eventing

The Paris Olympic Games have come to an end, and we know lots of our followers will miss having so much incredible sport on tap at all times of the day and evening! Of course, most of us had the equestrian disciplines pencilled in our diary, and Team GB certainly rose to the occasion in Versailles to deliver some outstanding performances. All horse lovers will know how much hard work and dedication that will have gone into earning these medals, and we’re so proud of everyone involved. Here’s a reminder of how our athletes got on in the three equestrian disciplines.

Golden glory in the team three-day eventing

The top-rated British riders secured the team gold medal, finishing ahead of France in silver and Japan in bronze. Our riders - Laura Collett riding London 52 and bagging a new Olympic record dressage score, Tom McEwen on JL Dublin, and Ros Canter with Lordships Graffalo - delivered consistent and composed performances across all three phases, which led them to the top of the podium.

Individually, Laura Collett also took home the bronze medal and her strong partnership with London 52 really shone throughout the competition. Germany’s Michael Jung claimed the gold, making history with his third consecutive individual eventing title and Australia’s Christopher Burton jumped two amazing rounds on the final day to secure the silver medal.

Dancing to bronze in the dressage

Team GB’s dressage riders and their amazing horses delivered polished performances that earned them a bronze medal, placing behind Germany (gold) and Denmark (silver). The team - Carl Hester on Fame, Becky Moody on her homebred Jagerbomb, and Charlotte Fry on Glamourdale - showcased their talent and experience to perform under extra pressure, and we were so proud of them.

Charlotte Fry then proved she’s a rider by winning the individual bronze medal behind Germany’s Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl who secured the gold and Isabel Werth who took silver.

Soaring to the top of the podium in team showjumping!

The showjumping arena was the stage for another golden moment for Team GB, as Harry Charles, Ben Maher and Scott Brash rode to victory in the team competition. The duo took the gold medal ahead of a strong Team USA and France, who narrowly edged out the Netherlands for bronze.

Individually, the competition was fierce, with Germany’s Christian Kukuk eventually claiming the gold medal. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat put in a superb effort to win silver, while Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands secured the bronze.

What an amazing Olympics it’s been! Medals for all three teams and in the individual competition in two out of the three disciplines. We're so proud of all the athletes, including the travelling reserves, and of course the horses, grooms, owners and support crews who make it all happen. With the action Olympics now just a happy memory, attention now turns to the upcoming Paralympics, where Team GB’s para dressage squad is tipped for podium success. Mari Durward-Akhurst will ride Athene Lindebjerg in Grade 1, Georgia Wilson will compete with Sakura in Grade 2, Natasha Baker will be riding Keystone Dawn Chorus in Grade 3 and Sophie Wells will take to the arena with Don Cara M in Grade 5. We’ll be cheering them on and hope you will be too!

We’ve taken a few moments away from packing and dispatching lots of reins ready for their new owners to write a blog that looks back at 2023. With Christmas just a couple of weeks away and a whole new year peeking tantalizingly around the corner, it’s the perfect time to reflect and review the past 12 months. And what a year it’s been for FR Vincitore! We’ve had a rebrand, joined the Charles Owen Innovation Hub, launched a new design and were featured in our industry bible, Horse & Hound. Pretty amazing, don’t you think? So, without further ado, let’s dive in:

A change of name came first…

We kicked off the year as ‘Free Reins Equestrian’, the brand name picked by our founder Laurie Williams when she founded the company in 2021. But after a couple of years spent growing the brand and finessing our offering, it was time for a change! We unveiled ‘FR Vincitore’ in May and the response was amazing. We took the opportunity to give our website a facelift and polish at the same time and are thrilled with how it looks. Vincitore means ‘winner’ in Italian, and we believe it reflects our commitment to putting horse and rider safety first - we’re the ‘free reins winner’ when it comes to innovation and serving our customers.

…then being the first business in the Charles Owen Innovation Hub!

In August we were finally able to reveal some very exciting news that we’d had to keep under our hats for months while the final details were put in place. FR Vincitore was the first ever business to join the Charles Owen Innovation Hub, an exciting business accelerator which was set up to support people who’ve had amazing ideas to help improve the safety of riders and their horses but need some help to develop it into a product and reach consumers. Whether that help comes in the form of help to take an idea from conception to reality, or testing, manufacturing and quality control or even support developing a marketing and promo strategy, the Innovation Hub is a much-needed addition to the equestrian business landscape and one that we are thrilled to be part of. If you have an idea, you think could boost horse and rider safety, why not apply, and see how they could help you?

A new rein design followed…

As we mention in our rebrand paragraph, we’re totally focused on serving our customers. That’s why our reins combine our unique quick-release connector with gorgeous premium leather. One thing our customers have asked for is a rein design with super-duper extra grip. We want people to be able to use our safety reins for everything from hacking and schooling to show jumping, eventing and team chasing. So, Laurie went back to the drawing board and designed the Eventers Reins. This combines the same quick-release connector with a slim profile rein, handy rein stops and extra grippy rubber coating. They’re proving very popular already, and we’re busy working on yet another new design - watch this space!

…which was featured in Horse & Hound!

You can imagine our delight to open up Horse & Hound and see our gorgeous new Eventers Reins in the ‘new in the ring’ page. Horse & Hound is the biggest magazine in our industry and so to get approval of their team and included in their pages is always a thrill. We’ve also been featured in Rural Life, Equestrian Business, Equestrian Trade News and Your Horse!

We even carried out research with Dr. David Marlin

Our eagle-eyed followers on social media might have spotted us sharing the results of the research we carried out in conjunction with leading equine scientist Dr. David Marlin earlier this year. We wanted to delve into how many riders have experienced their reins getting snagged when they were on the ground and those whose horse or pony had been caught in the reins. The results were so informative and helped us make the case that everyone needs to have safety reins as part of their kit, just like a riding hat, safety stirrups and body protector. Take a closer look here.

All these moments have been so special, and we can’t thank you, our customers and supporters, enough for helping us get this far. Sometimes running a small business can be so all-consuming that it’s tempting to only focus on what’s right in front of us, rather than celebrating the wins. So, an early new year’s resolution is to remember to shout from the rooftops about the good days and take the tough ones with a pinch of salt!