As part of Horse & Hound's 130th birthday celebrations, we will be supporting and promoting good causes via regular online round-ups of events being run by the equestrian community
Charity race to raise funds for Racing Welfare
Racing Welfare is holding a fundraising charity raceday at Newmarket on Saturday (16 August).
The day will include a charity race at 1pm, with nine riders lining up to compete in the third running of the race.
Riders include retired amateur jockey Paul Jarvis and trainer’s wife Belinda Keighley, who celebrates her 40th birthday on the day.
Last year’s charity race was won by Rachel Flynn riding First Class, trained by her husband, Newmarket based trainer Rae Guest.
Racing Welfare will be running a silent auction and raffle. The charity provides support for those in racing throughout their career and in retirement.
Click here for more information
Rural insurers cycle for charity
Cyclists for rural insurers NFU Mutual braved rain and gales to raise funds for Farm Africa last Sunday (10 August).
The seven NFU employees completed the 86-mile Ride London charity challenge in between four to six and a half hours.
The NFU team were among 24,000 amateur cyclists peddling through London and Surrey along the 2012 Olympic cycling route.
£150,000 raised for air ambulances
A fundraiser at Cheltenham racecourse has raised £150,000 for the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and Great Western Air Ambulance.
The event was organised by David Seel, 67, a senior figure in the insurance industry.
He suffered a burst vein last year and was only saved by the speed with which the air ambulance made it to his Warwickshire home.
Mr Seel organised the event at the Cheltenham Hunter Chase evening meeting on 30 April.
Among the guests was Grand National-winning jockey Jason Maguire, who was flown to hospital earlier this year after a near-fatal fall.
“It’s a great shame that it often takes incidents involving high-profile people to really hammer home the message about air ambulances being charity donation funded,” added Mr Seel.
Racecourse launches appeal for former staff member
Epsom Downs racecourse has set up an appeal in memory of former employee Caroline Beaumont, 35, who died from eye cancer in November.
Caroline was a familiar face in Epsom and in 2010 she won the Stanley Wootton award for her contribution to the Epsom Downs racing community.
The appeal, “Caroline’s Vision for Cancer,” aims to raise £100,000 to fund an innovative research project into why eye cancer is so resistant to chemotherapy.
A family fun day is being held on the August bank holiday (25 August) at Epsom racecourse to raise funds.
Charity ride to remember World War One
Amateur historian Andy Smerdon sets off tomorrow (Thursday 14 August) on a 125-mile fundraising ride from Dover to Belgium.
He is riding with nine others to commemorate World War One (WW1) and raise money for the Blue Cross and Royal British Legion.
Wearing period WW1 uniforms the riders will proceed along the western front, ending at the river Somme in northern France.
“Horses played such a vital role during WW1 and we really want this trip to highlight the animals who lost their lives, and well as recognise the men who fought alongside them,” said Mr Smerdon, 46, from Chelmsford in Essex.
The Blue Cross treated over 50,000 sick and injured horses during WW1
“It’s wonderful that Andy and the team – including the horses – will be making such an epic trip to remember the important role animals played in the war,” said Steven Broomfield, manager at Blue Cross Victoria animal hospital.
The charity was founded in 1897 to care for working horses on the streets of London.
For more information visit the Facebook page or the JustGiving page
Rider spends 24hr in the saddle for BHS
Hannah Marsh, regional development officer in the south for the British Horse Society, spent 24hr in the saddle last week (Wednesday 6 August) to raise money for the charity.
The “24hr Challenge Ride” took place at Quob Stables near Southampton started with a hack and moved onto riding a variety of horses and trying horse ball and mounted games. She rode through the night in an indoor school.
“Britain is in the grip of a huge equine welfare crisis, with decades of indiscriminate breeding meaning supply is outweighing demand and the value of horses is declining.
“Many of the welfare cases our officers see aren’t caused by wilful abuse, but are neglected through ignorance and a lack of understanding of their basic needs.Our new appeal aims to tackle equine welfare head on,” she said.
