WESTBURY Lions’ ninth annual Donkey Derby has raised £3,500 for the local community at the event held on the Saturday 29th June.
Lion President Nigel Coward said, “Weather as always can make or break an outdoor event, so we were pleased to be blessed with glorious sunshine once again to help our 9th Donkey Derby go smoothly!
“Our success this year was in part down to a change in format, with the introduction of some additional games between races which encouraged more spectator participation. These races proved more popular than anticipated, and we look forward to featuring them more prominently next year at what will be a very special 10th anniversary event. As ever, the donkeys worked tirelessly between races giving superb rides to children, which is always very popular with our younger attendees.
“A huge benefit for the event this year was much of our setup costs being covered by the generous sponsorship from Garston Veterinary Group. It is always difficult to predict the income from an event such as this, and so having that up front financial support covering our setup costs allowed us to proceed with confidence. A very big thank you to Garston’s for all of their help.
“Special thanks also to Mayor Christine Mitchell for opening the event, Westbury ATC for looking after the parking, Trowbridge Lions Club for providing additional manpower, White Horse Country Park for providing a superb venue and of course everyone who sponsored races or donkeys and those who advertised in our event programme.
“It wouldn’t be right to report on the Donkey Derby without making a special mention to all the jockeys who took part. We hope you all had as much fun racing as we had watching you! Congratulations to our winning jockey Jack Nash, who has in fact also won the event in a previous year. There is obviously a hidden talent there!
“The contributions of everyone mentioned above, combined with the wonderful support we received from the families who attended the event, meant that we raised over £3,500 on the day! This money is isolated into our fundraising account, and will be carefully spent supporting our community via donations to schools, individuals in need, local charities and community groups.
“If you know anyone who needs our help, please get in touch via our website www.west burylions.org.uk or Facebook page, or pop into our bookshop and speak to one of our volunteers. The hardest thing for us is actually finding the people who need our help, so please do think of us if you hear of someone in need.”
