Q: I saw the Ask H&H article (25 October) about how to make quartermarks like the ones seen at the European eventing championships in 2007 but, judging by the artwork seen at Badminton this year, stencilling seems to have moved on a level. How did Charlotte Agnew achieve the painted thistle seen on Little Beau?
JW, Lanarkshire
ACCORDING to Charlotte, Little Beau only had a trace clip over the winter and, come Badminton, he hadn’t lost his winter coat so had to be clipped out. This meant his coat was too short to make quartermarks.
“I still really wanted to produce the Scottish thistle so experimented with shoe polish before using Supreme’s black Cover Magic spray which I got from Ayr Equestrian,” said Charlotte.
“And, to add a little sparkle in the dressage and final parade, I covered Little Beau’s quarters in gold glitter from Claire’s Accessories.”
In addition to Charlotte’s smart design, another noticeable backside was Ruth Edge’s Muschamp Impala. The horse had, appropriately, a leaping impala applied for the dressage phase.
According to Ruth, two of her other horses also have stencils relating to their names — a mayfly for Marsh Mayfly and semiquavers for Two Thyme.
Where did the riders find these stencils?
THEY were custom-designed and made for Charlotte and Ruth. Charlotte first spotted a rider competing at the Border Union Show in Kelso a few years ago with a thistle on his horse’s quarters. A local lady, Jenny Lupton, who has since moved to France, had designed and made the stencil so Charlotte got in touch with her and had her one made.
Ruth’s stable girls proved that a DIY version can be equally striking. As a surprise for Ruth, they Googled the image of an impala, printed it off and, with a few alterations, made the stencils themselves.
Are they easy to use?
“THEY just require a bit of coat shine and the brushing of the coat to create fantastic looking designs,” said Ruth.
Information
Supreme Products www.supremeproducts.co.uk
This Q&A was first published in Horse & Hound (29 May, ’08)
