Dressage stars Charlotte Dujardin and Alice Oppenheimer will be visiting Ethiopia this month to see the work of an equine charity first-hand.
Olympic gold medallist Charlotte and grand prix rider Alice will be in Africa from 24 – 30 October.
The trip will be the second time Charlotte and Alice have seen Brooke’s work, as both visited the charity’s programme in India in October 2015.
In India they met equine welfare groups, visited brick kilns and saw thousands of horses, donkeys and mules being bought and sold at an equine fair.
“My first trip with Brooke to see the work in India was an eye-opening experience for me,” said Brooke global ambassador Charlotte.
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions, seeing the sheer scale of welfare issues and the level of suffering alongside the incredible achievements of Brooke’s teams to improve the lives of horses, donkeys and mules.”
With approximately nine million horses, donkeys and mules, Ethiopia has the third largest equine population in the world.
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These animals play a crucial role in the national economy but live under harsh conditions with a life expectancy of just a third of what would be expected in the UK.
On the trip, Charlotte and Alice will meet urban “gharry” horses, who work day in day out as “town taxis”.
“They are a particularly stark example of the suffering Brooke is working to prevent,” said a spokesman for the charity.
“They will see first-hand the difference that Brooke is making, meeting the passionate Brooke Ethiopia field staff, trained local vets, farriers and harness makers who are working hard with local communities and service providers to bring about long-term change.”
Charlotte became Brooke’s global ambassador in February 2015, and as well as raising vital funds for them, has been supporting the charity at events and campaigns.
This year she has supported Brooke’s How the Other Horse Lives campaign, and My Hackathon, a fundraising activity for riders across the UK.
Footage and stories from the trip will be published on Charlotte, Alice and Brooke’s Facebook pages.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.
