Elisabeth Svendsen Trust

Last week, we opened our sixth EST centre in Belfast! It was a happy and meaningful occasion, with Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, making a special visit to officially open our new and exciting facility.

HRH was given the opportunity to see a riding display by local special needs children and our Trustee, Geraldine Stafford provided this moving speech about her involvement with our charity:

This week, three brave volunteers will be taking part in a Coast to Coast mountain bike challenge to raise funds for EST Manchester. Mike, Glen and Andy will be tackling a whopping 210 mile off-road course that is sure to be a true test of their endurance levels.

EST Manchester's kitchen is in desperate need of refurbishment and it is the only EST centre which does not have a sensory room - the team is raising funds to make a conversion which will achieve both.

Please support Mike, Glen and Andy in their amazing efforts by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/EST-Manchester

Spring is in the air as our thoughts turn towards the Spring Fair, being held on Saturday 17th April 2010 here at EST Manchester. The fair opens at 10am until 3pm. This is a great opportunity for every child that visits to tackle our themed obstacle course whilst riding a donkey with a prize goody bag at the finish. If children would like to ride we ask that they arrive before 1pm.

On 15th August 2009 we held our 5th annual Summer Fair at EST Manchester. It was a hugely successful day enjoyed by over a 1,000 visitors. Activities included Barn Owl Bill, Pottery in the Park, Retired Greyhound Trust, Boxer Rescue, RSPCA, Dookies Ferret Rescue, Cats Protection League, and much more.

A snippet of the event has been caught on camera and can be seen below.

Toby has found himself a new job as our resident guard donkey! He likes to stand by the yard gate, making sure that the other donkeys don't get out. Sometimes he's reluctant to let anyone in either - especially his friend Tufty, who is particularly quick at sneaking through gates!

Nowadays, Mary looks even more beautiful than usual, if that's possible! Her long brown coat remains the same on her top half but her sides have been clipped to allow her to do the work in the arena with the children without getting too hot and bothered. As well as being a beautiful donkey, Mary is also very kind and gentle with the children.