19 December 2016

BEF Awards for Derrick Mayes and Sydney Smith

On an evening that welcomed equestrian Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic medalists to the Grand Hall at The London International Horse Show, Olympia, to celebrate with fans their fantastic achievements this year, the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) took the opportunity to recognise members of the equestrian community for their outstanding service.

Derrick Mayes

British Carriagedriving’s Derrick Mayes, Chairman of the International Teams Committee and a former Chef d’Equipe for Horse Pairs and Treasurer for British Carriagedriving, was presented for his commitment to the sport of Carriagedriving for the past thirty years.


Derrick Mayes
Photo: Rinaldo de Craen

Sydney Smith

Founder of The Unicorn Trust, which she has administered for twenty years, Sydney Smith was recognised for her great commitment and dedication to the Trust and with it to ensuring a world-class training facility for our equestrian athletes and the industry.

British Carriagedriving are delighted to have two recipients closely involved with driving. Derrick said, “I had no idea who the other recipients were to be until Friday evening so you can imagine my delight in finding that Sydney Smith was being honoured in the same way. It was both a pleasure and great fun to receive the medal alongside a friend like her.”


Sydney Smith
Photo: Rinaldo de Craen