A permanent walkway is being built at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) venue in the US to raise funds for donkeys working in brick kilns in India.
Equine charity Brooke is the official chosen charity of WEG, which takes place at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, North Carolina, from 11 to 23 September.
Plans for the commemorative walkway, the Brooke Breezeway, will be unveiled on the opening day of the Games.
People can buy “Brooke Bricks” to dedicate a person, pet, anniversary, business or organisation.
Princes range from $100 (£78) for the smallest with an inscription, to $1,000 for a multi-brick array. This can include a corporate logo or personal graphic.
All proceeds raised from the bricks will benefit the charity’s brick kiln projects in India.
Emily Marquez-Dulin, Brooke USA executive director said: “Purchasing a brick at the ‘Brooke Breezeway’ during WEG is a great way to support our mission of helping working equines and their families, and at the same time, permanently memorialising your WEG experience.
“All bricks sold are humanely manufactured in the US and can be personalised or dedicated to a person, a beloved pet, a business or anniversary.”
Visitors to WEG will see the often-harrowing conditions in which the donkeys have to work, in an interactive 360-degree video shown in the large video dome in the World Equine Expo.
Working in thick dust and in temperatures of up to 122 F with little shade, animals often suffer from respiratory diseases, injuries and malnutrition.
The families that rely on the equines are often in bonded labour and have little access to vets, farriers or first aid.
In the video Brooke follows a young couple, their child and their equine in the kilns.
Around the world in developing countries 100m horses, donkeys and mules work alongside people in challenging environments.
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Charity finds nearly 40 mules abandoned in a brick kiln
Staff working with The Brooke discovered the equines struggling for survival during an inspection of the kilns in Nepal
Dressage stars to travel across the world to help horses in need
Charlotte Dujardin and Alice Oppenheimer will be visiting Ethiopia to see the work of Brooke first-hand
Brooke expands work to support 45,000 working equines in India
This year, the Brooke will provide support to over 1,000 brick kilns across India, which will directly benefit 45,000 working
Brooke CEO Petra Ingram and trustee Jane Holderness-Roddam will be giving interviews at WEG championing the charity’s work.
Monty Roberts, who is Brooke’s global ambassador, will also be at WEG giving demonstrations on 19 and 20 September.
In the first session Roberts will be working with an American Mustang to demonstrate the “Horse Sense & Healing” programme for veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Don’t miss the full WEB preview in the current (30 August) edition of H&H.
