Elisabeth Svendsen Trust

A 10th anniversary charity ball, which was held at the Hilton Hotel in Leeds on Saturday 26th September in aid of a donkey riding therapy charity for children with special needs, was a great success!

Lee Pearson CBE, winner of nine Gold Medals in Paralympic Dressage, and Patron of The Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys (EST), attended the event to help raise funds for its cause.

Cathryn Williams who runs the Leeds centre says: “We all had a fabulous evening with 110 guests attending, including the Deputy Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Leeds who spoke generally about their work.

“We had a huge amount of gifts to auction including a tour of Emmerdale and a signed script from the cast. Lee was a complete star and kindly auctioned a family day with lunch at his yard, raising us £600 for EST.

“Simon Young, a physiotherapist of Leeds Rhino’s rugby league club, also auctioned a head and shoulder massage which was won by the cook at our centre based in Manchester, there were hand-crafted models of our adoption donkeys, a beautiful painting and books signed by Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson.

“Finally, Simon, who is also a local cabaret singer, personalised songs for our guests and got everybody to dance the night away. A good time was had by all and I really can’t thank everybody enough for their hard work and dedicated support.”

All money raised will go towards the running costs of the centre as it receives no government funding and relies on the donations and generosity of its supporters.
The EST centre in Eccup is attended by over 150 children with special needs and disabilities from 30 schools each week, all within the Eccup and surrounding area. It makes no charge to the schools or parents whose children attend and staffing is strongly supported by a dedicated group of volunteers who help with the riding sessions.
The Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys (EST) was officially opened on Tuesday 29th September 1999 by Dame Thora Hird.

For further information about the work of EST please call Cathryn Williams on 0113 261 9249