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Norbrook will support a motor biking team of vets raising money for conservation organisation, Saving the Survivors, that provides care for victims of rhino poaching.

Norbrook will support a motor biking team of vets raising money for conservation organisation, Saving the Survivors, that provides care for victims of rhino poaching.

Norbrook Supports Vets With Horsepower On Charity Ride To Arctic Circle

6 years ago
1668 views

Posted
28th March, 2018 14h58

Author
Norbrook Laboratories


Norbrook will support a motor biking team of vets travelling 3,800 miles in 14 days from the United Kingdom to the Arctic Circle. The trip involves the delivery of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) lectures for vets, while raising money for charity.

Vets with Horsepower is in its eighth year and has set the bar high for 2018, with the team hoping to raise £75,000 through sponsorship. Funds raised will be shared between three charities – conservation organisation Saving the Survivors, The Interstate School of Veterinary Science and Medicine of Dakar that trains vets across West Africa, and the children’s charity SmileTrain.

Eight bikers will leave the UK on 15th June with GPS navigators set for Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany, where they will deliver five days of lectures and wet labs to vets interested in equine health, returning on 2nd July.

Vets with Horsepower started eight years ago when Derek Knottenbelt won a Harley Davidson motorbike in a raffle and, instead of selling it for the cash, he learned how to ride.

In the first year of the project, all seven of the UK vet schools were visited in one week and a program of CPD lectures was given by 10 motorbiking vet specialists.

“In one week I rode the motorbike to seven schools, riding all day, delivering courses in the evening, then jumping back on the bike the next day and doing it all over again,” he says.

“I thought about selling my bike and choosing a more sensible way of life, but that didn’t happen! Instead, the idea has now turned into a tradition and the group has grown significantly to include the eight highly specialist academic vets embarking on the 2018 adventure.

“It’s hellishly challenging work but we laugh a lot while achieving real, measurable results for charity, benefitting working horses and endangered animals, as well as helping vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the world’s poorest countries.

In the past eight years, Vets with Horsepower has raised more than £565,000 for 12 charities, while delivering CPD training in Morocco, Russia, South Africa, Eastern Europe and the UK and Ireland.

This year, monies raised will go to providing Saving the Survivors with radio equipment that tracks rhinos and provides care for victims of poaching, as well as proactively preventing future poaching attacks.

The Interstate School of Veterinary Science and Medicine of Dakar educates vets from nine west African countries where people rely heavily on working horses and donkeys to make a living and feed their families. The school will receive an x-ray machine and clinical teaching materials to encourage students to take an interest in the equine curriculum.

Funds raised will also go to SmileTrain, a charity providing life-changing surgery for children born in developing countries with a cleft palate, giving them a chance to make friends, go to school and have a brighter future.

“We are very grateful to Norbrook, a staunch supporter of the project for five years and this year they will be extending their sponsorship with a support car and driver team,” says Dr Knottenbelt.

Lizzie Barnard, Norbrook Product Manager – Equine, says: “Vets around the world will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the Vets with Horsepower team, while these amazing charities will receive much-needed funds – it’s a win-win for everyone and Norbrook is proud to be a gold sponsor.”

The team will reach Morud in Denmark, on 18th June, Skara in Sweden on 19th June, Boden in Sweden on 22nd June, Tjome in Norway on 27th June and Hamburg in Germany on 29th June to deliver the CPD training. To register your interest, go to www.vetswithhorsepower.com.

There are opportunities to become a gold sponsor, silver sponsor or bronze sponsor of the event, or to simply donate go to www.justgiving.com/vetswithhorsepower

                                                                           ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Norbrook is a global leader in the development and manufacture of veterinary and animal health medicines. Norbrook, headquartered in Newry, Northern Ireland has a presence in 120 countries in the world, with facilities in the UK and Ireland, Europe, the US, Africa and Australia.

For further information please contact Lizzie Barnard ([email protected]) on 01536 741 147.


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