News and paramatters

British Dressage (BD) has announced a new partnership with leading international equestrian sports network Horse & Country (H&C).

This initiative will see a signifi cant increase in dressage coverage on H&C’s streaming service, H&C+, and refl ects both parties’ commitment to increasing the reach and awareness of British Dressage both at home in the UK and in key international markets.

Video production and curation is at the heart of the partnership with the creation of the British Dressage Channel on H&C’s streaming service, H&C+. The channel will be the focal point for all H&C’s live and on-demand coverage of BD sport. In addition, it will host extensive dressage-related content, including masterclasses, training insights, interviews, features and profi les with top riders and coaches. The entire collection of programmes that H&C has produced with Olympians Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin over the years will also be included on the channel.

The partnership was launched with the broadcast of the NAF Five Star Winter Championships at Hartpury over the Easter weekend. Coverage this summer will include Premier League shows, Wellington and Bolesworth CDIs, the BD Youth Inter Regional Finals, Wellington’s Area Festival and much more.

To watch all H&C’s dressage live streams and access the BD Channel, make sure you are signed up to H&C+ for just £5.99 per month. Annual membership is £59.99, with BD members receiving a further 15% discount on the yearly subscription price, giving 12 months of extensive dressage coverage for just £50.99.

Members can watch online or with H&C’s mobile apps, as well as on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire. Full details on how to join can be found at horseandcountry.tv

Defra is asking horse owners and organisations for their views on proposed changes to horse passport and identifi cation laws.

The consultation ‘Improvements to Equine Identifi cation and Traceability in England’ is now live, offering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have a say in the future for horse passports, health and welfare. It encompasses aspects such as the future for paper passports, how they are updated, whether going digital is an option, what happens if disease takes hold, breeding and pedigree information and enforcement.

Defra’s full technical consultation will take 3040 minutes to complete, and closes 28 June. It’s important for all sectors of the horse industry to be represented to please consider setting aside some time so make your views heard.

There is a link to this consultation on the news pages of the BD website.

Congratulations to Sharon Butterworth and Clare Deithrick who have recently qualifi ed as Para judges. The Para Judge pathway is open to judges at list three or above, who then attend a specialist seminar and training day before taking a written and practical exam.

Multiple Paralympic medallist Natasha Baker married Marc Jaconelli at North Cadbury Court in Somerset recently. She describes it as ‘the best day of our lives’, while Marc adds: “Natasha would win a gold medal in wedding planning.”

Tickets are now on sale for the London International Horse Show to be held at ExCel London from 15-19 December. British Dressage members can access a special discount on tickets for a number of performances by using the code BD22. Visit londonhorseshow.com