Equestrian Relief raises over £250,000 for the NHS Covid-19 appeal

Team Eventing ultimately comes out on top as over a quarter of a million pounds is raised for the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal by Equestrian Relief

Doubling their initial target and raising over a quarter of a million pounds for the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal, Equestrian Relief culminated in an elaborate finale on Monday night (13 April) as the teams participated in a round of Dark Horse, sharing their hidden talents. The teams pulled out all the stops to impress the celebrity judges, TV presenter and Pop Idol judge Nicky Chapman and opera singer Russell Watson, and earn favour with the public vote to win the final challenge. In the end, it was Team Eventing that won the crown.

Going into the final in the lead, Team Eventing unleashed their secret weapon: a comical parody of Netflix’s smash hit The Tiger King, performed by Ben Hobday – with the help of Stevie the Shetland. This put him at the top of the leaderboard and sealed the overall win for the team. An outstanding rap performance by Team Polo’s Jack Richardson and Tom Morley put them just behind Ben boosting Team Polo into a runner-up spot in the final rankings. Click here to watch the finale.

Reflecting on the win, eventing Team Captain Zara Tindallexplained how honoured the team were to be able to, “come together to try and support our NHS for the unbelievable job they’re doing to fight the war against coronavirus.” She added: “Obviously the highlight is to take overall team gold. What an incredibly talented and game-spirited eventing team we had, and the most valuable player has to be Ros with her double gold! A huge thank you to all those who donated and please keep supporting our NHS through this difficult time.”

The amazing commitment and effort from riders and presenters, generosity of those who pledged auction prizes and kind donations by the sponsors has resulted in Equestrian Relief smashing its initial target of £100,000. Equestrian Relief and the team at Bolesworth are thrilled to be handing over £250,000 to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal. With the peak of the crisis still not upon us and further Nightingale Hospitals opening, now’s the time that the NHS really need these vital funds.

Top lots in the charity auction included membership of a Nick Bradley Racing syndicate that raised £7,501, Zara Tindall’s painting from the Horse Drawn challenge that raised £5,700, Frankie Dettori’s signed breeches that raised £4,900 and a round of golf with Sir AP McCoy and Oli Bell that earned £3,800. Collectively the charity auction added £165,440 to the overall amount raised.

Elated with the efforts of participants and spectators alike, Bolesworth Managing Director Nina Barbour said: “It has been an overwhelming fortnight – and we are delighted to be in a position to be donating over a quarter of a millions pounds to the NHS Covid-19 Crisis Fund. I would just like to extend a massive thank you to everyone from the equestrian world who has supported this fantastic cause in every way and helped us achieve this great result.”

Ellie Orton, CEO of NHS Charities Together echoed Nina’s sentiments: “We are massively grateful and inspired by all of the sports people, who are our idols, that are giving back and saying thank you. To hear the NHS are their heroes is fantastic and although the donations are important, as they’ll make a massive difference, it’s the morale and emotions that are involved that mean so much to all of our teams.”

It’s still possible to make a donation by visiting www.equestrianrelief.com, where you can see the full results and to revisit all of the action.