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Exciting
Saddlery Competition
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SIX
of the country's leading saddlers fought it out at BETA International
2004 to secure top honours in a new competition.
The
saddlers vied for a prize fund of £3,000 in the initiative
organised by the Society of Master Saddlers (SMS).
Entrants
included Jeremy Rudge of Jeremy Rudge Saddlery, Robert Deavall of
The English Riding Saddle Company, Patrick Keane of Hunter Saddlery,
John Hammond of Jabez Cliff and Co Ltd, Martin Gulliver of Woodseaves
Saddlery and Andrew Hastilow of Hastilow Competition Saddles.
And
the winner was Patrick Keane - who in a gesture of great team spirit
that surrounded the whole competition shared the prize fund with
his fellow competitors.
Said
Patrick: "It has been fantastic and well beyond our expectations.
Throughout the show people have come up to us to ask questions,
many staying for more than an hour.
"This
has been a great opportunity to promote the trade and everyone competing
has worked so hard and had great fun."
Andrew
Hastilow added: "We have all enjoyed every single minute of
it, the camaraderie has been wonderful."
Whilst
brother Ian Hastilow commented: "The competition has been a
breath of fresh air and there is only one winner - the British saddle
making industry, which has made a big statement. This is the start
of something very exciting."
Richard
Brown, President of the Society of Master Saddlers said: "We
are very lucky in this country to still have the wealth of experience
and skill in the art of making saddles and I hope that this competition
will help to encourage more people to take up the trade and keep
UK saddle production strong."
The
judges were Frank Baines, Frances Kelly and Nathaniel Underwood,
all highly regarded in the saddle making industry.
Sponsors
included J&E Sedgwick of Walsall, Pittards Plc of Leeds, Joseph
Clayton and Sons Ltd of Chesterfield, Abbey Saddlery of Walsall,
Lariot Equestrian Supplies of Walsall, Abbey Saddlery, Fiebing Company
of Milwaukee, Grangers International
www.beta-uk.org
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