Introducing our 2014 Rising Star - Natalie Bird

Natalie Bird is EQUILIBRIUM PRODUCT’S Rising Star 2014.

We are delighted to announce that the winner of Equilibrium Product’s Rising Star 2014 is Natalie Bird from Hertfordshire.

From over 140 entrants and a short list of 3 Natalie shone in the judges eyes saying’we were impressed with her ability as an amateur to produce success in Showing from scratch and she clearly has a bright future ahead of her.’

Natalie is an amateur show rider who has completely home produced her two horses and has competed with great success. Vishnu, Natalie’s Dutch Warmblood, was broken in as a four year old by Natalie and since then has gone on to win many championships and has qualified for the Horse of the Year Show Search for a Star Riding Horse/Hack class. Natalie is determined to have the same successes with her Thoroughbred, Precious; who Natalie bought after she had been race trained and has re-schooled her for showing and dressage. Natalie juggles her horses with a full-time and part time job.

The overwhelming public response we had for this year’s competition resulted in more than 2600 votes for our finalists. We would like to thank all those who entered the Rising Star 2014 competition and everyone who voted.

The Equilibrium Products panel of judges chose Natalie after carefully considering the attributes of the three shortlisted riders which included event rider, Bonnie Fishburn and fellow showing rider Mairead Forster.

The Equilibrium Products panel of judges included Richard Waygood MBE and Ruth Bishop, a well-known equine nutrition expert.

Former Riding Master of the Household Cavalry, Richard coaches and trains many riders up to International level and holds clinics all over the world. In 2010 Richard was appointed Chef d’Equipe of the senior British dressage team and played a crucial role in the team winning Olympic Gold in London 2012. He is also Chef d’Equipe of Team GBR CIC2* Eventing team and helped the team win Gold at the European Championships 2011.

Ruth is well-recognised in the world of equine nutrition. Working with many leading brands throughout her career, she also wrote the Dr Ruth column in Horse and Hound for many years, and has previously provided nutrition input to the BEF World Class Performance squads.

The judges said, “Our decision wasn’t an easy one as we felt that all three riders shortlisted were worthy of this title and deserve recognition for their talents. However, Natalie clearly impressed us with her dedication and hard work that has been put into producing her horses from scratch and achieving great success.”

Laura Cutter, Marketing Manager at Equilibrium Products says, “Natalie is hard working and dedicated to her horses with an exciting future ahead of her. We look forward to supporting her in the year ahead as she continues her successes in Showing. ”

Along with the title of Equilibrium Products’ Rising Star 2014, Natalie wins £1000 worth of product from Equilibrium and the company’s support throughout the year.

We are looking forward to continuing our Rising Star competition for 2015 and receiving more entries.

Read Natalie’s full story here along with details of how you can enter the competition for 2015.