Fundraising campaign Equestrian Relief, which is backed by racing personalities including Sir Anthony McCoy and Frankie Dettori, has raised a total of £250,000, which will be handed over to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 urgent appeal.
The initiative, which saw seven teams compete against each other over a range of challenges, concluded on Monday evening as all teams participated in a round where they had to impress judges Nicky Chapman and Russell Watson with their hidden talent.
Already in the lead heading into the final, it was Team Eventing who sealed the crown thanks to Ben Hobday’s comical parody of Netflix’s latest smash hit ‘Tiger King’.
Equestrian Relief also hosted a charity auction that added £165,440 to the overall amount raised, with the top lot being membership of a Nick Bradley Racing syndicate, sealed with a winning bid of £7,501.
Nina Barbour, Bolesworth Managing Director, said: “It has been an overwhelming fortnight and we are delighted to be in a position to be donating over a quarter of a million pounds for 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, Chief Executive of NHS Charities Together, added: “We are massively grateful and inspired by all of the sports people, who are our idols, that are giving back and saying thanks 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 which mean so much to all of our teams.”