Our riders will be competing in dressage or the Countryside Challenge. And three more of our Centre participants have entries in the Arts & Crafts section too.It’s an immense achievement and a huge cause for pride in them and the staff and volunteers who support and guide them.

That’s the good news.  The bad news is that the Centre has so far only raised the £1,000 to cover accommodation costs for the horses and support team. Unless cash is raised to pay expenses and the costs of transport, the Centre may have some very disappointed riders.

The Unicorn Centre is organising a huge team to accompany the riders and three Centre horses including staff, coaches, and volunteers.  It will cost over £1,500 alone to pay for transport for the horses and the team, which doesn’t include the cost of horse hire, stabling, food and accommodation, entry fees and equipment.

Centre Manager Claire Pitt said, “Our finances are as usual under huge strain and we cannot guarantee to cover all the expenses to get Team Unicorn 2019 to the Championships. So I’m appealing personally to everyone in the community and to local businesses to help by making a small donation towards our costs. Otherwise we are facing the possibility that not all of our riders will be able to attend this flagship event.

She continued, “We’ve had riders qualify for the National Championships since they started in 2004 and we’re so proud of their achievements.Competing this year is particularly special to us as we celebrate our 21^st birthday. People have always been really generous and it would be great if we could raise sufficient funds again to help our talented riders achieve their dream.  They’re training so hard and really want to go to the Championships. Let’s not disappoint them.” 

Donations for the Unicorn Centre team can be made direct to the Unicorn Centre by calling 01642 576222.

UNICORN CENTRE QUALIFIERS TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Dressage:

Laura Forbes on Lily Delight (Lily)

Kiera Atkinson on Louistic de Sie (Louie)

Abbie Maddison on Louie

Ella Cosgrove on Dolly Doulton (Dolly)

Oliver Tierney on Louie

Cass O’Brien on Thunder

Countryside Challenge:

Rachel Sengendo on Thunder

Nicole Calvert on Thunder

Felicity Heard on Wrentnall Showman

Adam Allinson on Dolly

Ian Wilkinson on Thunder

Arts & Crafts:

Nikki Gardener

Shelby Brookbank

Debbie Hewitt

PHOTO:

The successful Team Unicorn 2019 qualifers with ponies Louistic de Sie (l) and Thunder (r):

L to R: Nicole Calvert, Oliver Tierney, Cass O’Brien, Kiera Atkinson, Nikki Gardener, Felicity Heard, Shelby Brookbank, Abbie Maddison, Ella Cosgrove and Rachel Sengendo.