Dogwood @ Olympia - See you there!

The Olympia Horse Show is known by every equine enthusiast as the ultimate lead up to Christmas. The show is famous for its electric atmosphere, great shopping, amazing show jumping spectacles and world class performances; a Christmas build up for the whole family.

The shows main events feature throughout the week with classes running in the international arena every day. Tuesday and Wednesday will see dressage performances such as the FEI Dressage World Cup Qualifier and World Cup Dressage competition. Thursday onwards will then see major international show jumping competitions such as speed stake classes, the famous Puissance, FEI show jumping World Cup Qualifier and the Olympia Grand Prix.

However, the events aren’t the only attraction to the famous horse show, with the Olympia shopping village having everything any equestrian could possibly dream of all under one roof. This year, Dogwood London will be one of 16 new exhibitors at the show with our collection of casuals and tweeds. The collection includes our now iconic polo tops, together with the unveiling of our ‘brand new and unseen’ (not even on our website yet) beautiful and British tweed fashion jackets!

You can find the Dogwood stand in the National gallery stand R18, from 2pm on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th – Monday 19th from 10am onwards.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Natural Horsemanship - Bridless riders warned about dangers of road riding!

Natural Horsemanship is always a beautiful sight to see, whatever style of riding you come from. A trusting horse that can be ridden without a bridle, in a relaxed way seems a millions miles from traditional English riding at times, but have you ever wondered about the implications if something went wrong?

Bridless riders are being warned of the different situations between riding at home and riding out on the roads. The Highway Code, rule 52 states “Never ride a horse without a saddle and bridle.” and if you fail to observe these rules, this could potentially lead to a road traffic offence. However, what if an accident happened which affected another driver? Would you be covered under your insurance company?

For example, terms of insurance usually state that people can be insured fully if they do not undertake dangerous behavior. However, if other road users are affected, this could lead to legal proceedings.

An associate director of the popular equestrian insurance company SEIB, David Buckton said that reasonable precautions should always be taken to avoid a claim.

“However, the terms of personal accident insurances arranged by SEIB make no stipulations about the use or otherwise of bridles or saddlery,” said Buckton.

“Riders should always be open with insurers, disclosing activities they are likely to undertake, and ensuring they’re in control of their horses, taking into account their normal riding activity, personal experience and the horse’s level of training."

The Natural Horsemanship society does offer a policy that protects riders while using natural horsemanship riding equipment such as rope halters through an association called Fidelius Insurance Solutions.