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Over £10,000 raised for RDA at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials
Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) benefited from donations and raffle ticket sales totalling over £10,000 at last weekend’s Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials. Visitors were inspired to give generously following demonstrations of some of the charity’s activities – including para-dressage, showjumping and vaulting.
RDA was chosen by Fidelity Blenheim as the event charity for this year’s event, providing an invaluable opportunity to raise money and awareness of RDA’s work. Boosting donations further, the winners of the ever-popular AmTrust Equine High Jump (JP Sheffield and Austin O’Connor) kindly gave their £500 prize money to RDA. Australia's Paul Tapner also took part in the invitational event which featured some unusual rules including the ability to buying an additional 'life' if they knock down a rail by payment of 25 pounds, jumping without a saddle or going 'topless'! Great fun and all for a good cause.
Paul Tapner gains an extra 'life' by going topless! Photo: Fiona Scott-Maxwell
RDA displays were held on each day to demonstrate the different activities offered by the charity, and to raise awareness of the many benefits gained by its 30,000 participants across the UK. With Blenheim Palace as a stunning backdrop, RDA riders Erin Orford and Ruth MacCarthy – both on the World Class Development Para Dressage Programme – demonstrated their skills to a delighted audience. There were also displays by British Para Showjumper Susi Rogers-Hartley and RDA’s vaulting teams from Scotland, Clwyd and Shropshire.
“We are grateful to the organisers of the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials for choosing us as their charity and for all the support we received during the event,” said RDA Chief Executive, Ed Bracher. “It was great to have the opportunity to showcase RDA’s work, to inform visitors about the benefits of our activities and of course to raise such a significant amount of money. All funds received will be used to help expand our services, so that we can provide even more opportunities for life-changing therapies to people with disabilities throughout the UK.”
For more information about UK Riding for the Disabled Association, please visit www.rda.org.uk. For further information about RDA in Australia, please visit www.rda.org.au
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