Horse of Year starts to see change at top

Kevin Hansen is a strength and liability to the Horse of the Year Show, says chairwoman Cynthia Bowers.

Speaking to the Hastings District Council, a shareholder in the Horse of the Year Ltd, she said Mr Hansen's organisation and contacts were ubiquitous to the show "and therein lies the risk".

"If something was to happen Kevin - if he was no longer available to event manage the show - that's where the risk is.

"But his son, Andrew, is taking over increasing responsibility for running it.

"In fact you may have seen recently that NRM have become naming rights sponsors for the show. Andrew Hansen negotiated those naming rights sponsorship, which is absolutely fantastic.

"So as time goes on the risk decreases."

The show's general manager, Ian Wilmot, said Mr Hansen had an "amazing network of contacts" in the equestrian world.

Mr Hansen's event management company, Eventpro, runs the show on a two-year contractual basis.

With a business degree in event management, Andrew Hansen, was the North Island operations manger for Hirequip Events.

Living in motels, he managed events throughout the North Island, but the biggest was the Horse of the Year Show.

He was responsible for assembling all temporary infrastructure, co-ordinating thousands of pieces of equipment including marquees, power supplies, fencing and toilets.

He is now operations manager for Eventpro, which also manages other equestrian and sporting events.

"He runs things now - I'm just the boy," his father told Hawke's Bay Today.