last updated on February 23, 2009 19:55

Following an extensive review and consultation involving riders, judges, trainers and sponsors, British Dressage has reorganised its young horse championships for 2009. The Young Horse & Breeding Championships will not be held in 2009 however there will be some exciting developments for both of British Dressage’s championships for young horses.

Leading insurance specialists, Shearwater Insurance have extended their sponsorship to cover both prestigious young horse championships in 2009. Already long term supporters of the Shearwater Young Dressage Horse Championships the successful insurance brokers have now increased their sponsorship in the dressage world by taking on the Shearwater Potential International Dressage Horse.

The implemented changes to the structure of these classes reflect their increasing high profile and significance. The Shearwater Potential International Dressage Horse will continue to be held at the National Dressage Championships, Stoneleigh but will be held entirely in the main arena. The popular format will remain the same, that is, horses are judged together in groups of three and there are no set tests. Having qualified at shows all over Britain, four and five year olds will compete in two rounds with the top ten from each age group going forward for final judging. The last stage of judging, when one of the judges rides the highest placed youngsters, has long been one of the most popular events at the National Championships.

To replace the Young Horse and Breeding Championships the Shearwater Young Dressage Horse Championships will now run alongside the Hartpury Festival of Dressage. There will be qualifiers around the country for four five and six year olds and to make these true national titles there will now be just one championship for each age group. These championships will also retain the same format as previous years which is based on that of the FEI i.e. horses perform a set test. New tests have been introduced for five and six year olds but the same test will continue to be used for four year olds.

Maggie Jackman, BD’s sponsorship manager said: “With the long term backing of Shearwater Insurance young horse competitions in the UK have become a hotbed for new equine talent. We’re delighted about the expansion of this support and are confident that Shearwater will get real commercial benefit from the association.”

Jeremy Lawton, managing director at Shearwater Insurance ltd is pleased to be able to support up and coming horses in the sport: “ The Shearwater Young Dressage Horse Championships have proven highly successful over the years with many past champions going on to compete at Advanced level and represent Great Britain. I am thrilled to extend our sponsorship to help discover talented young horses with the Shearwater Potential International Dressage Horse Championship. We are very dedicated to supporting British Dressage and look forward to being part of the Championship for 2009.”

BD Tests to be used for the Shearwater Young Dressage Horse Championships 2009:
BD Basic 4yo (2003)
BD Elementary 5yo (2009)
BD Medium 6yo (2009)

For a limited time these new tests are available to download free of charge:
>> BD Elementary 5yo (2009)
>> BD Medium 6yo (2009)

For a list of qualifying dates and venues, please click here.