Refreshing the SQH Brand Logo

Sovereign's Early Beginnings

Ellie sitting on Snippers Heirogance
Young Ellie Deptford on Snipper’s Heirogance

As our followers are aware, Sovereign Quarter Horses has been known as a centre of excellence in Western horse riding for many years with horse riding lessons and more on offer.  We have become established within the equine world for developing champion Quarter Horses at an elite level yet remaining very much a family run business.

The business has changed considerably since 1979 when my father-in-law, Henry, began breeding American Quarter Horses at Horse Creek Farm with just two mares.  Back then, Henry chose the name “Sovereign Quarter Horses” because the word “sovereign” meant regal and royal.  A fabulous description if ever there was one for these stunningly beautiful horses.

In 1988, Henry retired and handed control of the business to my husband, David and I, the next generation.  By this time, significant expansion plans were advanced for the business which included the addition of many more mares and a stallion to build a broodmare band.  These changes eventually launched the Sovereign Quarter Horse Breeding Programme in 1993 with the purchase of our first stallion, Snipper’s Heirogance. Snipper, as we fondly refer to him.  Snipper achieved considerable fame for being the most successful Quarter Horse stallion standing at stud in the UK.

The First Sovereign Quarter Horses Logo

Sovereign Quarter Horses 1st logo (pre 2021)
Sovereign Quarter Horses original logo

By the year 2000, the business was very established and a distinctive logo was clearly overdue.  The first Sovereign Quarter Horse logo was based on a traditional cast horse branding and remained unchanged until late December 2020.  In the middle of a global pandemic, we focused on developing our new website (courtesy of Colin Needham at TMORPH design & print) and this was well under development when we looked into blogging and proactively developing our brand across social media.

Stella Gooch Social conducted an audit of our online presence and took on board our plans to establish a regular blog which linked with our social media.  Early on in our discussions, Stella explained the importance of a social media friendly logo and it was clear to see that our original logo needed to be adapted to suit current social platforms and give it a deeper personality.

For almost 50 years our original logo had built up considerable brand equity from its recognisable and very regal burgundy colour.  The fonts used had been based on the traditional cattle branding methods used in the old American West and we loved it exactly as it was.


Rebranding for 2021 and Beyond

Sovereign Quarter Horses 2021 logo concepts by Harriet Curson
Sovereign Quarter Horses 2021 logo concepts by Harriet Curson

Stella advised that a meaningful visual message alongside the existing SQH logo would make greater visible impact helping to raise brand awareness.  We asked Norfolk based design agency, Marfa Design, to create a logo to reflect the business as it stands today and for the future.

We really love our recently unveiled new logo which is now being applied across all our marketing materials, both offline and online.  It is being positively received by our clients and suppliers alike.

Harriet Curson of Marfa Design said: “Sovereign’s subtle rebrand attempts to tread the fine line between heritage and modernity.  The fresh new logo retains the well-established signature burgundy tone but introduces a redrawn wordmark and a fresh colour palette.  The refreshed wordmark is a contemporary take on the company’s original Quarter Horse stallion, Snipper.”

Harriet really understood that we wanted to recapture the spirit of Sovereign Quarter Horses with a horse image.  Once we had all put our heads together to explore the history of Sovereign Quarter Horses it was clear that the story of Snipper and his legacy would connect and engage with audiences on a deeper level and so the concept evolved from there.  Harriet was very clever to create an image of Snipper with the Western rider alongside him.  The result is a visible and fun identity which suggests a lovely connection between horse and rider which resonates with the family as a whole.

Sovereign Quarter Horses Logo 2021 fronting their website
Sovereign Quarter Horses Logo 2021 applied to website

Quarter Horse Events

The introduction of events into the business began with Sovereign Quarter Horses hosting the Spring Show for the AQHA-UK in May 2007 making Horse Creek Farm the first purpose-built arena in the UK with the special surface needed for the discipline of reining.  The arena building work – including the special surface work – only just completed in time for the Spring Show (minus the café which came later).

Our regular events have, naturally been temporarily hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic but that won’t be forever.  We are really looking forward to promoting all future events with a very unique and recognisable brand logo to fly our flag once we can re-establish our events programme.

David and I, along with our support team, are delighted that Henry’s passion for Quarter Horses launched the birth of this exciting and growing family business with so many diverse offerings.  The revised logo will help make the brand for Sovereign Quarter Horses more easily recognisable across all mediums both offline and online.  Thank you so much Harriet, we love it.

David, myself and the team love to introduce the horses to other horse lovers equally passionate about Quarter Horses.  If that is you then please contact us by email to agree mutually convenient times for your visit.

But, in the meantime, you might like to keep an eye on our events page and follow us on social media for updates.


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