Fun for All at the BTRC Open Day

Saturday 5th August saw many people turn out for the Family Fun Open Day at BTRC. With the wettest July on record, the field was out of bounds for parking and with Storm Antoni heading our way it was due to be a wet day but with all activities and demonstrations being inside we went ahead in true British spirit and what a great day we all had! With all monies donated and received on the day, BTRC were incredibly grateful to have raised over £4,500!

Gates opened at 11am and the cars came flooding in, but with the skills of Nathalie and Peter on car parking duties we managed to squeeze everyone in!

Generous donations were accepted on entry and visitors enjoyed meeting the horses, tasty cakes and good brews, a craft station for the children, facepainting, petting the different animals in the animal barn, watching the racehorse to riding horse demonstration, shopping in the second hand tack shop and stalls including BTRC, Finches and DSK Designs, as well as taking part in the fun dog show and watching the thrilling dog agility demonstration by Lune Valley Dog Agility.

Well esteemed guests included Mayor of Lancaster Roger Dennison and Mayoress Glenys, who were received by BTRC Chairman, John Sexton. BTRC Ambassador Charlie Lawson also attended to show his support to the charity, of which he has been involved with from the early days.

The arena was packed for the Racehorse to Riding horse demonstration delivered by Gillian Carlisle. Stable Staff member Emily rode BTRC Nina in the silks and racing saddle and Rehab Supervisor Charlotte showed BTCR Malcolm off as a retrained racehorse. Having both horses in the arena at the same time is a great visual explanation of how different the disciplines are and what we are trying to achieve with the horses. Next in came BTRC Siri on the long lines to demonstrate one of our many retraining techniques. The demonstration finished with BTRC Theo ridden by Molly in showing gear and BTRC Abs ridden by Hannah kitted out in high visibility to showcase the different homes our horses can go on to.

Following the demo, everyone had a walk around the yard whilst enjoying a tasty burger or hot dog from Tom’s barbeque and a brew or cake from the lovely ladies Karen, Joanne, Jeanette and Chelsea.

The children were entertained with crafts, facepainting and meeting the animals; Hercules the giant tortoise, Sausage the colour Ryeland sheep, Bacon the Texel sheep, Dilly, Doris, Dougal, Douglas, Dora the Alpine x Anglo Nubian Goats, Billy, Bob, Beatrice, Betty the runner ducks, Peppermint the shorthorn calf and rosebud the Limousin calf.

BTRC supporters Finches had their gorgeous products on sale from luxurious silk scarves to cosy woollen socks. Debbie at DSK designs was selling beautiful kitchen wear such as mugs, worktop protectors etc. Visitors also had the chance to grab a bargain in our 2^nd hand tack shop run by volunteer Maria.

The afternoon was all about the dogs! The dog show was a hit, with many entries and lots of lovely dogs and owners entering for a bit of fun. Mayor of Lancaster, Roger made the difficult decisions as judge (results below), all winners received handmade dog treats by Dawn Hunter and rosettes were given out up to 6^th place. The dog show was followed by a thrilling dog agility demonstration by Lune Valley Dog Training Club.

Best Rescue

1st: Victoria & Ozzie
2nd: Steff & Roama

Loveliest Lady

1st: Rudy & Sandy
2nd: Laura & Pretzel

Fabulous Fella

1st: Phil & Bailey
2nd: Lucy & Freddy

Child’s Best Friend

1st: Sophia & Opal
2nd: Lacey & Bessie

Waggiest Tail

1st: Anne & Albert
2nd: Tyler & Benji

Championship

Champion: Lucy & Freddy
Reserve Champion