Today we (who work at Old Pond) went over to Hollesley Bay, about fifteen miles from Ipswich, Suffolk, to have a first look at the Suffolk horse we have agreed to sponsor.
Colony Tanzin, a two-year-old being reared as a breeding mare, belongs to the Suffolk Punch Trust. In 2002 the Trust bought the land, buildings and stock formerly owned by the prison authorities and run as part of their remedial work at the Hollesley Bay Colony.
It has been a proper Indian summer day today and we are sure Tanzin would have preferred to have been outside grazing with the thirty other Suffolk Punches maintained by the Trust. However, Project ManagerJohn Marsh was kind enough to bring her in with a companion so that we could become acquainted.
The Trust derives income from a range of sources, earned and donated. The opportunity for the public to sponsor a horse has only been running for a very short time. The sponsorship is £40 per month. The Trust ensures that the horse which is sponsored is, as John Marsh puts it, 'one we intend to keep - hence the focus on better quality filly foals which will eventually be part of our herd of breeding mares.'
Old Pond is the Trust's first commercial sponsor. 'This took us a bit by surprise,' says John. 'We saw this scheme being taken up by ex-Suffolk horse owners who still wanted an association with a Suffolk without all the hassle.'
The Trust has a £1 million appeal running to raise funding for the creation of a new access road, car-parking and visitor building with education facilities. There are also plans for a static heritage display, the refurbishment of the stables and stalls and landscaping in the area of the buildings.
For more information about the Trust and to find out how to contribute financially or as a volunteer, visit www.suffolkpunchtrust.org
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