Beverley Widdowson, owner of the 11-year-old grey gelding Carlo 273, has been awarded the prestigious title of “Owner of the Year” by the FEI and International Jumping Owners Club. Carlo 273 and British rider, Nick Skelton, have had a string of impressive performances during 2011 and 2012, notably; at the CSIO5* St. Gallen; at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, USA; at the CSIO5* La Baule; and at the CSI5* GCT Hamburg.
The presentation of the award to Widdowson was made by Madeleine Winter-Schulze, member of the Jumping Owners Club; Anthony Schaub from Rolex; and Chair of FEI Group II, Dr. Hanfried Haring. The ceremony took place during the 2012 CHIO World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany.
Formed in 2005 and supported by Rolex, the Jumping Owners Club is an exclusive organisation of international owners which works towards growing the popularity of the sport around the world. It is the only body which represents the views and opinions of the owners, and works closely alongside the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) in building the profile and inclusiveness of Jumping.
Widdowson commented: “It is a great honour to be presented with this award, which I accept on behalf of everyone who has been part of the team during 2011, most notably Nick Skelton. To follow in the footsteps of Eric Lamaze and the great Hickstead, amongst other owners and horses over the years, is a truly wonderful achievement”.
The FEI Owner of the Year Award was created in 2004 to recognise the most successful owner of each year in the discipline of Jumping. To determine the winner, a classification is established for all horse and rider combinations based on points obtained for the Rolex Rankings during the calendar year. The owner of the horse of the winning combination receives the award; a bronze sculpture produced by Caroline Wallace and a silver picture frame presented by Rolex.
Madeleine Winter-Schulze, member of the Jumping Owners Club commented: “Mrs. Beverley Widdowson should be extremely proud of her recognition as Owner of the Year. I would like to wish Beverley and her team all the best going forward, and for continued success during the latter part of 2012”.
Previous winners of this award were John, Pat and Lisa Hales (GBR) for Arko III in 2004 and 2005; Mrs Serena Hamberg (AUT) for The Sixth Sense in 2006; Mrs Nancy Clark (USA) for Shutterfly in 2007; and Mr Eric Lamaze (CAN) & Mr John Fleischhacker (USA) for Hickstead in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
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