A group of racehorse trainers, led by Newmarket's Morgan-Evans Equestrian, has been collecting and distributing aid items to Ukraine.
Tiffany Morgan-Evans was initially contacted by a group called Ukraine Equestrian Relief, which aims to bring together the nation’s equestrian community to collect aid and use horseboxes to transport the items to Ukraine.
After agreeing to help, Tiffany had just a few days to gather aid and find a co-driver for the trip, before setting off across Europe last week with the supplies.
Harriet Jones, a spokesperson for Morgan-Evans, said: “Tiffany had been planning to find a way to help and so when Ukraine Equestrian Relief got in touch, she immediately put the word out to trainers around Newmarket.
“Many of them came forward and helped us with an Amazon wishlist of clothes, bags, toys and medical supplies, and a Go Fund Me page has raised £35,000.
“It’s wonderful to see so many trainers step up at such short notice, as we had about 48 hours to put a collection together and then get everything loaded in to the horse box.
“Osteopath Stephen Byrne who looks after our horses volunteered to help drive the items over and they will use the funds that have been donated to buy food, pay tolls and will then donate the excess to the Red Cross.
“Everyone has been so helpful and it’s great to see so many people come together, even down to the staff holding the fort at our training yard while Tiffany is away.”
“Clarehaven Stables, run by John and Thady Gosden, even managed to order £1,000 worth of first aid and medical supplies to donate, which is fantastic.”
Around 10 training yards in the Newmarket area assisted with the collection, with the Racing Centre also offering storage space for the items before they were loaded in to the horse box.
Ukraine Equestrian Relief has been the catalyst for dozens of horse boxes across the UK being filled with aid and driven to Poland during the past week.
