Vets with Horsepower repeat 2018 Arctic circle fundraising success tour in Spain and Portugal this year.
Vets with Horsepower is a group of equine vets and lecturers riding motorbikes to deliver CPD (Continuous Professional Development) lectures across Europe and further afield to raise funds for charities. Founded in 2010 by Professor Derek Knottenbelt, the group of vets have now completed 8 fundraising tours across Europe and South Africa, raising over £640,000 for human and animal charities worldwide.
Vets with Horsepower raised over £80,000 in 2018 when they rode their motorbikes 4200 miles in 2 weeks from the UK to the Arctic circle and back, delivering CPD programmes in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany, and even performed an unexpected emergency surgery on a horse along the way! The money was raised via sponsorship from UK and European veterinary suppliers, sponsorship and fundraising by predominantly UK-based vet practices, CPD ticket sales and individual donations. The speakers do not charge a fee for their time so every penny raised can go to charity.
In July of 2019, the Vets with Horsepower will be mounting their motorbikes again to deliver lectures at eight CPD events in Spain and Portugal. The beneficiary charities this year are Saving the Survivors, the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, the equine curriculum at the Mozambique veterinary school and Tiny Tickers. The speakers are: Prof Derek Knottenbelt, Prof Roger Smith, Dr Jessica Kidd, Dr David Bardell, Dr Caroline Hahn, Dr John Burford, Dr Andy Crawford, Dr Jenny Croft, Dr Nancy Homewood, Dr Deon van Tonder, Dr Dietrich von Schweinitz and Dr Sanne Wilmink. They will provide lectures and/or practical sessions at Zaragoza, Madrid, Córdoba and Cáceres in Spain and Évora, Lisbon, Porto and Villa Real in Portugal. The group will leave the UK on the 6th of July and will return on the 21st of July.
Professor Derek Knottenbelt says; “The Vets with Horsepower team is proud to support TINY TICKERS in our 2019 IBERIAN EVENT. We are all here because our hearts are strong, not every baby however is so lucky and for sure, not every baby is lucky enough to have its’ cardiac function assessed fully in the first few weeks of life. Proper diagnosis of problems in the first minutes, hours and days of life provides amazing opportunities for intervention and this diagnostic stage with its required technology falls fully into the philosophy of the Vets with Horsepower project. We are delighted to play our part in supporting tiny hearts. More [horse]power to TINY TICKERS!”
Katie Lawson, Head of Fundraising & Comms, from Tiny Tickers says: “We are absolutely delighted that Vets with Horsepower has chosen to support Tiny Tickers, and in turn, help us to give more tiny hearts a better start in life. The monies raised will make a huge difference to our sonographer training project, our ability to fund life-saving equipment and will also help us raise more awareness of congenital heart defects and our Think 20 and Think Heart campaigns. This relationship provides vital income for a small charity like ours – so thank you to everyone for pledging to make a huge difference to heart babies and their families.”
Information about Vets with Horsepower, their supporters and the charities they support is available on www.vetswithhorsepower.com.
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