HAMPTON, NH – Shires Equestrian Products USA has announced that it is a sponsor of event rider Emily Beshear of Somerset, Virginia. Beshear is a winning Advanced level competitor, a USEA ICP Level 3 certified instructor, and the coach of successful riders from local starter horse trials through top international events.
In making the announcement, Vanessa Sugden, general manager of Shires Equestrian Products USA, said, “We’re delighted that Emily will join our other sponsored athletes, event rider Boyd Martin and showjumper Ali Nilforushan, in representing the Shires brand.”
Beshear, who grew up in Michigan, started riding at age six and competing at age ten. She built her skills riding with Jim Wofford, Karen and David O’Connor, Capt. Mark Phillips, and Kim Severson, Ralph Hill and others. Today she runs Brickland Farm, a training and boarding facility, with her husband Jeff Beshear, an equine veterinarian who shares his wife’s passion for eventing. In 2007, he received the Christine E. Stafford Eventing Groom of the Year Award at the US Eventing Association Annual Convention. The Beshears have an eight-year-old son, Nicholas, who is already an accomplished rider.
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“Emily was recommended to us by one of our dealers, VTO Saddlery, as she’s been a long-time fan of Shires products,” says Sugden. “She’s the whole package: an excellent horsewoman, a dedicated teacher and trainer, and a solid competitor.”
Shires, which holds a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II for providing the Royal Stables with equestrian equipment for horse and rider, is based in Herefordshire, England. The company was recently named the 2011 Trade Supplier of the Year by the British Equestrian Trade Association. Shires is unique in that it owns and operates its own factories, thereby ensuring that it has complete control over the manufacturing process as well as the raw materials used. Shires is well-known in Europe, and while it has been selling in the U.S. for 20 years, it opened its first U.S. distribution center in 2008. Today it sells its products in the U.S. both online at shop.shiresequestrian.com and through a nationwide network of dealers.
