AT the European Eventing Championships in Pratoni anybody who is anybody was sporting quartermarks representing their home nation. The Brits had Union flags, the Irish shamrocks and the French cockerels. H&H finds out how they are made.
DIAMONDS and sharks’ teeth have long been the traditional quartermarks on the competition circuit. But in recent years, riders and their grooms have become more inventive with their designs.
Who uses them?
AT the European Eventing Championships in September, the horses’ hindquarters took on a patriotic theme. British squad first-timer Georgie Davies’s ride, Fachoudette, displayed an immaculate Union flag on his quarters.
“It was actually my groom’s idea,” explains Georgie, who first rode with the pattern at the young rider Europeans in 2003, when she was part of the gold-medal winning team.
“We make our own stencil using a bit of cardboard. All you need to do is wet the coat, brush it over and add a touch of hairspray to keep it in place.”
Can you buy them?
IF you are not quite as artistic as Georgie and her team but still want to add an individual touch at competitions, help is at hand from quartermarking company Stencilbum, which sells designs such as hearts, stars and Scottish thistles on its website, as well as making stencils to order.
“It makes my life easier if customers can email me the picture or a black and white outline image of exactly what they want,” explains Ashley Filmer from Stencilbum.
“The format I sell off the website is one I can reproduce readily from my own artwork or fonts. I generally quote on a job by job basis after I’ve seen the original artwork.”
The stencils are made from heavy grade rubberised vinyl and are magnetic so they can be stuck against a panel inside your horsebox for easy storage and access at competitions.
Information
Stencilbum www.stencilbum.co.uk
This Q&A was first published in Horse & Hound (25 October, ’07)
