British Showjumping Win Again! This Time at the British Equestrian Writers Association (BEWA) Awards Lunch.
Friday 20 December 2013
British Showjumping was once again at the forefront of everyone minds in the press again this week; this time at the British Equestrian Writers Association (BEWA) Luncheon, hosted at the Hilton Hotel, Olympia.
Attended by approximately 100 of the nation’s leading equestrian journalists, photographers and their guests, there were four awards given to those whom have achieved excellence during the past twelve months.
It was London 2012 Team Gold medallist for Showjumping, Ben Maher whom was acknowledged with the BEWA Trophy. His achievements during 2013 following on from the success of the London Olympics have seen Ben not only win another Team Gold along with an Individual Silver at the European Championships in Herning, but also the inaugural Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in London. To cap his achievements, Ben put British Showjumpers back in the World No.1 Sport on the Longines World Ranking List in October, the first time this has been enjoyed for more than twenty years.
The prestigious Liz Dudden Trophy which is awarded to individuals for making a major contribution to equestrian sport was given to World Class Showjumping Performance Manager, Rob Hoekstra. The way that Rob has transformed the sport since his appointment at the beginning of 2010 has been widely acknowledged, most recently at the Animal Health Trust Awards where he also picked up the Special Award. To have him acknowledged and recognised by the BEWA members was yet another tremendous accolade.
The award for Horse of The Year was given to Valegro for his Olympic and European medal winning performances. The award given by the British Equestrian Federation to the journalist whom has reported tirelessly and enthusiastically throughout the year gaining publicity for equestrianism far and beyond the governing bodies expectations was given to Jenny MacArthur, Equestrian Journalist for The Times.
