Overseas rides raise £20,000 for charity

20 November 2001

Three teams riding in different countries raise £20,000 for the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund

Nineteen riders are expected to have raised £20,000 for charity through challenge rides in Botswana, Africa; Wyoming in the USA; and Sierra Nevada in Spain.

The 12 riders who used horses from the Limpopo Valley Horse Safari, in Botswana, had their share of adventure, according to one team member, Hannah Evans.

“All the horses were amazing. They know their job and were so alert, ” she said.

“We had to leave quickly when a herd of elephants started coming towards us at a river bank. They are trained to react to certain whistle from the guide.

“They also know the terrain very well. We moved at great speed down one of the biggest drops I’ve ever been down.”

At a reunion of all three rides this month, European eventing champion, Pippa Funnel, presented the award for the most successful fundraiser to Jo Cockerill of the Botswana ride.

Organiser for the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund, Lyn How, said she was “delighted” with the money raised, but she believed it could have been more had it not been for FMD.

“We are trying to decide on a place for the challenge ride next year,” she said, “but we are having immense difficulty choosing a place not affected by world events. It will probably be somewhere in Africa.”

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