Racing enthusiasts following this week’s Royal Ascot may be blissfully unaware of a Hawick connection in today’s prestigious Gold Cup, with all the runners’ numbers made by a local husband-and-wife team.
Roberton-based Joyce and Colin Hendrie of Teviot Equine Design provided the number cloths for Britain’s most valuable race meeting, where the world’s topthoroughbreds compete for over £6.5million prize-money.
While the couple are no strangers to supplying racewear to the sport’s major fixtures, it is the first time they have landed a contract with Royal Ascot.
“We’ve done a lot of the big meetings, and are as busy as we’ve ever been,” said Colin, “and were delighted to be asked to make the number cloths for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot this year.”
Throughout over 15 years in business, they have completed work for the Grand National meeting, the Cheltenham Festival, and Goodwood, to name but a few.
“This will be the eighth year on the trot we’ve made orders for the Grand National,” said Colin, “and we also did a lot for Cheltenham, Goodwood, Haydock, and Chantilly.
“Now, we’ve also been asked to provide number cloths for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.”
The couple had a huge order for the Grand National meeting at Aintree, making named number cloths, jockey breeches, paddock and winners’ sheets.
“It is one of our biggest orders of the year,” said Colin. “At Cheltenham, we did the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and two or three weeks ago did all the televised races at Haydock.”
Colin and Joyce’s work is soon to be the subject of a film crew, planning to follow them from start to finish as they complete an order for Goodwood.
“They want to see things being made right from the start, until it ends on the back of a horse,” said Colin.
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