Equestrian Relief Tops £250,000 in Donations for NHS COVID-19 Appeal

Equestrian News:: Everything Horse

Equestrian Relief and the team at Bolesworth have announced they are thrilled to be handing over £250,000 to the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Appeal.

The amazing commitment and effort from riders and presenters, kind donations by the sponsors and generosity of those who pledged auction prizes have resulted in Equestrian Relief smashing the initial target.

Team Challenges

Four-time Olympian, Richard Davidson, Sarah Higgins (dressage), Jay Haylim (showjumping), Harry Charles (showjumping), Oliver Townend (eventing), Ros Canter (eventing) and Ben Hobday (eventing) were among those who took part in a week of fundraising activities.

Celebrity judges Nicky Chapman and Russell Watson, along with a little help from the public, were tasked with deciding the winners of each challenge.

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The Dark Horse Challenge was the final task. Riders were requested to reveal hidden talents for a chance to gain points which would help decide the overall team winners in the series.

It was Ben Hobday’s (team eventing) brilliant impersonation of the Tiger King, Joe Exotic, which won the final challenge. The points awarded meant Team Eventing took Gold in the final rankings (watch via the video above).

The outstanding rap performance, by Jack Richardson and Tom Morley, put them just behind Ben boosting Team Polo into a runner up spot in the final rankings.

Charity Auction

The top lot in the charity auction was membership of a Nick Bradley Racing syndicate, which raised £7,501. Zara Tindall’s painting from the Horse Drawn challenge raised £5,700, Frankie Dettori’s signed breeches raised £4,900 and the round of golf with Sir AP McCoy and Oli Bell earned £3,800. Collectively, the charity auction added £165,440 to the overall amount raised.

There was a host of other favourable lots, including a morning yard visit to meet Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin, Valegro and Uthopia (sold for £5,800), a celebrity dinner party at Bolesworth Castle (sold for £1,970), an exclusive yard visit with Peter and Harry Charles (sold for £1,100) and many more once in a lifetime opportunities.

Nina Barbour said:

“It has been an overwhelming fortnight – and we are delighted to be in a position to be donating over a quarter of a million pounds to the NHS COVID-19 Crisis Fund. I would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone from the Equestrian World who has supported this fantastic cause in every way, and helped us achieve this great result”.

Ellie Orton, CEO or NHS Charities Together said:

“We are massively grateful and inspired by all of the sportspeople, who are our idols, that are giving back and saying thank you. To hear the NHS are their heroes is fantastic, and although the donations are important as they’ll make a massive difference, it’s the morale and emotions that are involved which mean so much to all of our teams”.

It is still possible to donate by visiting www.equestrianrelief.com where you can see the full results and relive all of the action.