Over £20,000 was raised by the incredible Wimbledon Village Stables riders through our two sponsored rides which took place on Saturday,16th September and Tuesday, 19th September.
We are so incredibly grateful to everyone involved – each rider who took part, all the sponsors and our own WVS team – for enabling us to raise this impressive sum and to support seven extremely worthwhile charities, all of which are close to our riders’ hearts. Everyone went to so much trouble with their costumes that Judge John White – dressed in full court regalia – had a hard job deciding on who should win; he finally settled on The Flamenco Dancers (Deborah and Onyx, flanked by husband Peter) as the Saturday winners and Yuliya, who was one of three Barbies, on the Tuesday. I have no idea what people think of us as we ride down the High Street and around Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, but we certainly made a lot of people smile, a magical outcome!
There were too many highlights each day to mention, but you can get a flavour of what went on by looking at the wonderful photos taken by both Claire and photographer Alex Lentati on our Facebook page. A photo of some of our horses and riders even appeared in The Sunday Telegraph! The Highest Sponsored Rider on Saturday was Harriet Slater who raised £1,580 and on Tuesday Annie Hudson, whose sponsorship totalled £2,950. Prize giving in the yard was, as always, a fun occasion on both days, with a surprise visit by three Police Dog Unit cars and four police officers with their dogs, who came in person to thank Annie and all her sponsors for choosing to support the Retired London Police Dogs Charity.
I was incredibly proud of our fabulous horses who all behaved impeccably on both rides, but my own favourite moment occurred on Saturday as our homecoming parade down the High Street was led by my adorable eldest granddaughter Annabel, dressed as Spiderman, riding Fudge.
The charities we supported this year were:
- Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators
- The Royal Marsden Hospital
- The Ebony Horse Club
- World Horse Welfare
- Retired London Police Dogs Charity
- Cecil’s Horse Sanctuary
- Cancer and Pisces Trust
Have a look at the Photos on Facebook from Saturday