2nd February 2006
Britain's home bakers are being asked to cook up mouthwatering cakes in the biggest-ever fundraising drive to help end the suffering of the world's neediest working horses.
The Brooke, the UK’s biggest overseas equine welfare charity, is appealing for keen cooks to bake their favourite cake recipes to raise vital funds during its national Courses for Horses appeal in July.
The charity, which runs a network of veterinary teams and free clinics in developing nations, hopes home bakers will sell their cakes at coffee mornings, fetes, tea parties and their children’s schools to help the appeal.
Cooks taking part are being offered free Brooke cake decorations* - and a host of scrummy recipe ideas from celebrities, including Delia Smith and EastEnders star Pam St Clements…whose `Boozy Fruit Cake’ has to be tasted to be believed!
The Brooke currently reaches 500,000 working horses and donkeys from Egypt to Pakistan: money raised by Courses for Horses will help extend its reach to the five million equines suffering most from illness or poor treatment in the developing world. And for every horse helped the family that depends on the income earned from their animal’s labour will benefit too.
And, as in baking, a little dough goes a long way: `If a cake cook raises just £10 that’s enough to buy water buckets to help quench the terrible thirst of ten hard working horses that could so easily die from dehydration,’ says John Trampleasure, Brooke’s Fundraising Director `And £50 will keep one of our 55 mobile veterinary ambulance teams going for an entire day helping 80+ animals, which are the life line to hundreds of poor people who depend on them to feed and clothe their families.’ Meanwhile, every £1,000 raised will fund the training of a new equine vet that over a year will save 1000s of animals.
As well as cake baking other Courses for Horses events will include hobby horse Grand Nationals and sponsored horse rides and walks. The horse racing industry is supporting the appeal at racecourses across Britain: money raised at the courses will be matched by our generous lead sponsors, Betfair, the UK’s leading online sports betting exchange.*
Courses for Horses was first held last summer: our vets have been able to help tens of thousands of working equine animals as a direct result of the money raised.
The Brooke is supported by celebrities including Jilly Cooper, Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, Lisa B, Pam St Clements, celebrity vets Emma Milne and Scott Miller, leading equestrian figures including Sir Peter O’Sullevan, jockeys A.P. McCoy and Frankie Dettori, Olympic medallist eventers Pippa Funnell and Leslie Law and show jumper Ellen Whitaker.
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