THIS year’s Donkey Derby has been hailed a great success, with early figures indicating that around £4,000 has been raised for the Westbury community.
Organised by Westbury Lions Club and sponsored by Privett’s Heating & Plumbing Engineers, the event featured the donkey races and rides, fair rides and stalls, family games, and face painting. There was even an unexpected flypast from the Red Arrows!
Nigel Coward, President of Westbury Lions Club, told White Horse News, “It was a fantastic day! There were so many other events taking place in the county that we were competing against, so it was lovely to see so many people come to the derby – it’s such a popular event and everyone loves it.
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“However, at one point it looked like the donkeys weren’t going to show up! They had to travel on the motorway to avoid the Glastonbury traffic, but suffered a blow-out and had to change a tyre. At 11.55am it looked like the Lions were going to have to give piggy-backs to the children! So there was much relief when they showed up!
“The numbers were slightly down on last year, but we are on target to match last year’s fundraising total. Early figures show that we have raised in the region of £4,000, which is not bad for a day’s work. Considering the gate was down, I think we are justifiably proud.
“I’d love to take credit for the Red Arrows fly-over! But it wasn’t me. They were on their way to Salisbury for the Armed Forces event – but we were happy to benefit from that. It was good to see them.
“A personal highlight of the day for me was seeing all the volunteers pull together – we didn’t have as many as usual this year because of other events, but everyone really made an effort. The Leos worked especially hard.
“The day was a wonderful success – you could see so many faces light up at all the events that were going on – it’s a nice feeling to be part of that.”
The Westbury Lions are now busy preparing for their next big fundraising event, the White Horse Vehicle Show on Sunday 1st September. “It’s looking to be a great day,” said Nigel. “There will be over 300 vehicles. And remember, every penny raised at these events goes back to the Westbury community – so please do support us.”
