Jemima Griffiths takes the first-ever Spotlight prize.

Jemima Griffiths from Gloucestershire has been awarded the very first Spotlight award, supported by uvex, which recognises a member who has stood out as embodying the culture and values of The Howden Way. Nominated by Level 4 Coach Katie William, in respect of the Wales & West Midlands Academy, Jemima wins a Uvex riding helmet courtesy of Zebra Products as well as having a spot acknowledging her achievement within The Howden Way pages on the British Eventing website.

“Jemima was entered for our very first Regional Academy day camp in December, but sadly her horse went lame days before,” said nominating coach Katie Williams. “She nevertheless asked if she could attend on foot to watch the sessions and help with fences. She also took loads of videos and photos of the other riders which she then sent me so I could send them on for people to enjoy and learn from. She stayed all day and was cheerful and upbeat despite the circumstances. I feel that her attitude that day epitomised the culture and values we are trying to establish within The Howden Way Regional Academies – supporting others and actively assisting their learning and enjoyment.

“Since then, Jemima has attended two more The Howden Way training days mounted and is using them to develop her young horse Rosie ready for her first event. Jemima has previously competed up to Novice level but her last horse (who she also produced from scratch) has been forced to retire through injury, so she has had to go back to the drawing board over the last year or so. Jemima has shown quiet determination to get back to eventing – but also patience, allowing her green horse to develop at her own pace. I believe Jemima thoroughly deserves the first The Howden Way Spotlight Award in recognition of her enthusiastic participation in the programme and the support she has offered to other riders.”

Jemima was selected by Laura Collett, who said of the winner: “I really felt that Jemima stood out for me. Horses always have a way of keeping us grounded and Jemima would have been reminded of this only too well when she had been looking forward to attending her first Academy to then find she couldn’t go. Jemima’s attitude and approach to dealing with the disappointment can only be commended and I applaud her still having the commitment to attend and then put other’s needs ahead of her own by helping out in any way that she could when she was there. The Howden Way Academy encourages a community feel to training and Jemima epitomises this in every way.”

Of her win, Jemima said: “I’ve really enjoyed attending The Howden Way Training Academy. It’s been great to be able to get my young horse out in such a friendly and supportive atmosphere whilst getting top class coaching. With horse welfare and inclusivity at the

heart of every session, it’s a brilliant way to make friends and expand your knowledge beyond just riding. Huge thank you to uvex for the amazing prize and for supporting a fantastic academy.”

 Each month, coaches delivering The Howden Way Regional Academies are invited to nominate a member who has championed the core values of the Academies whether it be welfare, driving for inclusivity, creating camaraderie and supporting others, celebrating development of skills and knowledge over outcomes and developing true ambassadors for the sport. The winner is then selected by Olympic Gold Medallist Laura Collett from a shortlist of contenders who have been nominated as deserving.

Each month, a Spotlight award will be given to the most outstanding rider. For more information, visit here.

Lisa Dakin and Mr Harry Patch. Photo by Lisa Dakin of Barefoot Eventing UK.

The Event Horse Owners Association (EHOA) are delighted to announce the launch of a Veteran Eventing Championship, in conjunction with Bettalife.

The league will reward riders aged 45 or older whose passion for eventing burns as strong as ever, with the results of a maximum of five British Eventing competitions completed on one horse to decide the winner of a prestigious trophy accompanied by a generous prize fund.

Ryan Millar, Director of BETTALIFE® said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with EHOA this year for the Veteran Eventer Championship. Our passion for equestrian sport at both the amateur and professional level is one of our key company values, and with transparency at our core, we hope riders feel supported in knowing that our products are all safe for BE, and other, National and International competition use. We look forward to celebrating the hard work of these Veteran riders this season.”

Linda Allan, Chair of the EHOA, said “With its very open format across all levels of the sport, the BETTALIFE Veteran Eventing Championship aims to provide mature riders with an additional fun, competitive challenge throughout the 2023 season. The EHOA looks forward to collaborating with BETTALIFE to highlight the life-long pleasure as well as physical benefits that equestrian sport provides. Wishing all competitors every success in the coming months”

The Veteran Eventing Championship, in conjunction with Bettalife, standings will be updated on the website.

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

British Eventing is delighted to be launching an exciting new award to recognise outstanding achievement across The Howden Way Regional Academies, supported by uvex.

The Howden Way Spotlight Award will be presented monthly to a rider who has stood out as embodying the culture and values of The Howden Way – championing welfare, driving for inclusivity, creating camaraderie and supporting others, celebrating development of skills and knowledge over outcomes and developing true ambassadors for our sport.

The winner will be selected each month by Olympic Gold medallist, Laura Collett. Laura will make her choice from a shortlist of contenders, who have been nominated by The Howden Way coaches as being deserving of this special recognition.

“I am really looking forward to helping launch this award,” says Laura. “I love the fact that it will shine a light on some of those moments that may otherwise be overlooked, especially where riders have put themselves out for the welfare of their horse or fellow riders. Training hard and raising your performance is one thing but going the extra mile to make improvements for yourself and those around you is especially worthy. I can’t wait to find out more about our nominees.”

The British Eventing coaches delivering The Howden Way Regional Academies, that offers training to members of all ages and abilities, are invited to nominate members on a monthly basis that are attending their academies.

“This award is an opportunity to recognise some of the fantastic achievements that we are seeing within The Howden Way training, not just in terms of improved performance but in the development of individuals,” says Justine Parker, BE Head of Training and Development. “The culture and values underpin the entire delivery of The Howden Way Regional Academies. The Howden Way is so much more than just improving riding, it’s about the whole person. Developing skills and knowledge, while also building camaraderie and mutual support amongst participants. This award will recognise and celebrate riders who live out those values through their engagement and activity beyond the training.”

The Spotlight Award, supported by uvex and will see each winner receive a fabulous uvex exxential helmet, as well as a rosette that recognises their achievement.

Simon Middleton, Managing Director of Zebra Products says, “We are delighted to be working with British Eventing as an official partner for the 2023 season and are looking forward to supporting them with The Howden Way Spotlight Award with one of our well-known brands, uvex.

“uvex protect people from head to toe and have done so for more than 90 years. Setting the highest standard in helmets and riding gloves, uvex provides cutting edge products that are designed to last and we are proud to be supporting the monthly winners with uvex products.”

Captain Mark Phillips, British Eventing CEO Helen West and Bicton organiser Andrew Fell peer over the first element of question 19, the Burghley Brushes, at Bicton’s pop up five-star in 2021. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

British Eventing has announced that CEO Helen West, who has held the role for two years, will step down in June ‘due to personal circumstances, including the need to provide primary care for her father’. She took over leadership of the governing body in 2021, when the sport and BE both found themselves in murky waters due to the snowball effect of the pandemic and a financial hole created as a result of the failed and ongoing IT project, and has created a number of positive initiatives in her time in the post, including training and funding schemes and, memorably, the one-off ‘pop-up five-star’ at Bicton that same year.

“Helen, who will have been in post for two years when she stands back this summer, will be immensely missed,” says Mark Santorini, Chair of British Eventing. “She came to the role with a wealth of knowledge across all aspects of the sport. It is this that has seen her stabilise the sport from the extremely precarious position it was in to where it looks set to be profitable for the first time in eight years and where we are seeing membership growth for the first time in six years.

“This has been no mean feat especially when you consider that Helen joined knowing that it was never going to be easy.  The sport was struggling financially as a result of a failed IT project and two seasons of interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The turnaround that we are today seeing in the sport is the direct result of the sheer hard work, commitment, vision and ability to drive change that Helen has delivered throughout her time at the helm. I speak not only on behalf of myself, but the entire Non-Executive Board, when I say that we hold Helen in the highest regard and are unable to thank her enough for navigating her way through the amount of necessary change that was required to move the sport forward.

“Under Helen’s direction we have seen a national training structure delivered, as a result of the generous backing from David Howden. We have seen the introduction of a BE 80 National Grassroots Championships at Bramham, the rollout of Grassroots Regional Championships in every region, a stats centre and leagues for all levels of competition, a £10k prize pot across the Grassroots Leagues and the addition of an exciting new Amateur Championships at Osberton at the end of the season which includes the addition of a CCI1*. Restructuring the membership offer and introducing new member incentives has also seen a membership growth across both competing members and horse registrations, a vastly increased level of commercial investment along with a much more efficient business delivery in terms of financial costs.

“In addition, Helen has been instrumental in the creation of the British Equestrian Support Trust (BEST) for which she also sits as a trustee. The creation of BEST saw British Eventing to be the first British based equestrian National Governing Body to have a charity created purely to help its members through difficult times resulting from an eventing accident or mental health issues. BEST is something that we should all not only feel particularly proud of but also reassured by. It has already helped a number of members on their road to recovery, the most notable of which was the assistance offered to Nicola Wilson after her terrible fall at Badminton last year.

“We know this has been an extremely hard decision for Helen and is one that we need to respect. I am hoping that Helen will continue to be involved with the sport and the association and we will now be commencing the recruitment process to identify a successor who can continue building from the solid position that Helen leaves the sport in when she finishes in June.”

Of her resignation, Helen West says: “To say this was a difficult decision would be an understatement. It is one that I have to make for personal reasons and I will always be available to British Eventing to assist where I can. I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved over the past two years, and I have taken great pleasure seeing the sport evolve despite being forced to make difficult decisions at times.

“Change is always hard but has been crucial to the survival of the sport.  I will always remain 100% committed to the sport but right now, it is imperative that I step back and spend some time with my father as his primary carer. I have been tremendously fortunate to work with some great colleagues at British Eventing and would like to extend huge gratitude for their support in working alongside me. I strongly believe that British Eventing has a bright future ahead of it and I look forward to watching it flourish under the direction of my successor when appointed.”

British Eventing will now begin the recruitment process to find Helen’s replacement, which will commence within the week. The role will be advertised on BE’s website.