Our sponsored rider Chris Whinnett has achieved one of his aims for 2010.  He has qualified for the Discovery at the Scope Festival.

Chris is only eight years old and riding his 14.2 hands pony Valley View Freeman qualified at Patchetts yesterday.

There were only 10 clear rounds out of 54 starters and Chris ended up 10th after the final round at 1.05 m and this was good enough to put him through.  This is a fantastic achievement and Chris will now aim some of his other ponies at the Scope qualifiers so that he can fill up his Uncle John's Empire horsebox!

The luxury 7.5 ton horsebox that Empire have built for Mr and Mrs Brian Bairstow is finished.

This size of horsebox is a new addition to the Empire range. The luxury living is of a similar spec and standard to our HGV horseboxes but on a smaller scale.

When transporting two horses many would consider buying one of the very popular two horseboxes that do just that. 

The unique selling point of a 7.5 ton lorry is that you can have the comfort of luxury living, the storage space and facilities that go with it and still carry two horses as well.

Therefore this lorry is perfect for the rider who does not need an HGV lorry but still wants the very best in comfortable travel and living for themselves and their horses or ponies.

At the other end of the scale the Luxury Empire 6 Horsebox with slide out  that we are building for Ferdi, Michael and Maria Eilberg has all of these and has now gone to the paint shop. These are the photos taken by Lee of the lorry just before it went in.

Lee will be taking more photos of the lorry when it comes out of the paint shop and you will be able to see a complete transformation. 

Congratulations to our clients Ruth Edge and Mark Kyle who finished 19th and 20th at The Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials.

Ruth was lying in second place after the dressage on Two Thyme but had a very unlucky fall on the cross country course. Two Thyme pecked on landing by just catching the front edge of the landing slope. Ruth had no chance of staying in the saddle and in a flash their chance had gone.

Ruth's second ride Nick of Thyme was 29th after the dressage and steadily climbed up the leader board to 19th place. This horse is only 9 years old and clearly has a very bright future.

For more news on Ruth and her horses please visit her website www.ruthedge.co.uk.

Meanwhile Mark rose from 75th after the dressage to finish 20th. A brilliant cross country round saw Mark and Step in Time finish with just 0.04 of a time fault. With only three riders going inside the time allowed this was one of the best rounds of the day. A clear round show jumping took them from 28th after the cross country to a final 20th place.

Step in Time is listed for the Irish Squad and this good showing at Badminton must have been very pleasing to all concerned. For news on Mark and Tania Kyle please visit their website www.queenholme.com.   

Paul and Debs Strafford own a beautiful Stud near Whitchurch in Shropshire and they now have a new addition to their broodmares.

Ulisca their nine year old dark bay mare by Kigali has left Lee to be put in foal.  Paul is hoping that Ulisca will be a perfect match for Quintender a grandson of Quidam de Revel out of a Contender mare.

Ulisca is full of quality and barely 16.00 hands high and this stallion is of a similar build, although taller.

Ulisca competed in the five year old class at the World Breeding Championships in Lanaaken where she was jumping 1.35 m. Paul and Debs bought her soon after and since Lee took over the ride, Ulisca has been very successful in height classes up to and including 1.25 m.

She is very careful and well balanced which means that she is very agile  against the clock and difficult to beat in a jump off. She is also well bred and will be a valuable addition to their stud.

Paul and Debs favour quality rather than quantity and they have some lovely home bred youngsters to look forward to in the next few years. 

As well as Value T, Lee is currently competing S.Alba 71 for Paul and Debs.  'Alfie' was bought in Holland and is doing well in Newcomers with a 4th place at South View on a recent outing.

Paul and Debs have a hands on approach and really know their horses. Paul is very interested in breeding from mares that have the bloodlines that he favours. He enjoys studying the performance and pedigrees of the stallions available and then matching them to his broodmares.

Breeding your own horses is long term commitment and so is producing them and to that end Paul, Debs and Lee share a common bond. 

News from Tanya Kyle that all their horses went well last week end at Belton Horse Trials. Step in Time a home bred gelding was second in the Advanced class ridden by Mark and now heads for Badminton next week.

Closer to home Lee had a good SouthView Easter Show held indoors due to the weather.

Value T is an eight year old chestnut gelding by Calvados owned by Debs and Paul Strafford. Lee and Paul found him as a four year old in Holland and were drawn to the quality of his jump, movement and the fact that he really covered the ground.

Since then Lee has been slowly producing Value T and his patient approach is bringing rich rewards. A very successful 2009 culminated in a trip to The Horse of The Year Show at the NEC.

Lee and Value T qualified for the Foxhunter final at Weston Lawns and even though Lee, Paul and Debs thought that this competition had come a year too early for Value T, the horse took his chance amongst older and more experienced combinations.

With this valuable experience behind him, Value T was rested through the winter and his first real test of 2010 was very pleasing indeed. On the first day of the Easter Show Lee and Value T were third in the 1.35 Open and then won the same class on Good Friday.

A step up in height and  technicality saw Value T contesting his first Grand Prix on Saturday.  A thrilling competition and a fantastic result for this young horse who finished 3rd.

The plan is to play it by ear and Lee will continue to patiently produce this horse to the highest level with Debs and Paul's huge support,  they are the perfect owners for such a project.

The new Empire 6 horse box with slide out sides on a Scania chassis  that is being built for Ferdi, Maria and Michael Eilberg is progressing very well.

The Eilberg family are using a courtesy loan horsebox provided by Empire and this took them to the Spanish Sunshine Tour where they were extremely successful.

Whilst they were away our team were hard at work building the new lorry and you can see from the photos that it is nearly ready to be totally transformed in the paint shop!

Congratulations to Mark Kyle who won his third British Open Indoor Cross Country Championships last Thursday at the NEC. Mark was riding Drunken Disorderly who previously won this event in 2006 and 2009. This sprightly 20 year old has retired from eventing but is a specialist in this type of competition.

Their winning round combined speed with an immaculate jumping style and huge agility over the course of fourteen cross country fences and six show jumps. The second placed rider was Lauren Shannon who is based with Mark and Tanya at their Leicestershire yard.

We are currently building an Empire 7 horsebox with luxury living for Mark and Tanya. Please click on the blue writing to go to their website.

Chris and his uncle John Whinnett left for Bicton at 11.30 a.m. last Thursday.

John took three horses and Chris took three ponies and they were away for three nights, the first time that Chris had stayed away in John's Empire horsebox.

John's pupil Polly also took her horse and so with 7 in all to look after on the show ground everybody was very busy. Chris helped to load the lorry making sure that he had everything that was needed for his three ponies.  

The lorry has a huge amount of storage space and every item taken has its own special place. One large area took the horse food and buckets, and the ample tack room was filled with saddles and bridles.

Chris then helped to load his ponies and they arrived at Bicton at approximately 4.00 pm. The weather was wet, the days were long and included plenty of walking with four rings of jumping taking place at once.

The days took on a strict routine, John fed at 6.30 a.m. and then at 7.00 a.m. Chris his Mum, Polly and her Mum Julie started stable duties. Mucking out, studding up and brushing the horses and ponies ready for the days classes. The competition was stiff but all went well with John placed on Expert in the Newcomers.  His two five year olds went well in the testing conditions with six inches of mud in some areas.

Chris was placed twice on his pony Seamus in the British Novice and was 7th on his new five year old called William. Polly was placed in the young horse class and Newcomers on her horse and so the whole team were in the ribbons over the three days.

Each day ended at 6.00 pm with time spent cleaning the tack which was very muddy. The boots all had to be washed and put away and all these jobs needed to be done before Chris could have a shower.  The lorry has plenty of hot water and so everybody could have a hot shower and be clean for dinner.

Julie and Polly came to eat in the lorry each evening with Julie doing the cooking. With such wet weather, Chris's Mum found it was bliss to relax in a nice warm lorry, having had a nice warm shower! She loved being able to eat their own food rather than have to rely on the food available on the show ground.

Dinner was followed by a game of cards before bed at 9.00 pm. ready for another busy day!

A beautifully equipped lorry really comes into its own when conditions are bad.  To be warm and dry and then have a good nights sleep is worth its weight in gold. 

Chris and his dog Tinky slept like logs and are already looking forward to staying away at Wales and West in a few weeks time.  Let us hope there is not quite so much mud.

Whilst Empire Horseboxes are busy building lorries for our valued clients, Lee has been achieving success with his current string of show jumpers based at his yard near Mold.

A day at SouthView EC at Wettenhall in Cheshire was particularly productive and kicked off to a good start when Senannie and Lee won the opening 1.10 m class.

The Grade C class, which also included a Horse and Hound Foxhunter qualifier saw Lee occupy third place this time riding Watch Out M.

Lee was second in the High Offley Stud National 1.30m class on Value T and there was still more to come.

Lee and Caesar Z II were placed second in the British Show Jumping Business Partnership Winter Novice qualifier.  This was particularly pleasing as Lee and this attractive grey seven year old have now qualified for the finals at The Royal International Horse Show.

This is a relatively new partnership for Lee and Pauline Ward' youngster who has many characteristics of his sire Cento, who was Otto Beckers Olympic ride. Lee felt that his success was due to keeping Caesar as tight to the fences as he could as this youngster is not very experienced against the clock. Tight turns rather than galloping took him into the lead in the jump off.

This did not last for long as shortly after Carl Freeman posted a faster time by taking out a stride to the final oxer. This was a daring feat as many previous riders in the jump off had faulted at this, the final fence.  I think that at least 20 got through to the jump off, but Lee still held on to his second place and RIH ticket.

Lee and his team were delighted and with so many of his rides in the ribbons, a good day all round.  

Our sponsored rider Chris Whinett has had a very busy start to the year. He took three ponies to Norton Heath in February and jumped two double clears in the 12.2 class. The first of these was on Warrior and the second on Seamus.

Moving on to the school holidays and Chris was very busy indeed managing to squeeze in five shows. The first of these was Patchetts where Chris won the 80 cm class with Warrior putting in a great turn in the jump off. Seamus was fifth in this class and in the preceding 70 cm class and his third ride Shy Boy had four faults in the 70 cm and double clear in the 80 cm but was not fast enough to win a prize.

His second show of the holidays was a Pony Club show and Chris took four ponies of which three had double clears and a fifth place. The next show was a Junior Academy show and Chris took three ponies who performed very well. His haul for the day was two double clears a couple of four fault rounds and one 'lost way' on Warrior. The second day of the Junior Academy show at Patchetts was not so good with his four ponies all having four faults.

After bad days come good days and the final show was at Onley. Chris started off well with a double clear on Seamus in the British Novice and Discovery. His good day continued with a fourth on Warrior in the 70 cm and a double clear in the Stepping Stones.  

With homework to squeeze in and the day to day chores of looking after his ponies Chris went back to school for a well earned rest!

Chris has already started making plans for the Easter holidays with away shows at Bicton and Wales and West penciled in .  These will be the first away shows in the new Empire Horsebox and will give Chris and his family a chance to try out the deluxe living accommodation. 

At eight years old. Chris is our youngest sponsored rider and he has noticed the admiring glances that the new lorry has been receiving especially when driving through towns on the way to shows. Chris is turning heads with the ability that he is showing at such a young age and so is the lorry for different reasons! 

We have a Volvo Oakley 5 Horsebox on our Horsebox Sales page and this has been reduced in price from £75,000 to £72,500.

This is a fantastic low mileage horsebox with a two year old body that has hardly been used.  This horsebox is great to drive, not too long and special features include a built in awning. 

The lorry carries five horses and has had one previous owner. The luxury living includes, a toilet, shower, sleeping for 4, stereo, television, electric sockets, blown air central heating, fridge/freeezer and gas oven.

There are many other features and these are listed under Horsebox advert number 38 on our Horsebox for Sale page.

There are more photos for you to view on this page and these include one of the awning.  

Maria and Michael Eilberg continue to dominate the Junior Preliminary dressage competition on The Sunshine Tour.  They have taken it in turns to be first or second throughout the qualifying stages with Maria gaining the most wins to date.

Meanwhile their horsebox is making good progress and will be ready for them in due course. The Tour ends on 21st March and then the long drive home in the courtesy horsebox that we have lent them.

News that our client Ruth Edge started of the eventing season in fine style by winning the Open Intermediate section at Isleham Horse Trials and also finishing second and sixth.

If that wasn't enough Ruth won the Open Novice section with Rogerdale.

Isleham in Cambridgeshire is a seven hour journey from Ruth's base in Cumbria but Horse and Hound commented that these horses did not look the least bit travel weary.  Could this be, because they were traveling in Ruth's Empire horsebox - we would like to think so!.  

The winner of the Open Intermediate was Carnaval Prince and he along with sixth placed Zakarius is to be aimed at Bramham.  Meanwhile second place Nick of Thyme is entered for Badminton so Ruth has a busy spring ahead of her with these top class horses.

Carnaval Prince started off the season as well as he ended his 2009 campaign.  He has now won five out of his last six outings and the fitness shown by all of Ruths horses during this difficult winter is testament to her professionalism. 

Ruth had not been to Isleham for nine years and the journey home must have felt very short indeed after such a great start to the season.

For more news on Ruth please visit her news blog on her website.

Maria and Michael Eilberg have made a successful start to the Dressage Sunshine Tour.  On the first day of the competition Maria riding Woodlands Rockstar beat Michael riding Woodland Dornrosc with the placings being reversed on day two. 

On day three Maria won again and Michael was second by the narrowest of margins. These horses are competing in the Junior Preliminaries and they could not have got off to a better start. The Tour has been affected by the dreadful weather with pouring rain causing the abandonment of day 6 although todays, day 7 did go ahead as planned.

Mr and Mrs Brian Bairstow of Mold have recently ordered an Empire 7.5 ton horsebox with luxury living.  This box is now under construction and will be used to transport their daughters two 16 hand show jumpers to Pony Club and BSJA competitions.

7.5 ton lorries are ideal for those who only have a small string of horses and do not want to have to take their HGV. The difference between a 7.5 ton and a two horse box is that they have luxury living and a two does not. This means that trips away from home can be undertaken in great comfort for both horse, rider and owner.

Empire plan to launch their brand new 7.5 ton Empire Horsebox next month and we will be putting lots of photographs on the site for you all to view.  This lorry will be the latest addition to our range and will be finished off to our own very high standard.  It will be just as luxurious as our top of the range lorries only smaller and non HGV.

Our clients can have a huge input into the interior design of the luxury lorries and the 7.5 lorry is no exception.

The attached photo shows the new 7.5 ton under construction and once it has been through the paint shop it will be very smart indeed. 

Ferdi, Maria and Michael Eilbergs new lorry is making good progress and photographs will be available for you to view very shortly.

The Eilberg family are currently using one of our courtesy loan horseboxes and they have used this lorry to transport their six dressage horses to take part in The Spanish Sunshine Tour at Dehesa Montemedio. 

We at Empire realise the importance of competitors who require horseboxes throughout the whole year.  We are expanding our range of courtesy horseboxes, so this enables the buyer of a new Empire horsebox to sell their old horsebox for the best possible price and be able to rely on a courtesy horsebox until their new vehicle is finished.

This service is proving to be very popular hence the need to add to our courtesy range.  Many of our clients use their lorries virtually every day and this gets round all the logistical problems that occur when they are without a lorry for whatever reason.

Horses from all over Europe and abroad will have arrived for the dressage tour which starts tomorrow and last for three weeks finishing on the 21st March. This is the same day that The Spanish Sunshine Show Jumping Tour ends. The show jumping tour started two weeks ago and horses for both tours are stabled at the same place.

If you click on this link you will be able to view a short video of the stables, show ground and the dressage and show jumping competition arenas and warm up areas. You will also be able to view the results that are posted up every evening. 

Riders from the UK are doing well in the Show Jumping Tour with Laura Renwick, Tim Gredley and James Billington amongst those who have won classes.

Equine Osteopath Bruce Hewett lives very close to Lee's yard near Mold and drives past his door on his way to The Pain Relief Centre in Flint where he treats his human patients.

Lee met Bruce at a BSJA Show at Aintree and invited Bruce to his yard to treat some of his horses. Bruce had a trade stand at the show as he is keen to promote the equine side of his business and found this to be a good opportunity to meet riders and their horses.

These early morning calls to Lee's yard have been hugely beneficial to the horses in his care as minor problems can be fixed straight away. Sometimes Lee's horses just need a quick check up before a big competition and at other times a full musculo-skeletal examination will be required.

The aim of an Equine Osteopath is to help maintain a horse in the best possible condition so that it can perform to its full potential. The treatment seeks to get the best from your horse by relieving pain, preventing injury and maximising movement and performance.

There are many conditions that Equine Osteopaths can treat and subtle ways in which your horse will try and communicate his discomfort to you. Bruce's website has full details of all these tell tale signs and you can also view a demonstration video of an equine osteopath at work.

The horse is only part of the team and occasionally the rider is in need of a little attention as well. Good body alignment, balance and flexibility are key requirements for smooth and efficient riding.  Bruce is able to treat both your horse and yourself. Equine Osteopaths will work with your vets referral (this is legislation) which means that you will be able to claim for the treatments through your horses veterinary insurance policy.

Bruce will travel the length and breadth of the UK to treat his equine patients and also makes regular trips to host clinics in the USA.

International Event riders Mark and Tanya Kyle have ordered and Empire 7 horsebox with luxury living.  This is a very similar lorry to the one that we have recently completed for John Whinnett.

Mark had many successes at an early stage in his career winning bronze medals at junior and young rider level. He first represented Ireland at senior level in the 1997 European Championships, 1998 World Equestrian Games and 2004 Athens Olympics.

Mark moved to the UK in 1999 to be based with Tanya who is a very talented rider in her own right. Tanya was long listed for the Sydney Olympics with Drunken Disorderly and has had many successes, being placed at most of the British and many Continental International 3 day events including winning Le Lion D'Angers 2* World Breeding Championships.

Mark and Tanya married in 2003 and have a superb home and training facility at Queenholme set in magnificent Quorn Hunting Country near Wymeswold in Leicestershire. At present they have 90 acres of grassland, 33 stables, horse walker, 20m x 40m arena, 25m x 50m indoor school and a 50m x 60 m outdoor arena. A secure heated tack and rug room and excellent staff accommodation complete their set up.

In addition to competing and producing horses to the highest level Mark and Tanya offer Intense Training Courses  for those requiring a tailor made training schedule. This is specifically designed  to suit you and your requirements and accommodation is available for you and your horse.

They may also have a vacancy to train with them as a working pupil and this opportunity would give the lucky student the chance to learn how to run a professional yard. Benefits also include instruction on turnout and trimming to the highest standard, involvement in day to day breaking and schooling of youngstock, instruction on competing, including course walking and working in and last but not least learning how to ride!  

Mark and Tanya have horse and ponies for sale and a look at their website will show you the latest selection.  All are full of quality, many have hunted and there are plenty of videos and photos for you to look at. This makes the selection process very easy and then all you have to do is arrange to visit Queenholme and its excellent trial facilities where you will be able to try out your short list. 

Our sponsored rider Chris Whinnett has been very busy riding his ponies and schooling them in preparation for this week end. He will be competing at Norton Heath BSJA junior show and his Uncle John could well be taking Chris in John's brand new Empire Horsebox.

John also trains Chris and many hours are spent working on the ponies in between competing at shows.  Lessons are vital and  even riders at the very top of the tree still have a trainer. Many top show jumpers have a dressage trainer as well as a jumping trainer and will meet up with them both on a regular basis.

John is a very well known and respected trainer and this means that Chris has an expert  to guide and mentor him.  Children need help with their riding but they also need help with course walking and at most of the junior BSJA shows you will see youngsters walking the course with an adult who can give them useful tips and stride by stride advice.

A knowledgeable person watching, can then tell you where you have gone wrong and help you to put things right.  This means that you are learning from every round that you jump and this is a very important part of the long journey to the top.

I caught up with Lee at SouthView Premier Show yesterday and he is pleased to report that Empire have sold two of their stock of second hand lorries during the past week. Clients traveled from Italy and Bulgaria to view and then purchase the lorries having found our website on the Internet.

Horsebox Manufacturers is a very popular search engine key word and Empire Horseboxes are now number one in Google due to the efforts of Nick Higgin and his company www.sellingonline.co.uk.

Nick is also targeting many other keywords that are relevant to Empire Horseboxes and more importantly are actively being searched for. These include Horse Lorries, Horsebox dealers, and Horsebox refurbishment. Empire are now on the first page for them all which is very encouraging.

It was interesting to note that the best known horsebox builder in the UK did not feature in these searches but did feature if you type in their name followed by the word Coachbuilders, BUT nobody looks for this keyword so it is not necessary to target it! It is always important to know what the opposition are up too especially when Internet marketing.

Nick is making steady progress with increasing our web traffic and this is done through link building targeting carefully selected key words that are relevant to prospective UK and International clients.

Websites are of no use at all unless they are proactive. Search Engines like sites that have fresh content and generate traffic. A dynamic site that is always changing also helps to attract visitors time and again.  

Empire Horseboxes are delighted to announce that they have agreed a sponsorship agreement with Christopher Whinnet the eight year old nephew of John.

Christopher lives in Kensworth in the village where John grew up, just up the road from John's yard.  He eats, sleeps and breathes ponies and rides every day after school.

John is making  sure that Christopher has a thorough grounding and learns how to look after his ponies as well as ride them.  He will not be tearing round the pony tracks at break neck speed as if he was riding a motorbike. That type of riding is short term and Christopher is doing the opposite and starting as he means to go on. Quality rounds with perfect rhythm which, will take longer to learn initially but then will become the solid foundations for his long term career. 

Chris currently has five ponies to produce and compete and is already riding 148 cm ponies. He will start to jump horses just as soon he is old enough and there could well be a few years when he is competing on both ponies and horses.

Christopher keeps a notebook of every round that he jumps and the cost of entry fees, diesel and winnings. It is very important to realise from an early age how much it costs to travel to shows and that winnings alone do not cover your expenses. Ponies need to be produced and then sold to balance the books and Christopher is following this route. He has already decided that he wants show jumping and producing ponies and horses to be his career, rather than his hobby.

Christopher looks after his ponies and is also able to help John with the horses on the yard. He does find putting a headcollar on a horse a slight problem as he is still not very tall. But he is able to swop them over on the horsewalker, wash them down, groom and tack up. 

Empire Horseboxes are delighted to sponsor Christopher and there are not many eight year olds who are as keen. Christopher is very proud to wear the jacket we have given him and was busy handing out our leaflets when he was at Patchetts this week end.

Our horseboxes are long term investments and built to last, so it makes perfect sense for us to choose a rider as young as Christopher. The quality of his riding and the way his ponies respond will be what Christopher is aiming to achieve and these aims are exactly what we are looking for in a rider so young and dedicated.    

John Whinnett took delivery of his new lorry today and the delay has been partly due to the bad weather and  icy roads.

Lee has taken the photos of this beautiful lorry and I have spoken to John who took it to Patchetts this weekend and it was greatly admired.

The lorry will be used to go to local shows as well as those that require an overnight stay and the aim for 2010 is for John's nephew Christopher to qualify for the Scope Festival in Staffordshire at the end of August.  This is the highlight of the year for many adults and children who love to show jump and if Christopher qualifies any of his ponies he will be able to spend the whole week living in the lorry.

Happy New Year to all our clients and friends and we will continue to promote and support all those associated with Empire Horseboxes.

Lee has been busy show jumping during the Christmas and New Year period and in spite of the weather has managed to compete at BSJA venues including SouthView.

This is the unglamorous side of show jumping and with frozen water pipes, frozen outdoor arenas and difficult driving conditions, you need to be truly dedicated.

Our break through into the dressage world has been achieved through the Eilberg family who have commissioned Empire Horseboxes to build their new horsebox. They have chosen our Empire 6 horsebox with Slide out on a Scania chassis and work has started.  

Ferdi Eilberg is a legend in his own lifetime and I will try and give you a brief synopsis of his career to date. He spent his early life in Germany serving an apprenticeship with the Olympic gold medalist Dr Reiner Klimke before coming to England in 1980.

In 1981 Ferdi was dressage trainer to our British three day event team. and this lasted until 1992. The date is significant as firstly, Ferdi took out British Citizenship and secondly there was a change in the professional world of riding which meant that Ferdi could become an amateur and actually compete himself. In 1993 Ferdi won a team silver representing Great Britain and competed in two European Championships 1993 and 1995 and two World Equestrian Games in 1994 and 1998.

He then took on our own Dressage team as trainer in 2000 and has taken them to World Games and Olympics.

Between 2002 and 2008 Ferdi was the British Equestrian Federations World Class Performance Director of Coaching.

In 2008 Horse Sport Ireland's Eventing High Performance Manager Ginny Elliott announced the appointment of Ferdi as Dressage trainer to the Irish Eventing Team. Ginny worked with Ferdi when he coached the British Eventing Teams and with dressage seen as Ireland weakest phase the whole squad will truly benefit from Ferdi's expertise. Ferdi has taught our own Mary King for many years and her outstanding record of four gold medals in WEG's, a European Championships and five times British Champion is pretty impressive!

Ferdi has an honorary Fellowship granted to him by the British Horse Society in recognition of his services to horsemanship. This is the highest accolade the Society can actually give a trainer and is the very highest equestrian professional qualification. There are only 53 BHS Fellows and all of these except Chris Bartle and Ferdi have actually had to take an examination to join this elite group.

Ferdi has two very talented children in Michael and Maria and hopefully the Eilberg family will continue to be at the forefront of British Dressage for many years to come.

All at Empire are understandably delighted to have been chosen to build the Eilberg families new horsebox. We are local to Ferdi and will do all in our power to ensure that the new lorry scores the perfect dressage 10!  

We strive to insure that Empire are at the cutting edge of horsebox design and build. Our lines are always evolving to make the best use of the very latest materials and technologies.

To this end, we at Empire  have been through a process of creative marketing and branding.  

By making these changes our MD Lee Williams feels that our new identity and literature is much more appropriate for our place in the market as Equine Coachbuilders. Pictures speak a thousand words and our prospective clients can now clearly see what we design and build and its obvious quality.

This has evolved over the past year and this website originally built by Nick Higgin of Selling Online has recently had a makeover. Nick of Selling Online and Peter Stevens of Unity Creative have worked together on behalf of Empire Horseboxes. They have taken a holistic approach to our business and provided a complete solution from marketing analysis, branding, literature, display and exhibition material and crucially this website and its optimisation.

Regular visitors to this site will notice the new look Empire logo. We now have brochures available and  Lee will be taking these to the shows to give to interested parties. He will also leave a few in the various Show offices and whilst at South View last week he left some in the special area in the restaurant, available for this purpose.

Nick and Emma Higgin are involved in show jumping through their daughter Skye who competes and works for Dave and Shaz Quigley - friends of Lee's. Emma Higgin runs www.TheHorseExchange.com  and promotes Empire through her daily news blog and our banner advertisement on her site.  

We find it invaluable to attach ourselves to people who understand the equestrian industry.  Emma was previously married to a racehorse trainer  and ran her own Racehorse Transport company for many years.  Saying that she always bought her lorries from Lambourn Coachbuilders (now Oakley) who are our competitors!

Peter's offices are half a mile from Lee's show jumping yard near Mold and Lee finds it ideal to have Peter so close at hand. Although not a rider. Peter has strong country interests as shooting and gun dogs are his main hobby.

Nick and Peter have found it a pleasure to work with Lee and the opportunity they have had to provide the complete package means that Empire Horseboxes now has a marketing plan, strategy and the sales tools to take us to the top.

It is always exciting when a lorry comes in for refurbishment and when that lorry is in fact a trade stand all at Empire Horseboxes want to be involved!

James Trevatt of Quantum Saddle uses this lorry at many of big shows up and down the country and he will be at Olympia from 15th - 21st December 2009.

The Quantum saddle was the idea of Andrew Stockford an extreme sports fanatic involved in sking, skydiving, canoeing, rock climbing and ice climbing. These sports involved  the use of high tech equipment  using modern materials with minimum weight and significant strength.

Andrew's day job was running Quay Equestrian and through his involvement with horses and saddles he was surprised to discover that the technique of making saddles had barely changed in 200 years. He sent a traditional saddle to industrial designers Seymour Powell with the comment - we should be able to do better than this. This was 1991 and Quantum Saddle was born.

A Quantum saddle does not have a tree nor is it treeless. The part of the Quantum saddle fitted to the horse is called the chassis and this successfully spreads the riders load evenly over the horses back.

If you are interested in purchasing a Quantum Saddle then this is done in three easy steps. Firstly call their office or meet James at Olympia and a Quantum saddle fitter will visit you and your horse to explain the theory and practice behind Quantum technology.

Your horse will perform without a saddle to study its movement patterns and you will be told how a Quantum saddle will benefit you and your horse. You then have an opportunity to trial the saddle before going ahead and placing your order, for a saddle that will be totally bespoke for you and your horse. No two horses are the same and as with all saddles Quantum performs best when fitted properly. But it may be possible to use your Quantum saddle on similar horses and your Quantum saddle fitter will advise.

In tests the Quantum AMS-J has been shown to produce much improved pressure distribution compared to conventional saddles and there is a substantial improvement in horse stride length and movement patterns.

Quantum believe that their saddle will enable you and your horse to perform to its best.

Ruth Edge  who took delivery of her Empire 6 Horsebox in September, has recently had a very good result at the Dressage Horse International Challenge, Addington Manor -  winning with  Zero.

The class that Ruth won is for four and five year olds bought from the Brightwells Stars of the Future sales and judge Carl Hester said - Ruth Edge's test was the outstanding one, - her presentation is second to none.

Ruth has won this class before with Shadowfax, but missed last years competition due to surgery on her knee. This made Ruth even keener to try and reclaim her crown and she had a new freestyle specially created for her and Zero. 

John Whinnett has managed to beat cancer on two occasions and when he was signed off for the second time earlier this year he decided to treat himself.

This treat was something that he had always wanted, and it was a case of now or never. John Whinnett called Lee from his mobile phone whilst on his way home from hospital and ordered an Empire Horsebox!

This lorry is now in build and will be similar to the Empire 5 horsebox that we built for his good friend Sue Rawding, but in pearl Grey. 

John has not been to see his lorry in build, preferring to take advantage of our owners login area. This enables John to receive regular updates and all he has to do is type in the special login code that we have given him. We can post photos and text for John to view and read and this means that John does not need to travel to view the lorry in our workshop.

John's business is centered on the sale of quality horses to meet the specific needs of his clients.  He is personally involved in every sale and takes enormous pride in selling the right horse to the right rider.  He has 20 years of experience to draw on and specialises in bringing on youngsters.

His business mainly focuses on finding show jumpers, eventers, horses suitable for riding club and ponies. He has a vast array of contacts and it is very likely that he can locate your ideal horse, if he does not currently have it in his yard. John is very happy to consider part exchange and his customers come back to him time and time again.

John is involved in various other activities and this includes the supply of horses for movies and TV and please click on his name and this will take you to his website.

New horses come to his yard on a weekly basis and the site is constantly updated. If you have not been tempted please try again in a few days time and save the site as a favorite for easy access. 

Lee combines his work of competing and producing horses with the sales and development of Empire Horseboxes.

At South View last Saturday 14th November, Lee was busy with his current batch of young horses and had a successful afternoon. He won the Discovery competition earlier in the day and then three of his team all achieved double clear rounds in the Foxhunter class.

Taking young horses through the grades requires time, patience and a huge degree of skill. Lee is well known for his ability to produce young horses to the highest level.

Lee was European under 18 Champion and a European Young Rider Team Champion and he has also represented Great Britain at Senior Nations Cup level.

The red white and blue company colours of Empire Horseboxes and Union Jack inspired logo is twofold as Lee has proudly worn the Union Jack on his riding jacket when representing his country.

Empire Horseboxes are tried and tested by Lee, his family, grooms and horses whilst competing at shows all over the UK and abroad. 

News from Susie Rawding who reports that the super heating system in her Empire 5 Horsebox is keeping her very warm and dry during this current wet spell. The lorry is 'a pleasure to drive' and Susie aims to travel further afield during the indoor show jumping season. She is competing her home bred daughter out of a Grade A mare that she originally bought unseen out of a catalogue!

Susie is hoping to add two more horses to her team and has promised to let us know how she is getting on.

Please click on Ruth Edge to visit her website.

We like to work very closely with our clients and Ruth Edge was very involved with the interior design of her new Empire 6 Lorry with luxury slide out living accommodation.

Ruth came up with some innovative ideas and these included having the wardrobe interiors shelved so that they were the right size for her riding boots. Too deep and space is wasted, too shallow and the boots would not fit in!

The kitchen/living area in her lorry was designed so that the TV was in the middle and the Sky box and DVD control were all hidden behind a roll up cupboard door. This gave a very neat finish and worked well.

Other features included a grooms bunk that was accessible from the horse area of the lorry and an extra bed that can be put up in the horse area. This gives Ruth's grooms more privacy and means that they can come and go as they please without waking up anybody else sleeping in the lorry.   Perfect for those late nights and early mornings  that often occur at three day events.

No sooner had Ruth picked up her lorry on 25th September than she was on the road almost continually for the next three weeks. She covered 6000 km in that time and trips includes three day events at Boekelo in Holland and Pau in France.

Nearer to home Ruth competed at Aldon and all three events gave her team a good chance to test out the living.

The feedback has been very positive and Ruth will be helping us in the future with the continuing development of Empire products.

Her lorry has been greatly admired and Ruth has been giving guided tours to other interested parties both at home and abroad. We now have a very exciting new order in the pipeline and it is wonderful having Ruth as part of our team to help spread the word and personally endorse Empire Horseboxes. 

Ruth has been Young Riders National Champion, won her first 4 star at Luhmuhlen in 2007 on Two Thyme and has won two British Open Titles. Ruth was reserve for the Beijing Olympics but withdrew due to an injury to Two Thyme. Ruth also competes in pure dressage, she has won three National titles and Shadowfax is on the Pathway programme for elite horses aiming for the Olympics of 2012.

Earlier this year we completed a lorry for Susie Rawding. Susie’s father is the former Swedish Rally Driver Erik Carlsson who has very strong connections with SAAB.

This giant of a man is often referrred to as Mr Saab and had three consecutive RAC rally  wins in a Saab in 1960, 1961, and 1962.

Erik is still heavily involved with SAAB Clubs throughout the world, attending events, judging classic car shows and presenting prizes.

Susie is the daughter of the late Pat Moss-Carlsson (a rally driver in her own right) and sister of motor racing world champion Stirling Moss. Pat’s original sport was show jumping and she had no encouragment from her brother Stirling or her parents to start driving cars.

It was Stirlings manager who introduced her to rallying which had to be fitted around show jumping and her show jumping prize money enabled her to buy a Triumph TR2 in 1954.

Her outstanding rallying career lasted two decades and she showed that, where speed and stamina counted, there was every reason that a woman driver could succeed against the men. Certainly to the male drivers of that golden period, she was a genuine rival.

In the 1980s Pat’s  interest in showjumping and horses in general was rekindled as Susie showed interest and talent in that direction. Soon horseboxes and estate cars had taken over the rally cars in the Moss-Carlsson home near Tring in Hertfordshire.

To the rally world Pat  will remain an icon from a golden age,  indicating that skill, endurance and determination are the true measures of a rally driver’s ability.
Very sadly Pat Moss-Carlsson, died after a long illness on October 14, 2008, which was before Susie’s lorry was completed.

Empire horseboxes felt truly honoured to have been chosen by Susie and her parents. Erik was very keen on all apsects of the engineering and construction of the lorry throughout the build.

We feel priviledged to have been given the commission from a family that knows so much about quality, reliability and speed!

International Event Rider Ruth Edge today collected her Empire 6 horsebox With Luxury slide out Living Accomodation.  Ruth was thrilled with the outcome of her box, as she has had lots of input throughout the build.  And the horsebox of her dreams was more than she expected.  Ruth Said "I never thought I would be able to have a horsebox like this with the budget I had"  We wish Ruth all the Success with her New Empire Horsebox, and we hope it brings her lots of luck and makes her long journeys and time away from home more comfortable and enjoyable.

We have a wide range of Suitable chassis available for all your horsebox needs, we are able to source and supply chassis' for you with no obligation of having a Empire Body Fitted. 

Please call with your chassis requirements. Contact Lee Williams on 07714 157743