horse rider

Those of you who have followed our story for a while will know that FR Vincitore is a true ‘passion project’. Laurie saw a problem that she knew needed to be fixed and worked, tested and refined her idea until she had a solution. That problem was that reins needed to be secure for riders to communicate with their horse, but that unbreakable link was problematic when the reins got caught - or the rider was tangled in them. Laurie witnessed a few accidents involving those scenarios, and that sparked our journey.

Today, we’re known and loved by riders for our quick-release reins. Reins that are just as stylish, high quality and grippy as normal reins, but that come apart in a moment if needed. Laurie has worked incredibly hard to get the word out there about what we do, and now it’s time for the next stage of our brand. While our full range of reins, the FR Vincitore Original, Eventer and Libre reins, are all available on our website, we’re proud to share the details of our retailers with you.

Being stocked at a range of different equestrian retailers means that we can reach even more people. And that’s important to us for several reasons! Not just so that we’re able to stay profitable and trading, but so that more people can learn about quick-release reins and add them to their safety kit! Our reins are suitable for training at home in all disciplines and they’re FEI, BE and BS-approved for competition days too. So, without further ado, here are the different retailers who stock our reins:

Charles Owen

Our association with leading British riding helmet brand Charles Owen started when we were the first brand to be part of the Innovation Hub. This is a business accelerator set up by Charles Owen to support people with ideas to improve the safety of horses and riders but need some help to develop it into a product and reach consumers. Now, we’re proud to be stocked on the Charles Owen website alongside their riding hats, jockey skulls and body protectors. https://www.charlesowen.com/view/accessories

Houghton Country

Houghton Country is a specialist equestrian and country brand with both an online shop and a huge purpose-built store just outside of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Houghton Country stocks a huge range of leading brands and up and coming names, including LeMieux, Ariat and Horseware and… FR Vincitore! They opened their shop in 2016 and it’s become a real destination shop for horse owners around across the north of England and the Scottish borders. https://www.houghtoncountry.co.uk/horse-c37/horse-saddlery-c146/reins-c196

GS Equestrian

GS Equestrian is an online equestrian brand with a website offering hassle-free shopping for a wide range of high-quality clothing, equipment, nutrition and pet supplies. The brand is based in Devon and sells to customers across the UK and around the world, helping our reins reach horse riders in a range of countries. https://us.gsequestrian.com/collections/horse

Craftwear Equestrian

Craftwear Equestrian is an online family saddlery that focuses on excellent customer service and high-quality items for horse owners and riders. Founded by riders who understand how important it is that kit, clothing and tack work well and last a long time, Craftwear Equestrian is the perfect home for our high quality quick-release reins! https://craftwear-equestrian.myshopify.com/collections/reins

Agrihealth

Our final retailer - for now! - is Agrihealth, who carry our reins in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Agrihealth is an animal health and equipment supplier, and their website is a one-stop shop for everything from bits and curry combs to riding boots and our quick-release safety reins. https://store.agrihealth.ie/reins-accessories?orderby=15&viewmode=list&pagenumber=2

We’re always interested in speaking to new retailers about stocking our reins, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch to learn more about our products and what makes them totally unique!

In last month’s blog we mentioned that Laurie was just back from Spoga Horse in Germany and whizzing around preparing for the National Equine Show in Birmingham. It was set to be our very first outing with the new trade stand and an amazing chance to meet customers and other equine business owners in person.

Now that the dust has settled, we’re pleased to report that the show was a huge success! The response to our unique quick-release connector was incredible, and people were so interested to see how it works and see our reins in person. We had so much amazing feedback on the look and feel of the reins too, in particular about the premium quality of the leather and fittings. Huge thanks to everyone who came to visit us and took the time to chat and ask questions. It’s literally a dream come true to be able to take Laurie’s vision from concept to reality and see how much people love the result! And, speaking of end results, we also have some exciting news for riders who love rubber reins and want to benefit from the FR Vincitore difference…

New! The FR Vincitore Libre Reins

We’re over the moon to share a brand-new design with you - the Libre Reins which boast a classic rubber grip. These reins come in two thicknesses - 12mm and 16mm - so you can choose the right grip for your preference and hand size, and you can choose to specify these with leather loops for extra grip if you like! They are British Eventing and British Showjumping legal so you can enjoy security, safety and style when you’re competing this summer, even at affiliated events. Plus, these reins start at just £58.00 so they are very kind on your purse – ideal when horses seem to empty your bank account at every opportunity!

Our new Libre Reins are the ideal choice for those of you who like the supreme grip rubber reins provide and, of course, they have the same quick-release connector as all our reins. That means they work exactly like regular reins - even if your horse sees a stride, throws a bronco-worthy buck or dives for a snack - but will release in a moment if you get tangled in them or they get caught on something. Each connector can be reused up to three times and we sell spare connectors in packs of one or three…

The new FR Vincitore Libre Reins are available in black or Havana brown leather in pony, cob or full size, and you can choose from a chrome or gold coloured quick-release connector. There are three safety connector options to choose from depending on the rider’s weight, so they are suitable for men, women and children. Take a closer look and snap up a pair here:

https://frvincitore.co.uk/shop/fr-vincitore/fr-vincitore-libre-rein/

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!