Historic horse event in West Sussex gets new sponsor: Agria puts name to Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead

Hickstead announced that Agria, the world’s oldest equine insurer, has taken the title sponsorship of both the Royal International Horse Show and the Nations Cup of Great Britain.

Hickstead said the company offers the UK’s only lifetime equine insurance policies and now has naming rights on several major international showjumping classes, and is the sponsor of Ring Five.

Hickstead director Lizzie Bunn said: “We are enormously grateful to Agria for increasing their support of Hickstead. Their contribution towards safeguarding the future of equestrian sport in this country cannot be underestimated. It is important for us to partner with sponsors who share our values particularly in respect of horse welfare in top class sport.”

Agria UK’s CEO Vicki Wentworth said: “Agria is thrilled to become title sponsor of this historic show as we continue to spread the word about our game-changing lifetime insurance, which has already made such an impact in Britain.”

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Hickstead said the deal ‘marks a significant increase’ in Agria's support of the All England Jumping Course, adding that the company is becoming the overall sponsor of Hickstead’s July event and its feature competition.

The Agria Royal International Horse Show takes place from July 23-28 next year. The Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain takes place on Friday, July 26.

This will be the 50th running of the competition at Hickstead, where British riders will compete as a team against other leading showjumping nations for a prize fund of €200,000, supported partly by Agria’s sponsorship. The show will also feature championship showing, national showjumping, scurry driving and arena eventing.

Agria was the first company in the world to insure an animal, a horse, in 1890.

Lizzie Bunn said: “Agria coming on board as sponsor of the Nations Cup means we can now guarantee this hugely popular and iconic class will remain at Hickstead. It gives us much more freedom and flexibility, allowing us to take the class in the direction we and our international riders want, following the example of other fantastic independent Nations Cups in venues such as Spruce Meadows and Aachen.”