Oliver Townend is among the Voltaire Design ambassadors to have donated a prize to the Saddle Up 4 The NHS initiative. Photo courtesy of Saddle Up 4 The NHS/Voltaire Design.
Saddle Up 4 The NHS is an exciting new charity initiative that’s been launched by our friends at luxury saddlery company Voltaire Design in conjunction with the Royal Windsor Horse Show, and is intended as a vehicle to raise significant funds for medical charities in the UK and Ireland in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The premise is a simple one. Rather than following the silent auction format that he’d seen making the rounds online, Voltaire Design General Manager of United Kingdom and Ireland Matt Tarrant wanted to create something more accessible, allowing riders without significant expendable income the chance to win big in the expansive prize pot, which features a growing list of options. A £25 donation, made through designated Saddle Up JustGiving pages for the NHS Charities Together and Ireland’s Mater Foundation earns the donor a raffle ticket. When the raffle is drawn after its close on August 16, it’ll be done progressively, allowing winners to choose their prizes.
The first name drawn will hit the jackpot. They’ll take home the Ultimate Voltaire Design Saddle Package, which has a value of over £6,000 and will include any bespoke jump or dressage saddle of their choice from the Elegance range, totally custom-made for them and their horse, matching stirrup leathers, a girth, numnah, baseball cap, ear bonnet, socks, lanyard, keyring and a handy weatherproof carry bag, perfect for show days. They’ll also then get the first choice of all the remaining prizes in the pot.
The second winner will then get to choose their prize from the remaining list, followed by the third winner, and so on and so forth until all the prizes have been snapped up. This gives you some pretty great odds — the prize list is extensive — and ensures that you’ll be able to choose something that you’ll truly benefit from. This is particularly pertinent considering the huge amount of training days offered around the UK and Ireland — you can choose to enjoy a lesson with a top rider in your area, or you can go further afield to ride with your idol. The choice is yours!
Fancy a lesson with the legendary Tina Cook? You could get your hands on just that – as well as a snoop around her Sussex yard. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Some of the sumptuous prizes on offer include lessons, experiences and merchandise from FEI World #1 eventer Oliver Townend, current British Showjumping Open Champion Harriet Nuttall, equestrian legend Geoff Billington, 5* superstar Tina Cook, and the incredible Tina and Graham Fletcher and their sons Will and Olli, currently the National u21 and u16 showjumping champions respectively, as well as a whole host of other leading riders and trainers. Voltaire Design are also enormously excited to be working closely with some of their partner brands and events, including the Royal Windsor Horse Show and Fairfax & Favor.
Says Tarrant, “Voltaire Design has always been much more than just a saddle brand – with its world-class family of truly talented, dedicated and generous riders, trainers and partners, it’s a community. We saw an opportunity to bring together the people that make that community as special as it is in the UK and Ireland to hopefully raise a significant sum for NHS Charities Together and The Mater Foundation and to do our bit to support the national efforts in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. By launching in a raffle format, we hope to make this as inclusive as possible for anyone wanting to donate and to give back not just to our incredible healthcare organisations, but to the wider equestrian world by providing access to riders, trainers, and incredible opportunities for anyone who enters. With such an exciting and unique array of prizes we hope the equestrian community will buy as many tickets as possible.”
Accessibility, seriously good swag, and the opportunity to do some good? Count us in. You can check out Saddle Up 4 The NHS and get your entry in here.
Go Eventing, and go Voltaire Design!
