Polo star Nic Roldan said he was “blown away” on a recent visit to Guatemala to see an equine charity’s work first hand.
Nic travelled to the country with Brooke, who started working in Guatemala in 2006 through a local partner.
The La Indiana player is an ambassador for Brooke USA, the American fundraising arm of the international welfare charity.
Credit: Enrique Urdaneta
Guatemala is one of Latin America’s poorest countries with over half of its population living below the poverty line.
It is in these poorest communities that most of the countries 227,000 working equines live.
Families rely on these equines predominantly as essential pack animals to transport their wood, water and other necessities.
Credit: Enrique Urdaneta
Brooke teams work to educate these rural communities on how to look after their animals better which in turn provides a benefit to the people as well.
Nic spent a week in Guatemala with Brooke and travelled over 2,000 miles to different parts of the country.
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He visited an area known as the Dry Corridor where equines work under harsh conditions to provide the families that rely on them with water.
Credit: Enrique Urdaneta
In these rural communities a team from Brooke gives talks to the residents on horse care as well as hands on practical lessons.
Nic was “blown away” by the amount of people who rely on the donkeys.
“It was an emotional moment to see how all these people live, how proud they are and enthused to learn — truly inspirational,” he said.
Charity work
Earlier this year, Nic also organised miniature horses to appear during the Gold Cup final at Cowdray Park Polo Club to help raise funds for the charity.
Credit: Enrique Urdaneta
Brooke is a global animal welfare charity helping working horses, donkeys and mules.
It works with owners, communities, governments and international organisations to make lasting improvements to animal welfare.
