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5th December 2011 NuuMed News (Issue 3): NuuMed News (Issue 3) can be found here.
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28th November 2011 Do you get chilly ears out riding?

Introducing the NuuMed Ear Pads

Being still quite new to Griffin NuuMed, although I have seen these ear pads on the price list, I have to admit I had not taken much notice of them ... not only are they in the Racing category (I'm a ‘happy hacker' myself) ... I thought they'd look a bit silly!

However last week, a customer called us and asked the question "What are the folds of vinyl for on the top edge?"

This somewhat dumfounded me, as to be honest, I had no idea. I went and fetched my riding hat from the car and a pair of ear pads from stock and attached them. They were very easy to fit and sat well within my hat's harness ... AND they didn't look as silly as I thought. The folded bit of vinyl however, seems to sit just inside the hat, which looked like it might be somewhat uncomfortable. However, when I put my hat on, I couldn't actually feel these bits, and realised that they would stop any drafts and keep the ear pads securely in place ... genius.

This prompted me to take them home for the weekend ... although we've still not got very cold weather, living near the coast as I do, the wind factor is always high and this weekend it was quite chilly. To my amazement (I hope our MD is not reading this) these ear pads worked brilliantly! They kept my ears lovely and warm, and strangely even the sides of my face seemed to not get so cold. They didn't interfere with the fit of my hat (and yes, maybe if I'd have looked in a mirror, I might have thought they were somewhat unsightly ... but lets face it ... do ANY of us look good in our riding hats!!) ... and most importantly, they really did keep my ears warm. Fabulous. They will certainly not being going back to work nor being removed from my hat until the spring has arrived.

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14th November 2011 Winter Warmers

Neck Warmers
Available in:- Pink/White; Purple/Lilac; Pink/Pink Hearts; Navy/Sky Blue

Ear Warmers
Available in:- Pink/White; Purple/Lilac; Pink/Pink Hearts; Navy/Sky Blue

Welly Warmers
Available in:- Navy; Pink; Pink Hearts; Green/Red; Camouflage; Leopard; Zebra

Fleece Saddle Covers
Navy; Sky Blue, Lilac; Pink Hearts; Camouflage

Wool/Mesh Insoles

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11th November 2011 Riding is good for you ...: Research commissioned by The British Horse Society (BHS) has proved that regular participation in horse riding is good for your health. The University of Brighton, in partnership with Plumpton College, researched the physical health, psychological and well-being benefits of recreational horse riding in the United Kingdom. Read the full report at www.bhs.org.uk//Press_Centre/BHS_News/Health_Benefits_launch.aspx
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1st November 2011 Your Horse Live

Your Horse Live

Jade Vale, 22 years old, from Yeovil in Somerset and her 17hh 7 year old Friesian gelding 'Marco' have been lucky enough to be selected to ride for Laura Bechtolsheimer in her demonstration at the 'Your Horse Live' event at Stoneleigh this coming weekend. Jade uses a Wow saddle and a Griffin NuuMed HiWither half wool saddlepad (SP01 DR) and will be on at 10am on Saturday (12th November).

Jade has had Marco since he was 8 months old when he was imported from Holland, and has backed and trained him completely herself forming a strong partnership. They have competed at affiliated preliminary and novice dressage with great results and are now working towards the next level with their trainer Heather Moffett. Jade is a qualified BHS PT instructor and working to gain her full AI alongside studying to become an equine massage therapist.

If you are going to Your Horse Live, this will surely be an interesting demonstration. Laura Bectolsheimer is No1 in the British and No 2 in the World Dressage rankings, regularly achieving some of the highest marks ever seen from a British rider. Based in Gloucestershire, Laura initially successfully evented before turning to pure dressage. She is trained by her father Wilfried Bechtolsheimer, and along with her top horses, Mistral Hojris, is one of our British hopefuls for the Olympic team in 2012.

Laura has been a regular on British teams, starting out with the Pony Europeans Championships (team silver), the Young Rider Europeans (team bronze) and then at senior level she continued her successes, including the European Championships 2009 (team silver and individual bronze), the WEG (Kentuck) in 2010 (3 Silver Medals, 2 individual and 1 team) and the historic gold medal winning British team at the Europeans Championships 2011, where she also took individual bronze.

We at Griffin NuuMed would like to wish Jade the best of luck for Saturday.

Pictured below is Jade and her horse Marco

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25th October 2011 Making a team GB saddlepad

Did you know that Griffin NuuMed currently sponsor the British equestrian teams. We thought you might be interested in seeing how we made one of the Team GB saddlepads, so have put together a short film to show you.

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1st September 2011 Nuumed News (Issue2)

To view NuuMed News (Issue 2) please click here.

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31st August 2011 Buying British ... How loyal are our customers?

Recently we carried out a survey with our Stockists, and were surprised that although they felt that is was important that Griffin NuuMed were a British manufacturer, using British materials... they did not feel that all of their customers still felt the same way.

Consumers' views are often now "I'll buy the best possible quality that I can afford, if its British, that's nice, but it won't be the deciding factor". Sadly, it seems that this thought process is spreading. With manufacturing production costs in the UK rising continually, it is often making the end products more expensive than their imported competitors, resulting in more and more companies faced with the choice of either moving their manufacturing overseas or folding the business!

The question is, how much is the British consumer still willing (and able) to pay for a British product? A difficult question to find a definitive answer to.

However, not all the news is doom and gloom, Britain has a manufacturing sector to be proud of and which contributes significantly to the health and wealth of the UK economy. Figures at the beginning of 2011 state that the UK remains the world's sixth biggest manufacturer - a fact which surprises most people when they hear it. This sector generates around £140bn a year for the UK economy ... nothing to be sniffed at. But this will only continue if the UK consumer continues to support their UK manufactures, which is harder and harder when other imported products are often cheaper, and the current economic climate is dictating that we all tighten our belts, and look for the best value for money, no matter where it comes from!

But is it really value for money? One thing that the UK still leads the world with is our high quality - and this fact should be something that everyone in the UK knows, but sadly not many do. This same production quality cannot be said for many of the cheaper manufacturing countries. Labour in many of the other manufacturing countries is cheap and is often piecework based, which can result in the products being made using little or no skill and attention, resulting in varying levels of quality. This poor manufacturing quality combined with inferior materials results in far shorter life-spans of products, and so, are they really ‘better value for money' in the long run?

The UK saddlery market has for a long time held itself at the forefront of world saddle and bridle manufacturing, due to the fine craftsmanship, design, and commitment to the safety and wellbeing of horses and riders, given by the members of the UK Society of Master Saddlers. Worldwide, British made saddles still command higher prices and are in great demand. Other UK equestrian manufacturers, by providing the same high quality, design and customer service, have also seen their brands becoming well known and sort after. It's just the British consumer that seems to be forgetting this!

Maybe if we stopped being quite so ‘British' and learned to be more vocal about how great our manufacturing (and quality) is, we could remind our UK consumers of this fact and hope that the same patriotism will mean that they support their home manufacturers through these hard times. Come on everyone ... Buy British ... and get the very best value for money!

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