Concerned about Horses for Heroes

C

charman

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Hi i'm a newbie to all this, I am so concerned that I thought I should put this on the forum, I have entered the Horses for Heroes sponsored ride in support of Help for Heroes on 10th July 10.

I entered this ride as I want to show my support to all the very brave men and women who are protecting our freedom.

My son is on tour in Afganhistan at the moment so even more reason for me to raise as much money and support as possible.

I was on the horses for heroes website last week reading the FAQ and apparently the sponsorship money we raise will be sent after all expenses have been deducted, this has since been removed from the FAQ (I wonder why) now in my mind all sponsorship money should go to Help for Heroes, surely they have sponsors to cover costs?

Is anyone else worried or having problems with getting answers from the organisers, cause I am now worried if this is the best way of me raising money.

I look forward to hearing your comments also.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, have you asked the organisers directly about this? (Its not clear to me at least if you have, from what you have written above). As they wanted £100 up front just to enter, I fully understand your concerns.
 
thats a hell of a lot up front AND min £500 sponsorship!!! for a 5 mile sponsored rides with some discounts of tickets.....it's one for the rich but looks all above board to be honest.

I would pop along to windsor and pay to go round myself another day for that sort of money. I do support our troops, make no mistake there, but not many people can afford that sort of money!!
 
Thank you, sorry didn't put all the information on earlier as above is what initially concerned me.

However, I e-mailed and called them last week regarding mainly the payment link for sponsorship as I was told it would be up and running earlier in January and I am keen to get moving on this, I also recently saw on the website that we only have until 31st March to collect sponsorship, this I don't understand as the ride is in July, it would be benificial for everyone to have as long as possible to collect the £400 we all need to collect.

I was advised it was delayed due to the amount of questions they have received, and to look on the website last Thursday for updates. That is when I saw on the FAQ the question regarding sponsorship money, to which they answered, all expenses would be deducted from money raised and the rest would go to help for heroes.

Another FAQ suggested using Just Giving, the answer was to use their link to collect the money and they would pass on what was left after expenses.

If you visit the horses for heroes website they have a message saying they are talking to help for heroes to find the best solution, this message and the FAQ have changed over the weekend.
 
Yes £100 up front is alot of money, and I know with alot of hard work and a link for sponsorship I can raise £400 and hopefully alot more.

It is not for the rich, since hearing about this last year I managed to save the registration fee, I don't have much space cash myself, this is a way for me and lots of others to do our bit to show our support for the men and women of the armed forces.

Help for Heroes have lots of events being held, this is the only one that I can take part in.

Anyone can pay to ride around Windsor Great Park, I have been twice with my riding club for a small amount of money, it's not about the ride and distance it's showing my support.
 
Hi,

I have entered this too and have had the same concern - to be honest I didn't see that part on the FAQ until after I had paid the £100, and thought it was a bit odd, but as you say, wanted to do it to show my support anyway.

I contacted the organisers a couple of times during december about the online payment as it wasn't set up when they said and I was getting concerned about not paying the money in time, and it took them a while to come back to me and they then delayed the date (I assume that they were having technical difficulties) and I've now not heard anything since I paid my £100.

I keep looking on the website to see if there are any updates but there do not seem to be any yet?

Fingers crossed, and I may see you there!!
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Hi,

Let's hope it won't take long, I have just checked again and still no change on the website, will keep looking.

I will look out for you!! once everything is sorted it should be a very good day.
 
I too am very concerned about this event . I too signed up to this event to raise money for a very worthy charity and experience the finishing line at Ascot racecourse !!! From the beginning it seems to have been badly organised with deadlines coming and going. I paid my £100 registration fee thinking that was part of the donation to the charity. It is still impossible to see a list of other riders as initially promised and I have now received a letter to say the registration fee for 'running costs ' has now gone up to £175 !!! none of which will go to the charity. I have written asking for a refund of my £100 which I will then personally donate to the charity.
 
I am sat here fuming, I also received a letter asking for a further £75.00 on top of the £100 already sent, the £175 would go towards running costs . As you I thought all money would go to the charity when I first signed up. I agree this has been so badly organised and very misleading.

I had received a letter confirming receipt of the agreed £100 so now wondering how they can change the contract which i had accepted.

If 2010 participants pay £175 each that's £351,750 !! I would assume that they are not being charged to use the racecourse or Windsor Great Park or for the 3 free tickets to watch the races later... personally I won't be using the tickets as I will be taking my horse back home, hope i'm wrong but it looks like a money raising project to me..

I am in the process of contacting H-Power regarding the running costs etc and hope everyone else does also.
 
I just hope that this does not end up being some sort of scam by the organisers.


I do know from personal experience how much time and money it costs to set up a well organised sponsored ride as there are a lot of things to pay out for but it seems to me that there may be something very wrong with this one. as £100 up front is a lot of money to be paying the organisers up front.
 
i have received a reply to my email to the organisers saying they will refund my money and that they will ' pass on my comments'/ i actually find this even more concerning as they do not seem willing / able to justify what they are doing. i am sure a lot of people , like me, got carried away with the thought of riding round ascot racecourse etc and whilst i hope that anyone who does take part has a great day but i do feel very strongly that this event is being marketed as a charity ride etc etc and therefore do not understand how they can be creaming off such a large amount of money. giving people tickets to the racecourse costs them nothing and brings in more money for the course cos people will buy food /drinks etc. i ride in the park every week so no what that costs .... we are supplying the horses - we have our own insurance etc - so where is the 175 going
 
I too am very concerned at the way in which the Horsesfor Heroes ride is being run. I queried the £100 as soon as I saw that this was for admin!! I too had the info about paying an extra £75 after I had decided to give them the benefit of doubt. I have asked if they have a business plan and if they have a budget and for a breakdown of their expected running costs. I have had no reply so far!!! I certainly do not want such a large proportion of my generously given sponsor money to go to admin. I may well pullout all together. It would be excellent if Horse and Hound would look into it for us
 
well I and the friend I was riding with have both pulled out and await the promised refund of the £100 which I plan to donate to help for heroes. It would be good if horse and hounds looked into this event - sure the organisers would welcome their endorsement if deserving. it is strange that the initial promises for list of entrants etc on the site has now gone - i do wonder how many people have actually entered.
 
I have received answers today to my questions concerning the cost involved- ie the £175 per rider for running costs. On the list given to me was : 10 Drs, 10 Paramedics, 10 ambulances 6 Farriers,10 vets plus many other examples. Does seem rathjer a lot for a 5 mile ride!!!
 
well suppose that explains the cost !!!! i ride in park every week and cover approx 12 miles - without need for any of the above !!! know safetly etc paramount but why 6 farriers - ground all soft / grass - if horse loses shoe hardly going to be replaced on day !!! think they running this like horse race - not hack round park !!! well - wish you well if you continue and take part but really dont think in interest of the charity. would be nice if vets / farriers etc on call supporting the charity - not making money ! will watch with interest to see how much raised for help for heroes and genuinely hope successful but still dont really get it - if someone hurt / horse hurt - then really good local facilities - 10 ambulances !!! from where - provided by who - not sure they have that many to cover berkshire in average day
 
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I have received answers today to my questions concerning the cost involved- ie the £175 per rider for running costs. On the list given to me was : 10 Drs, 10 Paramedics, 10 ambulances 6 Farriers,10 vets plus many other examples. Does seem rathjer a lot for a 5 mile ride!!!

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Per event?!
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Oh this would have me livid. Bearing in mind I'm not an expert, but they shouldn't NEED to provide ambulances and paramedics, just have the facility to call 999, and as for 10 doctors, what exactly are they going to do that a paramedic can't do for an emergency? I have been involved in providing first aid to events and have NEVER heard of doctors being present.

As for 6 farriers and 10 vets, how many horses are there going to be?!
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I'd be doing the same and bowing out...
 
I have just had the same reply and understand costs are involved but do we need so many doctors, farriers etc and I would assume they would willingly give their time freely for this fantastic event.
I have requested names of sponsors etc and a list of people taking part to be put on their website, would be nice to see how many are taking part.
I really hope this does raise alot of money for Help for Heroes
 
well - am now even more concerned re this ride - have just relooked at the horses for heroes website and they have now removed the need to raise a minimum of 400 for the charity. SO the organisers get the 175 per rider and there is then no requirement for riders to raise anything for the charity. i suspect these changes stem from very few people entering . it would appear that there will be a lot of people gaining paid work from this ride and i still find it hard to believe that they would not be able to get the services to proviide stewards etc . i remain amazed at the need for so many dr;s vets ambulances etc for a 5 mile walk and trot ride -
 
There must be better ways to raise the money for H4H, albeit not using Ascot. A group of HHOers on the AAD forum did sponsored walks, not as a mass group but each in our local area. I'm not sure what the final total is but I managed to raise about £200 myself, it is a charity people are very happy to support. Surely a similar thing on horseback could be arranged, if someone is happy to organise it they should contact H4H who will explain what is involved.
 
I am also amazed at how many vets, farriers, doctors etc thought it was going to be a nice hack, not a race....and would assume they would donate their time for free for such a good cause. I understand some costs are involved but £175 to enter seems excessive.

If i read it correctly if the £400 sponsorship had been sent directly to H Power people would not be able to gift aid (pass on the tax), however by setting up a just giving account this is now possible, so now it's a matter of raising as much as we can without a time limit, which is much better. At least all the sponsorship money goes to Help for Heroes that has my vote.

I have e-mailed them regarding the £175 they said if they have a surplus of registration fees it will be donated to Help for Heroes. They have around 1800 registrations at the moment.
 
I have withdrawn from this event because of concerns at the cost. The latest press release appears to use the excuse that the use of the 'justgiving' website is responsible for the hike in reg fee- this is a bit confusing
 
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I have e-mailed them regarding the £175 they said if they have a surplus of registration fees it will be donated to Help for Heroes. They have around 1800 registrations at the moment.

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That is £315,000 - I am sorry, but their *costs* are getting well beyond a joke, even if you paid the attending medics, etc top price!
 
Thought long and hard about this - had looked at it with a group of friends (we all have forces connections) and decided that we want to do something where ALL the money we raise goes to the charity so we didn't even lay down the first 100 squid.
In fairness to the organisers, this is a bit like those 'pay £3k to trek Machu Picchu for charity' type of thing. However, I'm with the more traditional among us who are more used to everyone chipping in their skills or time or money in aid of a good cause. Horsepower clearly are not prepared to do that.
 
Has anyone actually received a refund? I had the same concerns as many others, sent my letter withdrawing asking for a refund. I have had no response at all. Now I have a general letter saying the fee has dropped to £100, I am fully registered and to start fund raising! What a shame this is so disorganised!
 
There was a letter in H&H a few weeks back about this from the group providing vetinary services. Apparently some entrants had been told that the extra £75 was for vet cover and they wished to point out that they are providing thier services free of charge.

We had looked at entering this event but the cost and minimum sponsorship is just too much for a 10 year old. (I'm mum in case anyone was wondering...) We decided to do our own sponsored ride locally. 100% of anything we raise - be it a penny be it a pound - will go to Help the Heros.

I wonder if H&H should look into this a bit more for us? Any H&H writers reading?
 
That all sounds extremely odd, surely some of the army farriers based in Windsor would be drafted in for the day? If there needs to be 6 farriers in the first place! How much work will they really be doing? I'd steer well clear personally, even if it is all above board it looks like someone somewhere will be making a big profit and it's not just the charity.
 
Forestflame said:
I have received answers today to my questions concerning the cost involved- ie the £175 per rider for running costs. On the list given to me was : 10 Drs, 10 Paramedics, 10 ambulances 6 Farriers,10 vets plus many other examples. Does seem rathjer a lot for a 5 mile ride!!!
Click to expand...

I organised a sponsored ride for CRUK some years back. My ride was approx 10 miles and for that, I organised a St John Ambulance stand, one farrier (my own, who gave his time free with the idea he would charge individuals for any lost shoes...etc). No vet was in attendance as it wasn't compulsory, but I had numbers for all the local vets to hand. No Doctors or paramedics are required. Even first aid wasn't compulsory, but I organised that anyway.

Alarm bells are ringing BIG TIME over this. The entry fee for my ride was £15 I think (to cover the St John Ambulance fee as everything else was volunteer based), certainly no more than that and there was no minimum fund raising, either.
 
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