Thunderbird Show Park in Langley raised $11,607 in support of JustWorld International during its recent Summer Classic and Summer Festival tournaments.
JustWorld International is a not-for-profit, humanitarian organization working as a catalyst for positive change in the developing world by helping impoverished children.
Thunderbird Show Park identified JustWorld’s Cambodia Rice for Families Project at Stung Mein Chey in Cambodia as the project it wanted to raise funds for.
Setting a target of $9,000, Thunderbird far exceeded its fundraising goal by bringing in $11,607 from its various fundraising activities.
The money will go directly to the project, giving families in the Stung Mein Chey garbage dump a 5 kg bag of rice each month, helping to reduce the need for children to gather food scraps or to earn money by picking through trash.
Thunderbird held several fundraising and awareness events over the course of the Summer Classic tournament from August 17-21 and the Summer Festival tournament from August 24-28.
JustWorld’s signature Horseless Horse Show, which sees people compete on foot over miniature jumps, was held on Friday, August 19, much to the delight of the crowd.
A silent auction, which raised more than $4,000 in support of JustWorld, was also held the same day during the $50,000 Dianne Tidball Legacy Grand Prix.
During the second week of competition, the fun-filled Groom’s Class took the spotlight in the grand prix ring August 25.
Thunderbird Show Park matched the groom’s cash donations to help raise more than $600 for JustWorld’s project sites.
Perhaps providing the most entertainment was the Family Extravaganza Equitation Class on August 28, which saw 29 teams vie for bragging rights.
Teams had to be made up of two generations of family members, with each member competing in either an over fences or on the flat equitation class.
In additional to the $40 entry fee, all of which was donated to JustWorld, teams were allowed to attempt to bribe the judges with cash, all of which went to support the not-for-profit organization.
In the end, it was the team of Laura Tidball Balisky and her father, George Tidball, who took the win over Julia Tops and her grandmother, Midge Zeidler.
When the entry fees and cash bribes were totalled, the Family Extravaganza Equitation Class raised more than $1,900.
Other fundraising efforts included various Calcutta’s held throughout the two weeks of competition, hot dog donations and proceeds from the sale of 13-year-old Julia Tops’ handmade cell phone charms and covers.
Tops and her mother, Tani Zeidler, both JustWorld Rider Ambassadors representing Canada, were instrumental in this year’s fundraising efforts, along with the Tidball family and Kim MacDougal, Thunderbird’s JustWorld event coordinator.
With show jumping riders around the world signing up to become JustWorld Rider Ambassadors, Executive Director Jessica Newman has mobilized some of the sport’s biggest names towards supporting JustWorld’s projects.
There are currently more than 400 Rider Ambassadors from 35 different countries, ranging from nine-year-old pony riders to Olympic medalists, who help bring attention to JustWorld International’s cause and support its project sites in Brazil, Cambodia, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Founded in 2003, JustWorld International raises awareness and funds in the equestrian community to support humanitarian projects that benefit impoverished communities and children in the developing world.
Cooperating with local partners, JustWorld International implements sustainable, culturally sensitive education, health and vocational projects.
For more information on JustWorld International and its upcoming fundraising events please visit www.justworldinternational.org.
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