26th September 2005
Brooke’s very realistic horse mascot, Abbla, drove home some very important points when she took part in the 2005 Mascot Grand National at Huntingdon Racecourse.
Abbla, meaning ‘Beautiful One’ in Arabic, represents a horse toiling in a brick kiln in a developing country, and with 100 foam bricks piled high on her back, she trailed in last during the six mini-hurdle race.
With competition and rivalry between mascots running high, Abbla staggered home 10 minutes after the winning mascot, ensuring all race goers and the media were aware of the enormous struggle tens of thousands of horses and donkeys face hauling half their weight in bricks on their backs for up to 12 hours a day in temperatures often exceeding 50 degree C.
It was also an opportunity to illustrate the importance of the Brooke’s work providing free veterinary care for these suffering animals, and education for their desperately poor owners.
Despite Abbla winning ‘Ugliest Mascot’ Award earlier in the day, fending off fierce competition from 66 other competitors, she ensured both the media and race goers returned home with a clear understanding of the plight of suffering equine animals overseas.
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