British Breeding, the new management company in charge of the former BEF Equine Development Programme, is delighted to announce the dates and plans for its 2018 British Breeding Baileys Futurity evaluations. This highly regarded series for foals and young stock aims to identify talented horses that will go on to compete successfully in the future.
A Wider Choice of Locations and Dates
In order to make the Futurity accessible to a wide range of breeders, the popular series will be held over two separate weeks this year, one in late July and one in late August, to give breeders a choice to present foals and young stock at the peak of their development. As in previous years, the Futurity will be open to foals, yearlings, 2 and 3 year olds in the disciplines of Dressage, Endurance, Eventing and Show Jumping.
The 2018 series will take place across 11 locations:
23.07. - Xanstorm Equestrian, Lanarkshire, Scotland
24.07. - Richmond Equestrian, North Yorkshire
25.07. - Derby College Equestrian Centre, Derbyshire
26.07. - Kings EC, Herefordshire
27.07. - Catherston Stud, Hampshire
28.07. - Tall Trees Arena, Cornwall
20.08. - Writtle College, Essex
21.08. - The College EC, Keysoe, Bedfordshire
22.08. - Swallowfield EC, The Midlands
23.08. - Tushingham Arena, Cheshire
24.08. - Northcote Stud, Lancashire
This marks an increase in the number of Futurity venues from last year in order to make the series attractive and accessible to more breeders. Familiar venues have been joined by some new locations, and all offer a safe, indoor environment that breeders have come to expect at Futurity evaluations.
Enhanced Benefits
While maintaining a similar entry price for the Futurity, the team are working on numerous added benefits to breeders, to ensure that the Futurity provides not only excellent value for money, but also a great return on the time and effort invested by participants.
In addition to the team of senior veterinarians carrying out the futurity assessment, veterinary practices local to each venue will be invited to offer additional veterinary services on the day, including marking sheets and microchipping, which breeders can then send to their relevant breed societies for registration of their foals. Studbooks are also invited to use the Futurity events as an opportunity to connect with their breeders.
Rachael Holdsworth explains:
"The Futurity has always been a great vehicle for public recognition for British breeders, as Futurity reports are picked up widely by regional, national and international media. There will be an opportunity to expand this by using the Futurity website and the presence of excellent professional photographers and videographers to provide additional sales and marketing opportunities to our breeders in form of online classifieds and social media exposure.”
By enhancing the sales and marketing potential of the Futurity, the team wants to attract larger audiences to become interested in British breeding. The series offers anybody an ideal opportunity to enjoy a great day of looking at beautiful horses and meeting their breeders.
Anybody looking to buy a young horse can use the series as an opportunity to see a wide range of horses. The added benefit to buyers is the reassurance that each foal and horse has been seen and assessed by a reputable veterinarian and by a panel of highly qualified judges, making it a go-to place to find future talent.
The Futurity is also a great opportunity for young breeders and riders to come and learn about young horse development. The team aims to work with the British Young Breeders and equine students and apprentices to widen participation and accessibility of breeding.
British Breeding are also collaborating with the British Breeders Network to organise an end-of-season Futurity Championship, which will provide a great opportunity for celebration and recognition of the outstanding achievements of British breeders across the country.
World-Leading Evaluation System
The Futurity provides excellent continuity in a consistently high level of integrity and quality of its assessment systems. The team is investing in state-of-the-art systems and inviting world-leading experts to fulfil the Futurity’s potential as a vehicle for national and global recognition for the achievements of British breeders.
Eva-Maria Broomer explains:
"Above all, the Futurity offers what no other evaluation system can, and this is what makes it unique across the world: An objective and detailed feedback system based on performance potential for everyone in Britain breeding sport horses and ponies from licensed or approved stallions, irrespective of studbook or breed.”
The team will maintain the holistic approach of the Futurity evaluation system, including a specialist veterinary assessment and a linear description by highly respected evaluators with international experience.
New for 2018 will be an enhancement of the linear score sheets to make them easier to understand and more meaningful as a useful feedback mechanism for the breeders, with a physical copy available for breeders to take home on the day.
The Futurity will be going back to the system of having all evaluators together in the ring, so that each horse is assessed by the full panel.
The panel will also include highly regarded international judges, which will give a wider perspective and help to fulfil the remit of the Futurity as a way of identifying future FEI prospects.
The veterinary assessment at the Futurity evaluations is a strategic lynchpin for providing confidence in the quality of British bred young stock and presents a highly useful feedback for the breeder. It covers key indicators of long term soundness and suitability for the sport, as well as giving valuable guidance on the correct management of young horses.
We are delighted to announce that we have secured the support of some of the UK's most experienced and senior veterinary experts. This team is led by Dr. Jane V. M. Hastie nee Nixon, M.A., Vet. M.B., B.Sc., MRCVS.
Jane Nixon explains:
"The Futurity is an invaluable vehicle for assessing the conformation and soundness of foals and young horses in their formative stages, which will significantly influence their long term prospects. The veterinary evaluation provides feedback about the correctness of limbs and paces that will enable breeders to continue to improve, focusing on sustainable conformation, foot balance and correct limb loading. It provides important guidance at a stage in a horse's or pony's development where certain key issues can still be addressed by correct management.
The Futurity upholds the highest standards in veterinary evaluation, and I am delighted to be part of the new team that is taking it forward."
Central to the correct management of young horses is also the assessment of their body condition, which is why the Futurity continues to work with expert nutritionists working with the veterinarians to support the breeders.
Rachael Holdsworth:
“The correct management of broodmares, foals, and young horses is crucial to ensuring the best long-term outcomes for British bred horses. We are therefore delighted that the Futurity continues to be supported by Baileys Horse Feeds who will be our headline sponsor again for 2018, and who will continue to provide - in liaison with the veterinary experts - their highly valued and popular nutritional advice to all participants. ”
The company is putting in place a veterinary advisory panel of national and international experts in the field to ensure the quality and consistency of the assessments. The panel will be headed up by Jane Nixon and will provide advise on the continued development of linear scoring methodology and analysis
Beyond the Futurity: The Equine Bridge
British Breeding recognises the importance of the Equine Bridge as a pathway for British bred horses into the sport. With representation in its board from the three Olympic disciplines, it will foster a greater connection between breeder, riders, and owners, and offer a new and far reaching approach to making the Equine Bridge an integral part of the sport and a mechanism for the discovery and recruitment of talent.
This requires a fresh approach, and the British Breeding Futurity Bridge will therefore be re-launched in 2019. Horses that have already qualified for 2018 will be able to join the programme next year.
How to get in Touch:
British Breeding are setting up an online entry system for the series, links to which will be provided in due course via the www.britishbreeding.net website.
In the meantime, anybody interested in the Futurity is warmly invited to get in touch via email with Eva or Rachael:
Eva: 07834 194821, horsepowercreative@gmail.com
Rachael: 07850 017587, rachael@holdsworthpr.co.uk
