WESTBURY Lions’ twelfth annual Donkey Derby was a runaway success last week, delighting visitors and raising over £3,500 for charity.
The family fun event, held annually at the White Horse Country Park, was this year moved to a new area within the park, which proved to be a hit with the crowd.
“The day was a fantastic success,” said Westbury Lion Nigel Coward. “The weather was good to us, the new venue was enthusiastically received by our visitors and everyone seemed to have a good time.
“We received many comments about how well the new venue worked, especially having everything much closer to the parking and facilities. We have to once again thank Derek Hulin and Shaun May from the White Horse Country Park for their efforts to make the new site work for us.
“We’re still counting but at the moment it looks to be over £3,500. A great result and all funds raised are for supporting local community causes.”
When asked to name the highlights from the day, Nigel didn’t know where to begin. “There are so many!” he said. “The donkeys as always were superb and immaculately turned out by Richard Warburton and his team from Weston-Super-Mare, and they were delightful to be around.
“The excellent Star Wars characters from MK Garrison proved very popular with kids and parents alike throughout the afternoon, and the great music by Bratton Silver Band during the interval got more than a few people bouncing along to the ooompahs.
“The games between donkey races were very entertaining too with lots of kids getting involved, especially the three-legged race with the Leighton white horse trying to keep up. Superb!”
When asked to select his most memorable moment, one race in particular stood out for Nigel. “It has to be seeing young George King winning the final race on his eighth birthday while wearing the number eight jersey, and the reaction of his family. Absolutely superb to see and a great reminder of how we try to keep it a very family focussed day.”
Plans are already afoot for next year’s derby. “Next year is already being discussed and we hope to take advantage of all the extra space available on the new site, with some exciting changes to the format of the day.
“It will of course be focussed on family entertainment, but now we know the new location works, we will move swiftly to ensure we have lots more for everyone to enjoy and keep working hard to ensure the event is great value for money.
“We’d also welcome ideas from the community and would invite anyone interested in suggesting additional activities or anyone who wants to know more about getting involved to get in touch via our website www.westburylions.org.uk/contact-us/ or through our Facebook page.”
