Charities dedicated to helping injured horses in the Gambia and retraining racehorses in the UK are among those benefiting from the £60,000 raised by the ‘Vets with Horsepower’ 2017 ride.
The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust is using the £25,000 received to buy a much-needed ambulance to take sick horses and donkeys to the clinic.
“This means we can go to do our mobile clinics and travel animals back quickly in relative comfort,” said Heather Armstrong, the charity’s director.
She said the ambulance “is something we have dreamed of for so long and have never been able to afford so we are very excited about it.”
The charity hopes to have the new vehicle in operation early in the New Year.
In the UK the charity HEROS was given £10,000 to buy digital educational tools to encourage more youngsters into the racing industry.
A Clever Touch Smart board has been bought for use in the new classroom opening in early 2018.
The charity, which retrains and rehomes former racehorses, has an expanding educational programme with courses accredited by City and Guilds level one to three.
“In recent years, the rapid development of technology has transformed the way students learn and the way educators teach. The funds kindly donated by the Vets with Horsepower team will provide a fundamental element to the success of our educational material,” said Grace Muir from HEROS.
The other two charities given funds from the 2017 ride were the Ethelbert Child and Youth Care Centre in South Africa (£20,000) and The Smile Train (£5,000).
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This year the ‘Vets in Horsepower’ team are setting off in June to the Arctic circle via Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany.
The chosen charities are the Interstate Veterinary School in Dakar, Senegal, which is urgently in need of diagnostic and surgical equipment; Saving the Survivors, a rhino and elephant sanctuary in South Africa and The Smile Train.
Founded in 2010 by Professor Derek Knottenbelt after he won a Harley Davidson bike in a raffle, the “Vets with Horsepower” team have completed seven tours travelling 16,5000 miles.
A total of £560,000 has been raised so far and 325 hours of CPD talks delivered to equine veterinary practices around the world.
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