Hoofbeats Equine Rehabilitation Sanctuary

Charity set to resume fundraising efforts with a bumper dog show

A Plymouth animal charity is excited to begin their fundraising efforts once again in an effort to recover from the devastating effects of coronavirus.

Hoofbeats Sanctuary, a non-profit making charity that survives on donations and volunteers alone, made the heart-breaking decision earlier on in the year to cancel all of its fundraising events for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus, despite them being key to the survival of the small charity.

Now, as lockdown measures have been eased, Hoofbeats are pleased to announce their first fundraising event of the year: the return of their family fun dog show.

Hoofbeats Sanctuary, based on the outskirts of Plymouth, rescues and rehomes a variety of horses and ponies and has rehabilitated and rehomed over 150 horses in need since it first began 20 years ago.

Explaining the “unavoidable effects of coronavirus”, the sanctuary took to social media back in March to explain how: “when Hoofbeats takes on horses and ponies, they forever remain our responsibility. Sadly, some of our adopted horses and ponies have already been returned to our care due to the unavoidable effects of Coronavirus. This, on top of decreasing donations and cancelled fundraising events means that we are in desperate need of support.”

With winter now looming, Hoofbeats is set to face a bill for winter hay provisions that can cost the charity thousands of pounds a year.  A bale of hay costs the sanctuary £35, and will last one pony one month.

The charity’s founder, Sharon Vieira shared: “Winter is the most difficult time of year for us even in normal circumstances, and so we often fundraise throughout the year to help us prepare for our large winter costs. Having not been able to fundraise as much as we’d hoped this year due to coronavirus, we are excited to resume our fundraising with our dog show.”

The charity’s dog show will be held from 11:30am on Sunday 13^th September in the field adjacent the Farmyard Café, Wotter PL7 5HR. Classes cost just £1 and include the likes of best veteran as well as best crossbreed and even fancy dress. A full schedule can be found on Hoofbeats’ Facebook page or at the Farmyard Café.

To find out more about the work of Hoofbeats, please visit www.hoofbeats.org.uk, or follow their Facebook page for updates at www.facebook.com/teamhoof/ .

The charity are also looking for ring sponsors, raffle prizes and fundraising volunteers, and if you are interested, please contact them via Facebook.

To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/hoofbeats or via paypal using fundraising@hoofbeats.org.uk.