News article
Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival hydrates with new partnership
HOPE Hydration, a hydration start-up, has lifted the lid on a partnership with Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) and Carbon Hoofprint which led to the installation of HOPE’s HydroStations throughout the 2023 competition season.
The partnership was secured and managed by Carbon Hoofprint, an equestrian sustainability consultancy and development group partnered with WEF to guide the organisation’s sustainability strategy.
Jorge Richardson, Chief Executive of HOPE Hydration, said: “We are thrilled to have worked with WEF to bring our HydroStations to the showgrounds last season. Our mission is to make hydration accessible and sustainable for everyone, and we can’t think of a better way to have done that than by providing complimentary, clean water to the thousands of riders and visitors at WEF.”
Wellington’s Winter Equestrian Festival is an annual event that ran for 13 weeks between January and April.
Michael Stone, President of Wellington International, added: “We are making sustainability a top priority for WEF and we are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact. Partnering with HOPE Hydration to install HydroStations at the showgrounds is a step forward in our mission to become a leading sustainable equestrian event.
“We are pleased to have been able to offer the benefit of complimentary water to our athletes and visitors in a way that also can have a positive impact.”
“We are making sustainability a top priority for WEF and we are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact."
HOPE Hydration utilises cutting-edge technology to offer major event attendees complimentary, filtered drinking water to reduce reliance on single-use plastics. The HydroStations installed at the festival featured proprietary technology to provide real-time data updates on the level of plastic and carbon dioxide saved.
Megan Fellows, CEO of Carbon Hoofprint, said: “Carbon Hoofprint is proud to be a part of this initiative and contribute to WEF’s goal of becoming a leading venue in sustainability, by making impactful changes that other equestrian events around the world can look to for inspiration.
“We are happy to help bring this initiative to life and continue to build on a great cause by finding innovative, sustainable solutions for WEF.”
Image: Mikayla Storms on Unsplash