Charity haylage pallet giveaway
Silvermoor Equestrian Haylage is giving one pallet of haylage away to a different equine charity each month during 2015.
The company was “overwhelmed” by the response to the initial request for nominations launched on its Facebook site in December.
The 1,700 people who took part nominated a total of 97 equine charities.
“The level of response was incredible and just shows how charitable our followers are and how many deserving equine charities there are out there,” said Ralph Thompson, managing director of Silvermoor Haylage.
Each month three charities are chosen and put up on the company’s Facebook site for a week. The charity with the highest number of votes receives a pallet of haylage.
In January the chosen charity was The Moorland Mousie Trust, in February it was Animal Support and Rescue, in March, World Horse Welfare and in April the Lluest Horse & Pony Trust was chosen.
The charities can chose from Silvermoor’s five varieties of haylage; recreation, lite, timothy, veteran and active.
“We are delighted to be running the charity giveaway and are looking forward to great participation each month as well as seeing some happy horses at the winning charities,” added Mr Thompson.
To take part visit www.facebook.com/Silvermoor-Haylage/
Raceday raises £370,000 for Prince’s Countryside Fund
The inaugural Prince’s Countryside Fund Raceday at Ascot racecourse on 29 March raised £370,000 to fund projects to support people who live and work in the countryside.
The event was jockey AP McCoy’s final appearance at Ascot racecourse before his retirement.
Over 11,000 racegoers braved blustery weather to see the champion jockey land his 107th win at Ascot in the main race of the day abroad Un Ace.
Horses were not the only animals competing. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall enjoyed seeing sheep race over fences in the “Campaign for Wool Lamb National.”
“We are proud to support this invaluable charity, which was set by The Prince of Wales to help secure a brighter future for British farmers and the countryside. In its short history, the Fund has provided some £5m to 120 projects, directly benefiting 100,000 people,” said Nick Smith, head of communications at Ascot racecourse.
The raceday’s sponsors included Waitrose, NFU Mutual, Williams Evans and Tattersalls.
For more information visit: www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk
Racing colours auctioned for RoR
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is auctioning a distinctive set of owner’s colours to raise funds for the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).
The rare set of colours is being sold as a “right to register” through a silent auction.
Valued by the BHA at £15,000-£20,000, all of the proceeds will be donated to its official charity, RoR.
Di Arbuthnot, chief executive of RoR, said: “We are very grateful to the BHA for making these unique colours available. This will help us continue our vital work supporting the transition of racehorses into retirement.”
The striking design is white, cerise and black hoops with a hooded cap.
Three coloured hoops have not been permissible since the standardisation of colours was introduced in 1971.
It is believed that there are fewer than 25 colours that sport this distinctive design, out of more than 14,000 registered.
The silent auction, run by Weatherbys, is open until 17 April.
Bids should be made in writing to: Colours Auction, Weatherbys, Sanders Road, Wellingborough, NN8 4BX or by email to lcole@weatherbys.co.uk
Easter show raises £13,000 for Macmillan
A charity Easter show held at Stainsby Grange Equestrian Centre, in memory of former Pony Club area rep Ann Brannen, raised £13,000 for Macmillan Cancer Research and Marie Curie.
Show organisers Peter and Paula Allen, Janice and Alan Mewse and Christina Foley worked with John and Emma Brannen to create a show on 4-5 April that combined all of Ann’s passions.
Ann Brannen was a member of the South Durham Pony Club from a young age and loved hunting and showjumping.
The show kicked off on Saturday evening with inter-hunt and pony club classes. The South Durham won the event, collecting the Ann Brannen memorial perpetual trophy from David Brannen,
The evening’s pony showjumping class was organised in memory of Janet Scott with all the proceeds donated to Marie Curie. The class was won by Ria Scott on Woodpeckers Golden Flash.
The fundraising was boosted by a successful auction of prizes, which included a helicopter ride and holiday to Lanzarote.
On Sunday a senior British Showjumping show was held with spectators raising more than £1,000 on the door and every class sponsored by local competitors. Riders also donated some prize money back to the charity.
Helmets needed for child jockeys in Mongolia
Donations of riding helmets are needed for a charity project set up to equip child jockeys in Mongolia.
Former polo player Wendy Chung started helping with the project after competing in the Mongol Derby, the world’s toughest horse race last year.
“I came back wanting to help Mongolian child jockeys have helmets. Currently child jockeys are favoured in horse races as they are light and don’t weigh the horse down,” said Wendy Chung.
The UK charity Go Help is organising the collection and distribution of the UK sourced new and used helmets and Unsworth Global Logisitics has agreed to deliver them at no cost.
The helmets are needed for shipping in London by early May to ensure they arrive in time for the start of the Mongolian Naadam racing season in June.
The project hopes to kit out 1,000 child jockeys with helmets.
Donations should be sent to Unsworth Global Logistics c/o Charles Hogg, 3 Lemna Road, London E11 1JL.
For more information visit www.gohelp.org.uk or email Wendy Chung at wwmchung@hotmail.com
