Author: sussex_admin

Vet's with Horsepower

We left Sandefjord early on Thursday morning to cross on the Moss ferry into Sweden. After a brief stop for coffee with Svein we had a long ride down through Sweden eventually crossing from Malmo to Copenhagen over the 8km bridge. We arrived to a great reception from Denis and Gaby from Copenhagen university and their family and were entertained well at their lovely cottage. On Friday morning we headed into the college equine site for a day of lectures, well attended by the Danish horse vets. We also received a tour of the college campus to view their surgical facilities and have a look at some of the inpatients, both horses and lambs! 

On Saturday morning we left once again this time on a final stretch home. All motorway again across Denmark to Esbjerg where we picked up the ferry to Harwich in England. From here everyone departed to home.

It has been a great experience to be involved in the Horsepower tour this year. During the trip it was explained to the delegates just where their donations have been going. For just £150 the Smile train charity can help repair children with cleft palates who without the opportunity are often unable to get ahead in any form of their lives and often die prematurely living in squalor. By saving donkeys in Gambia we stop the young children having to carry the water daily instead. It feels a privilege to have been involved and I've been left with a real sense of trying to give something back. Together we have raised over £95000 for the two charities.
Just need to try to avoid sitting down for a week or two! 
Andy

Thursday 17th July

Every now and then something extraordinary happens that reminds us of just how amazing people can be. We were lucky enough to be part of an incredible act of individual and collective generosity last night at the Norwegian lectures. In an emotional speech which had almost everyone in the room in tears at end of the lectures, the incredibly charismatic and unbelievably dedicated and hard working local organiser Dr Svein Bakke presented a cheque for a massive £20,000 (211,000 Kr) to the Vets with Horsepower team. This huge amount of money was raised by the Norwegian delegates (who paid to see the lectures) and from sponsorship raised by Dr Bakke (the sponsors can be found on the Vets with Horsepower Facebook page and the Virgin Money Giving site). This is the largest donation from any venue we have visited and takes the total raised for Smile Train and The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust to over £80,000!

To put the Norwegian donation into context, this is enough to pay for life saving cleft palate and hair lip surgery on 100 children and vaccinate 2,500 horses or donkeys against tetanus. Go Svein, Go Norway and Go Horsepower!