National charity Blue Cross and The Pony Club are celebrating over a decade of working together to educate young horse lovers by running a special auction to raise money for the two charities.
The auction will be held online from Friday 1 October to Sunday 24 October with some amazing items up for grabs including a GB tie signed by British Olympic Showjumper Ben Maher and two horse shoes worn by Explosion W after his win in Individual Show Jumping at the Olympics in Tokyo.
All monies raised from the auction will be divided between the two charities.
BBC TV presenter Lizzie Greenwood Hughes is an ideal case study to show how the charities complement each other with their work: she was a member of The Pony Club when she was younger and now her daughter Clemmie, aged ten, has followed in her footsteps with her Blue Cross rescue horse Wispa.
Lizzie said: “Clemmie has really grown in confidence and made lots of riding friends since joining Pony Club, there’s nowhere better to teach children about horses and ponies. Children have fun but also learn the sense of responsibility and independence.
“As for Wispa, she is just a joy, so careful with Clemmie, we’re just so happy that we could give a Blue Cross rescue horse a loving new home.
“We have lots of rescue animals, sheep, dog, chickens, so I was keen to rescue a pony rather than buy one and Wispa is brilliant. She will be part of our family forever, we love her to bits.”
Blue Cross and The Pony Club work together to teach young people how to care for horses and ponies and about the importance of building a trusting partnership between horse and rider. They help to spread the word and unite like-minded horse lovers at rallies, events and competitions.
Another young rider to have grown in confidence since attending her first Pony Club rally this year is six-year-old Livvy Johnson with her Blue Cross pony Perry.
Livvy’s mother Rebecca said: “Perry is a wonderful Blue Cross pony who has helped so many children over the years and now in our home, at the age of 19 he’s really brought on Livvy’s confidence.”
Rebecca added: “Livvy previously had a loan pony who didn’t do much more than walk so she was quite nervous when Perry arrived in time for her 5th birthday in June 2020 but in the past year he has brought on her confidence massively and she now walks, trots and canters off the lead rein because she trusts him to look after her.
“She has a whole new group of friends that she has met from going to little local shows with him and this encouraged her to want to join Pony Club.
“She was a bit nervous ahead of the first rally earlier this year but really enjoyed it and meeting like-minded children, and she was excited for her first Pony Club camp.
“It was so good to see the children cheering each other on and again the day really helped to give her another boost to her confidence. It’s really wonderful to see her blossom.”
The auction enables the two charities to celebrate their achievements and raise funds to help support future projects. Many exclusive items will be auctioned, with the full list to be revealed at the end of this month.
People can join the auction from 9am on Friday 1 October by visiting the auction page, here.
Kerry Taylor, education manager at Blue Cross, said: “This is a great fundraiser which showcases our special relationship with The Pony Club. It also highlights how education and supporting young people to have positive relationships with horses is so important to both charities.”
Marcus Capel, CEO, The Pony Club, said: “Partnering with Blue Cross reinforces our commitment to animal welfare and supports our members and their horses and ponies.
“This auction will enable us to extend our charitable work to support young people who would like to expand their knowledge, build friendships and enjoy time with horses and ponies outdoors. We are looking forward to seeing the excitement surrounding some of these amazing prizes as well.”
