Petplan Equine 20th anniversary award winners named

The 2019/20 Petplan Equine Area Festival season is a very special one for Petplan Equine, as it marks the 20th year of Petplan Equine’s sponsorship of this iconic British Dressage series. The Petplan Equine Area Festivals are the largest and most popular competition in the British Dressage portfolio with more than a third of all members taking part.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, Petplan Equine launched the Area Festival Awards. These very special awards were designed to recognise the dedication that grassroots competitors and their support teams put in to take part in the much-loved series.

Petplan Equine received over 400 entries, with each nomination highlighting the hard work and inspirational journeys that competitors experience. Those nominating could enter themselves, a friend or family member for one of five categories: Inspirational Star, Surprise Star, Support Star, Progressive Star, Perseverance Star. A judging panel of industry experts, including International rider Charlie Hutton, Your Horse magazine Deputy Editor, Allison Lowther and Linda Whetstone, British Dressage Chairman and founder of the Area Festival Series had the difficult task of choosing a winner for each category.

Meet the winners:

• Inspirational star – Sue Grice and her talented traditional gypsy cob Frodo
• Surprise star – Caroline Burrow and her rescue cob Mimi
• Support star – Instructor and Area Festival competitor Brendan Tegg
• Progressive star – Clare Hinchliffe and her dancing partner Crunchie
• Perseverance star – Linda Clark riding her own super star Teddy

We were overwhelmed with the amount of support the Petplan Equine Area Festival Awards received. In our 20th anniversary year of sponsoring the Area Festivals we wanted to celebrate the people who make the Petplan Equine Area Festivals what they are and that is the riders, horses and supporters who are a part of the series. We were inundated with such extraordinary and inspiring stories from competitors. Our five winners highlight the true spirit of the Area Festivals and they are all such deserving winners.

For further information about the Petplan Equine Area Festival Awards visit the Petplan Equine website.