Aug. 24, 2013 — Charles Owen is pleased to announce its new role as the Official Helmet Supplier to Team Ireland Equestrian. The company is delighted at the opportunity to supply all of the Irish Teams competing at FEI Championships with Charles Owen hats, customized to reflect Team Ireland’s colors and logo.
“The strong history of equestrian heritage in Ireland fits well with Charles Owen’s long tradition of manufacturing the highest quality riding hats,” said Charles Owen Managing Director, Roy Burek. “Charles Owen looks forward to working with Horse Sport Ireland, and we wish all the teams the best of success.”
The new partnership kicked off at the 2013 Junior and Young Rider European Jumping Championships with all of the team wearing green suede Ayr8 hats. Charles Owen then provided the show jumping team for the Pony European Championships with custom Leather Look Ayr8s with green suede piping. The Pony eventing team was supplied with Leather Look Ayr8s with green suede piping for dressage and show jumping and 4Star cross-country helmets in green. These first competitions were a great start to the Charles Owen and Team Ireland Equestrian relationship as Susan Fitzpatrick won the individual gold in showjumping while the showjumping and eventing teams both won team bronze.
Going forward, Charles Owen will be providing hats for the European Championships, which started this week for dressage, para-dressage, and show jumping as well as for the European Eventing Championships at the end of the month. In September Charles Owen looks forward to providing hats for the Junior and Young Rider European Eventing Championships in Haras de Jardy, France. Many more competitions are sure to follow and Charles Owen hopes this is the beginning of a long affiliation.
“Horse Sport Ireland are delighted that Charles Owen have come on board as Official Helmet Supplier to Team Ireland Equestrian,” said Horse Sport Ireland’s Chief Executive Damian McDonald. “The hats incorporate innovative design with the highest safety standards and will be supplied to all Irish teams who are competing in FEI Championships.”
Horse Sport Ireland is the governing body for equestrian sport in Ireland. Horse Sport Ireland became the governing body for equestrian sport and breeding on 1st January 2008. The initial organizational efforts were focused on putting high performance structures in place to maximise Ireland’s chances of success on the international stage. Part of this process included putting coaches and selection processes in place. In 2009, Horse Sport Ireland developed the Team Ireland Equestrian brand, under which all Irish international teams would compete.
Team Ireland Equestrian encompasses the eight FEI disciplines of showjumping, eventing, dressage, para-equestrian, carriage driving, endurance, reining and vaulting, and includes all senior teams and all underage teams–Young Riders (U21), Junior Riders (U18), Pony Riders (U16) and Children On Horses (U14). It also includes the Irish Sport Horse Studbook teams competing in showjumping and eventing championships.
