Firstly, to our Kim and Joyce Richards. Goodness knows what time they started; they were both well underway when I arrived. They got the yard looking fab and all the horses sorted before 9am. Kim was then in her element all day talking to folks about her horses, she knows them all so well.

 

Joyce then became top saleswoman for the morning selling the used donated goods as well as NAF products for which we are now stockists and raffle tickets for the personalised horses head bust donated by Carol Rogers Ceramics and won by Alan Jukes.

 

We also need to thank Jo Parker for running the refreshments for you all, not a role I have seen Jo in before, she is usually driving all around the countryside for us or producing all our contracts. However, I think she enjoyed the chance to get to meet you all.

 

Lynette Arnott was ‘our rock’ as usual. We all relax the minute Lynette arrives! Lynette applies for all our grants, and it was lovely for her, and us, to be able to welcome representatives yesterday from the Childwick Trust and Vera Howarth Animal Trust and show them the work we do that their money supports.

 

We had a visit from Paul Senter, Massage Equine, who massaged Golan, Derry and Jen throughout the morning and gave us feedback on them. We look forward to working with Paul more in the future.

 

Claire and Daz from the Rehabilitation Centre adjoining our yard, gave demos of horses swimming and were available all day to talk to people about the value of swimming. They also provided us with milk when we ran out! So many of you came we hadn’t catered for so many cups of tea!!!

 

Paul Marriott-Lodge, who some of you may know previously as our quiz master and bingo caller, brought along signs he makes which will make fabulous Christmas presents for your pony’s stable doors.

 

Many thanks to all our visitors, many of whom arrived with bags of items to donate, we loved chatting to you all about the yard, the horses, what we do and our vision for the future. The sheer number of you attending made the day very special to us.

We have a fair few applications to sort through now, at the end of which we hope many will have found their forever homes.

 

Your donations are so, so, so welcome, as, throughout the year, the sale of them covers the costs of the feed, farrier, worming and other care needs of the horses.

 

We must thank our landlords, Alan and Vanessa, they have been fantastic in welcoming us to their yard, assisting the girls to settle in and getting things sorted.

 

A final thank you has to go to my fellow trustees, the first public event at which we have all been together since Wayne joined us. Such a lovely way for us to all celebrate the growth and development of our little charity, where our aim is simply to ‘Help horses…Help people’ and here’s hoping we can now help many more.

 

To finish the day completely we had two second trials, when the open day was finished, and both ended in successful rehomings.

 

THANK YOU everyone.