60-year-old tackles 800-mile ride for RDA
Cornish rider Caro Woods sets off on 5 May to ride from Lindisfarne to Cornwall to raise funds for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA).
Ms Woods, 60, will be riding Tommy, her 14.3hh seven-year-old Connemara pony.
The 800-mile journey from Holy Island, Lindisfarne, to St Michaels Mount in Cornwall is expected to take three and a half months.
“It will be tough, but we’re taking our time and having lots of rest stops,” Caro Woods told H&H. “Tommy and I are as fit as we will ever be. If we look after each other, we will be fine.”
The ride is expected to average 12-15 miles a day with a couple of days off each week.
The pair are expected to arrive back home to Penzance in the middle of August.
The ride is hoped to raise £10,000 for the RDA.
Charity expands teaching programme
Wiltshire-based charity, Greatwood has expanded its teaching programmes for disadvantaged children with the opening of a new classroom.
The project was funded by Al Basti Equiworld, the distributor of horse feeds and veterinary medicines in the Middle East.
“We are enormously grateful to Al Basti Equiworld for their support of this project which will enable us to provide enriched learning opportunities to some of the most socially and educationally disadvantaged children in our community,” said Greatwood’s Helen Yeadon.
The funding has enabled a new SEND teacher, Jane Muir-Brooks to be appointed.
Greatwood was set up by Helen Yeadon and her husband Michael in 1993.
The charity combines education programmes with the rescue and rehabilitation of ex-racehorses.
Racehorse owner and founder of Al Basti Equiworld, Malih Al Basti said the charity “is unique both in its approach to education and the rehabilitation of former racehorses no matter how severe the need.”
For more information visit: www.greatwoodcharity.org
Haylage company makes pink bales to raise funds for Cancer Research UK
Equine forage producer Old Manor Farm is producing some of its haylage in pink bale wrap to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
“Our haylage wrap supplier is now making a limited quantity of pink bale wrap as opposed to the usual black or green. We thought it would be a fantastic idea to ‘wrap it pink’ this summer,” said Mark Cooper of the Bedfordshire-based company.
A proportion of the sales of the pink bale sales will be given to Cancer Research UK.
“We’re hoping to raise around £5,000,” Mr Cooper told H&H.
The first bales will be available at the end of June.
To donate to the cause visit: www.justgiving.com/oldmanorfarm
Unwanted bits needed for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust
Equine retailer Dressage Deluxe has become a ‘bit drop off’ point for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust.
Old bits can be dropped off at the company’s headquarters at Knowle Farm Business Centre, Frant, Kent or on its stand at various shows this season.
“With our customers help, we can actively assist in preventing suffering to horses and donkeys abroad by donating our unwanted bits,” said Alison Nye-Warden, managing director of Dressage Deluxe.
“Most of us have a tack room full of old bits and this is the perfect way to put them to good use and give to a worthy charity,” she added.
For more information visit: www.dressagedeluxe.co.uk or www.gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk
Vets raise funds for Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust centre
In June the Vets with Horsepower team is going on tour around the British Isles and Ireland to raise funds for a new centre being built by the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust (GHDT) in Makasutu.
The new centre will have an equine hospital, stabling for 25 in-patients, offices, a visitor centre, lecture room and accommodation for volunteers, students and staff.
“We need the help of good people to support our efforts to equip the GHDT education and clinical centre. It is a vital development in the education of vets, owners and children in Gambia and the surrounding countries,” said professor Derek Knottenbelt from The Vets with Horsepower team.
