Image courtesy of Brooke.
The Brooke, the world’s largest international equine welfare charity, has been chosen as the official charity of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC.
Headquartered in the UK, The Brooke is an international charity that protects and improves the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules, whose labor keeps millions of poor families in developing countries around the world out of poverty.
Emily Dulin, Executive Director of sister charity Brooke USA, says, “One-hundred million horses, donkeys and mules around the world are doing the hardest jobs in extreme environments, from the brick kilns of Nepal to the coal mines of Pakistan and the small farms of Ethiopia and Nicaragua, and they are paying the price for their labor with injuries, exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition. Brooke works to make long lasting improvements to their lives.”
The theme for the 2018 WEG is “Celebrate the Horse, Celebrate the Sport: #Together,” commemorating the deep connection and interdependencies that have existed between humankind and equines for millennia. For much of the developed world, this relationship has become one of leisure and sport, but for more than 600 million people, the relationship is still one of survival.
The Brooke’s staff includes vets, animal welfare experts and advocacy and development specialists, who work with owners, health services, governments and the animals themselves to improve their qualify of life. The global organization’s work reaches horses, donkeys and mules across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
The charity designation is courtesy of Katherine Bellissimo, who serves on the board of Brooke USA. “I am pleased to have Brooke named as the official charity of the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018,” she says. “The work that Brooke and Brooke USA do for both horses and humans around the world is incredibly admirable and embodies our organization’s goal of celebrating the ways we depend on this beautiful creature through this event. It is only natural that the world’s largest working equine welfare charity be chosen as a beneficiary of the world’s largest equestrian competition.”
As official charity, The Brooke will build a commemorative walkway, The Brooke Breezeway, at Tryon International Equestrian Center featuring bricks honoring WEG and the important service of working equines around the world. Bricks can be purchased and installed in dedication of a person, horse or organization. The website, BrookeBricks.org, will be launched later this spring.
Petra Ingram, Chief Executive of The Brooke, says, “We are so proud to be a part of WEG this year. The theme of humans and equines through time also ties in with our Every Horse Remembered campaign, which honors the horses who worked side-by-side with soldiers in World War One. We’re looking forward to working together with Tryon International Equestrian Center to organize Brooke-themed activities and raise funds for working horses, donkeys and mules around the world.”
Learn more about the charities at www.BrookeUSA.org or www.TheBrooke.org. For more information on WEG, visit www.Tryon2018.com.
[Brooke Becomes Official Charity of FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018]
