Famous equestrians including YouTuber This Esme, and Brooke ambassadors Charlotte Dujardin and Richard Waygood are supporting the return of Brooke’s MyHackathon fundraising challenge, running from March to October 2019.

Now in its third year, the challenge calls upon riders from across the UK and beyond to hack 100 miles in 100 days and raise £100 in sponsorship. To date, charitable riders have raised over £40,000 for Brooke, a charity that improves the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in developing countries.

This Esme (real name Esme Higgs) used her regular Friday post to tell her 240,000 YouTube subscribers about the challenge. MyHackathon Challenge – This Esme

Also showing her support for the third year running is rider Claire Harker, who runs the Instagram account @life_through_the_ears and will be encouraging riders to take part throughout the year.

Riders can join Brooke’s official MyHackathon Facebook group. Here, hundreds of hackers share their progress and get tips from others taking part. Each month, Brooke will select a Hacker of the Month from Facebook based on their fundraising efforts. Winners will receive a Brooke tote bag, pin badge, pen, Brooke t-shirt and a Brooke Numnah.

Brooke supporter Lex Whitby took part in the challenge last year as a way of regaining her confidence after a nasty fall in 2016. She said: “Without this challenge I would have just carried on taking tiny little baby steps, but having a goal to work towards has given me an immense amount of determination and motivation to get out and ride. With the time frame of 100 days I am literally counting down the days and adding up the miles.”

The challenge is free to enter and supporters can either take part alone or share the distance with friends. By riding just three or four miles each week, hackers can hit 100 miles by the 31 October target and know that they are helping to transform the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules and the families who depend on them. All participants will receive a certificate or rosette to thank them for their support.

All money raised from the challenge will go towards Brooke’s work across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, bringing lasting change to the lives of working animals. For £100, Brooke could provide a community with a permanent water trough for its animals, train two farriers to trim and balance hooves properly, or support women’s groups that give female owners the skills that will benefit them and their animals for life.

To find out more and sign up visit www.thebrooke.org/myhackathon

 

Photo courtesy of www.sweet-images.co.uk