Olivia Macgregor & Abby Silva
Welcome to equestrian sports sponsorship the Tavendale Team!
Tavendale & Partners are a new sponsor for the National Showjumping & Show Hunter Championships this year and have jumped straight into taking on the naming rights for the show.
It all came about when one of the partners, Olivia Macgregor, was attending a friend's wedding when she was introduced to Angus Taylor. The Chairman of the organising committee is never one to let an opportunity go by, and he just happened to mention to Olivia that the show was looking for sponsorship. "He asked if that was something my firm would be interested in," said Olivia. "Because the firm has a lot of agricultural connections, we thought it would be a good fit and was worth talking about."
The other partners agreed, and they decided to come on board, taking up the opportunity to be the key naming rights sponsor.
"We see that a lot of the people that would be at the event or involved in the sport would likely have a rural background, and that is very much a target market for us. We have a lot of existing clients who will hopefully be there, recognise our name and be happy that we are supporting that type of event. We would also like to attract a few new clients as well!"
Tavendale & Partners has offices in Ashburton and central Christchurch. Their Christchurch office, in Durham Street, gives a nod to their agricultural roots by having a corrugated iron cow and calf at the entrance of their building. "They have followed us around a few premises," said Olivia.
There are a few people with some horse experience in the firm including Olivia who described herself as a "townie" who had limited access to horses during her childhood. "I got around that by having riding lessons at Sandow Riding School. I became quite horse mad and ended up riding other people's horses mostly in A & P Shows."
Rowing took over when she was at high school and then it was on to University so horses went to the back burner. A friend who was studying in Canterbury was into polo and suggested she went to Waireka Polo School at Sefton and have some lessons to see if she liked it. "I did, and it has now become a bit of a hobby. I've been going out regularly in the summer. You get so focused on the game and the ball, you don't worry about being nervous, you are just off and into it! No, TP hasn't got a polo team, but maybe I need to start talking to the other partners about it!"
Abby Silva is another lawyer with a background in horses. She is in her first year of practising law and finds it a juggle to fit horses into her life. She is hoping to get in some more hunting with the Christchurch Hunt at least in the near future.
While the firm is very agri-focused, Olivia and Abby work in the commercial corporate side of the firm with a focus on acquiring and divesting businesses, capital raising and securities law, structural advice, financing requirements and overseas investment.
Mark Dineen, one of the partners who heads up the agri-team, has limited equestrian experience himself but comes with a strong equestrian pedigree. His aunt was none other than June Cresswell, who was a legendary Canterbury horsewoman. She left a legacy to the National Equestrian Centre, and the Cresswell Trust supplied funds for much of the new development at the centre. There is also a class named after her in this show. Mark himself has a strong rural background - somewhat unusual for a lawyer. His previous career was as a stock agent and auctioneer here in Canterbury.
The other partner who also heads up one of the agri-teams is Mark Tavendale, who has considerable experience in the sale and purchase of large and complex farming operations, succession planning, New Zealand's overseas investment laws and high country tenure reviews, but little experience with horses.
Olivia hasn't been to an event at McLeans Island for a couple of years so is looking forward to coming out this weekend. "I'm going to try to go out on Friday morning for a couple of hours and then will try to get out again during the weekend. We are trying to work it that there will always be one of us there floating around to talk to people."
Abby thinks she will be there for most of the weekend as she will know a few faces who she has not caught up with for a while. You should be able to spot one of the TP team in their black polo shirts with their yellow branding on them. They will also be presenting some of the prizes during the show and are looking forward to getting to know some more horsey folk!
"A number of the partners are into cycling so we do a lot of sponsorship there, and another is into adventure racing, so we have sponsored a Godzone team, but it is nice to do something that is so well aligned with others in our firm and is also just a bit outside of the same-old. It is also good that we can all get involved in this."
Already there has been some good feedback from riders thanking the partners and appreciating that the firm has sponsored the event which has been very well received by the partners. One of the staff also just messaged Olivia to say that she was driving and heard it advertised on the radio, mentioning Tavendale & Partners.
So if you are at the event and see one of the Tavendale team around, do go and say hi.
Tavendale & Partners offer a wide range of legal services, with a depth of expertise especially relevant to agribusiness and commerce. their clients drive the country’s national and regional economies and range from off-shore investors and large multinationals through to family businesses and individuals. If you would like to know more about the firm, here's the link to their website: www.tp.co.nz
thank you to the other wonderful sponsors:
Tavendale & Partners
Wilcox Perla Potatoes
Hygain
Fiber Fresh
Hilton Press
T & M Nurseries
Rangiora Vet Centre
Zilco
Katherine Brough
Moa
McMillans Equine Feeds
NRM EQUINE
Pegasus Communications (Jane Thompson)
Mitavite
Morrisons Saddlery
The Rider Shop
Platinum Performance
Canterbury SADDLERY
SADDLERY BARN
The Southern Trust
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Trust
the Four Winds Foundation
If you are interested in future sponsorship opportunities, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our sponsorship manager Julie Bell on 027 422 4747 or
