Thursday, 3 December 2009
Shires sponsor Talland School of Equitation
Shires are delighted to announce their support of Talland School of Equitation in Cirencester.
Talland is regarded as a centre of excellence in equitation and is world renowned for the quality of its instructors and horses as well as the excellent level of training offered and the list of top equestrian trainers and riders who started their careers there.
‘Talland has always been very well regarded in equestrian circles,’ explains Rhea Freeman, Marketing Manager for Shires, ‘and we have been lucky enough to work with Talland on numerous photoshoots, with the Performance Riders that work at Talland and with our Cover Star competition. We are delighted to be supporting such an excellent establishment as it really is a beacon to the equestrian community. Equestrian education is something that we are passionate about at Shires and we hope we will be able to work with Talland now and in the future on a variety of projects.’
Emma Harford from Talland added : ‘It has been great to have the opportunity to work with one of the countries major suppliers of Equestrian goods, we are thrilled with the support they have given us this year, as they provide us with affordable, quality merchandise for all our horses, staff and students, we hope this partnership will continue for a long time to come.’
To find out more about Shires, see www.shiresequestrian.com, email sales@shiresequestrian.com or call 01568 613600.
To find out more about Talland, see www.talland.net or call 01285 740155.
Friday, 2 October 2009
...and the winner is...the official press release about the winner of our Cover Star 2010 competition!
We’re delighted to announce that Mary Liversidge has won the Cover Star 2010 competition and will appear on the front cover of the next catalogue.
The competition was tough at every stage- from the boxes of entries we received, to the assessment day at Talland, through to the cover star photo shoot and, of course, the voting. All three finalists did incredibly well and coped with the torrential rain on the assessment day and the tail end of a hurricane on the photo shoot admirably and with good humour- but the public voted and crowned Mary the winner of this year’s competition.
After being told the news, Mary said: ‘Wow! The whole process entering and being announced as the 2010 cover star has been a once in a life time experience which I will never forget. I initially entered the competition thinking that it would be fun have a go at but never thought that I would be selected for the final 10 so when I got the phone call I was very excited. The Semi Final was held at Talland School of Equitation- unfortunately the weather was a typical summer day in England- pouring with rain and blowing a gale, we all met up in one of the exam rooms and were told about the day and given some clothes to wear. We all had 2 hours of fantastic tuition 1 hour being jumping and the other dressage. I had the opportunity to ride 5 of the lovely horses from Talland one in particular that I fell in love with which was the horse I was lucky enough to ride for the cover shoot. We also all had a good lunch and were interviewed in the afternoon. At the end of the day the Shires team presented us with loads of lovely things to take away. A couple of days later three of us were told we had made it to the last three for the cover shoot day. We all met up at Talland on yet another rainy day for our shoot. The Shires team brought along what was called the magic van, which was cram packed with clothes so throughout the day we kept jumping in and out in loads of different outfits for our photos. All three of us had a great day and it was such an experience for all of us. I would like to thank everyone who voted for me and of course the Shires team for the opportunity to be their Cover Star for 2010 it is truly an amazing experience.’
To see some pictures from the day or to find out more about Shires, see www.shiresequestrian.com, email sales@shiresequestrian.com or call 01568 613600.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Shires' Performance Rider Programme extends to the dressage arena!
Anyway, I bring exciting news of the Performance Rider Programme, we're now supporting two dressage riders too- have a look at the press release below...
Shires’ Performance Rider Programme extends into the dressage arena!
Shires are delighted to announce that two dressage riders have now joined their Performance Rider Programme.
Justine Sole and Beth Miller are both instructors at Talland School of Equitation near Cirencester and have brilliant records in the dressage arena.
Justine Sole currently competes two horses, he own Koning, a 6 year old KWPN, and Dom Lumiere, a 4 year old Hanoverian. Both horses are currently doing well at Elementary and Novice level respectively, but Justine has high hopes for both horses and hopes that Koning will be competing at PSG by 2011, and that Dom Lumiere will be doing all the young horse classes next year and competing at Elementary. Justine herself has an excellent competition record and an impressive set of career credentials. She has competed up to Inter II level and holds her BHSI.
Beth Miller currently owns an 8 year old Westfalian German Warmblood called Finley. Their latest achievements include winning the Elementary Freestyle Championship at BYRDs under 25 festival, 6th in the BD national talent spotting competition in 2008 and being selected for the BYRDs teams including the BYRDs Home International. She is also squaded as an A squad rider. Beth is a student of Justine’s and recently passed her Stage 4 riding and is yard manager at Talland.
‘We’re pleased to be supporting both Justine and Beth. Both bring something special to the Performance Programme and we look forward to working with them now and in the future,’ explains Rhea Freeman, Marketing Manager for Shires Equestrian. ‘We’re dedicated to supporting the great riders of today and tomorrow as well as those who just want to enjoy their horses.’
To find out more about Shires, see www.shiresequestrian.com, to find out more about Talland and their instructors, see www.talland.net.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Who would decide to do a cover photo today?!
So, what did we do? We ploughed on of course, the weather was better than on the Cover Star assessment day (granted, that was torrential rain) but the light levels weren't brilliant so our photographer had to work his magic. All of the cover star finalists (that's Natalie, Alex and Mary) show jumped first thing, then we had a well deserved cup of tea and regroup. We planned to do the next session on the drive at Talland with horses which we did, then we had lunch and finished off with some horseless shots. The weather did deteriorate and there was a serious breeze (and a few shots where the girls' hair is a little on the vertical side) but all in all, everything considered, I think that the day went very well...all we have to do now is keep everything crossed that the photos look OK!
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Brilliant Cover Star Semi Final!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Cover star entries drawing to a close!
We've had some lovely photos sent our way...I think the most memorable has been someone who, with their horse, seemed to be covered in polka dots! I do like a bit of variety so it was a welcome addition to the mound of other photos that have been received! That said, you can't beat a nice horsey photo can you?!
I'm really looking forward to the cover star semi-final, we're going to Talland this year (I think my personal no. 1 horsey place in the UK) so the lucky 10 will have super horses and excellent instructors at a place that has top class riders arrive for training...honestly, what more could anyone ask for...I am very excited.