Wellington, FL - Equestrian Sport Productions is pleased to welcome Horseware Ireland as the title sponsor of week three at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, the FTI WEF has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012. Week three of the FTI WEF runs Wednesday, January 25th through Sunday, January 29th and will feature many exciting events.
Highlights include the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic and $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes on Saturday, January 28th as well as the $50,000 Horseware Ireland CSI 2* Grand Prix on Sunday, January 29th.

In addition to their week three title sponsorship, Horseware Ireland is the Official Horse Blanket of the FTI WEF this year. They have provided three different coolers for the winners throughout the circuit, including wool dress coolers, cotton coolers and Irish knit coolers. Horseware Ireland is also the official sponsor of the Adult Amateur Hunter 3'3" division and will be underwriting the 2nd Annual Strut! Fashion Show for JustWorld International, on the evening of March 3rd.

Tom MacGuinness, Owner and CEO of Horseware Ireland, first started his company in 1985 and has had great success. MacGuinness previously had his own riding school and was displeased with the fit and quality of the horse blankets he used. He decided that there had to be a solution and came up with his own design, determined to produce a turnout rug that did not leak, slip or cause the horse to sweat.

MacGuinness revolutionized the industry with the introduction of the Rambo® Original - the first fully waterproof and breathable turnout that really worked. By 1996 the Rambo® had become the world's best selling Turnout rug and its design has become the industry standard in production, quality and development.

Horseware Ireland has grown greatly since its inception and now has factories all over the world, including two in China, one in Cambodia, one in Ireland and one in North Carolina.

In 2007, MacGuinness got involved with JustWorld International and has raised funds to help children in Cambodia through his work with the organization. MacGuinness explained that he first got involved with the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival through his association with JustWorld.

"Jessica Newman is a good friend of mine and we have done a lot of projects together," he stated. "She was always saying I must come to their fundraiser in Wellington, so I came about four years ago and I loved it here. I was so impressed that we bought a house here."

"Apart from the fact that it is enjoyable and we love coming here, it made sense to be here," MacGuinness described. "Wellington is the center of the equestrian universe from January to March and that is only going to get more and more. People are looking from the outside in and I think it will certainly help us to be involved."

This is the first year that Horseware Ireland has done a major sponsorship at the FTI WEF, but they have participated in smaller ways for several years. The company also sponsors many riders who are competing, and MacGuinness plays polo and competes in the jumpers himself during the season.

With so much involvement in the horse show, MacGuinness is excited about the exposure for his company and appreciates the opportunity to participate. He explained, "I was very impressed with the vision that they have here. Mark (Bellissimo) is a very focused guy and he has a plan; he has a vision for what he wants to do. All of the people who are making the decisions are here. It is a very good place to make connections because people are relaxed and there is a very informal atmosphere."

"We would certainly see ourselves continuing what we are doing," MacGuinness added. "We see Wellington as a perfect vehicle to get our message out. We have a lot of riders here and we see the social media aspect of this being really important to us going forward."

In addition to their sponsorship, Horseware Ireland now has an online blanket company called Triple Crown Build Your Own Blanket (www.buildyourownblanket.com). In 1997, MacGuinness purchased the popular Triple Crown blanket company, knowing that the Triple Crown brand was consistent with his philosophy of offering the best quality materials and the best fit for top blanket performance. The BuildYourOwnBlanket.com site is the result of MacGuinness' vision to use the Internet to offer customers the same enduring quality, in a new, easy-to-use online self-service model.

Equestrian Sport Productions is pleased to have Horseware Ireland on board for this year's winter circuit. Don't miss out on the highlight events of Horseware Ireland's week three competition at the 2012 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. For a full schedule of events and more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com.