aa
The Al Shira’aa stables has resumed its title sponsorship of the Bolesworth Young Horse Championships (18-22 August).
The fixture includes the British Showjumping Young Horse Championships, plus qualifiers for the World Breeding Championships in Lanaken.
As part of Al Shira’aa’s season-wide commitment, the company will also be supporting the young horse classes at the Dodson & Horrell Bolesworth International Horse Show (7-11 July).
“We are delighted to be continuing our sponsorship of the Al Shira’aa Bolesworth Young Horse Championships,” said Sami Kettle, sponsorship co-ordinator of Al Shira’aa Stables.
“The show very much aligns with our ethos and Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s vision of producing young horses correctly to produce them for the global stage later in their career. By joining up with Bolesworth, it’s so unique and exciting not only for British breeders but to help promote the sport throughout the UK.”
Bolesworth managing director Nina Barbour added: “We have a fantastic year of sport planned at Bolesworth this year and we’re delighted that Al Shira’aa Stables will be returning as title sponsors of the Bolesworth Young Horse Championships.
“Our combined vision is to deliver the very best in elite sport horse breeding and a highly competitive stage for emerging young talent.”
Balanced
The equine supplement company has signed a sponsorship agreement with five-star event rider Kirsty Chabert.
“Our event horses are high-level athletes so we routinely supplement their diet to support them in giving their very best performances. With our exciting new partnership, we are looking forward to improving our own performance and competitive edge with Balanced,” said Robin Holiday, horse owner and managing director of CLF Distribution, which owns the Balanced brand.
“We are very excited to support the team for their nutritional needs and hope to see our Balanced range of products contribute to some great results.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.