FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
SIDELINES JUNE 2014 13
Although theBrooke is based in London, England, andhas
recently opened its first NorthAmerican office in Lexington,
Kentucky, all of the charity’swork occurs overseaswhere around
1,000 staff (some employed directly by theBrooke, some by
local partner organizations) all work to find sustainable solutions
to improve the lives of working equine animals. TheUK-based
technical advisory staff works closelywith the field teams abroad,
most of whom are nationals. Muchof my time is spent in someof
theworld’s poorest countries, training others to conduct welfare
assessments using themethods developedwithin theBrooke,
or working side by sidewith local staff to collect data from the
animals in their project areas.
I cried over the suffering of horseswhen readingBlack
Beauty as a child, as didmany fellow horse lovers. Now I do
soas an adult, but with the hope that I am in somewaymaking
a contribution to thewonderful work of theBrooke, and that
we really canmake a difference tomillions of horses, donkeys
andmules around theworld. The need is great, the challenges
aremany, and our workmay never be completely finished, but
I’mhopeful that we can give these hard-working, selfless and
astonishinglywillingand forgiving animals a lifeworth living, and
achieve our vision of aworld inwhichworking horses, donkeys
andmules are free from suffering.
About theBrooke: Her Royal Highness theDuchess of Cornwall,
wife of PrinceCharles, is currently servingher second termas
President of theBrooke. During her tenure, a visionwas cast
for theBrooke todouble the number of animals being reached
each year by 2016. Knowing thatAmericans share theBritish
people’s generous spirit, loveof horses and concern for the
world’s poor contributed to the decision to seek partnershipwith
keyAmericandonors, whose support is essential to reaching
the goal.A501(c)(3) was establishedand in 2013 an officewas
opened at theKentuckyHorsePark in Lexington, Kentucky, for
the sole purposeof supporting theoverseaswork of theBrooke.
Americandonors can send tax-deductiblegifts toAmerican
Friends of theBrooke, 4089 IronWorksPkwy, Lexington,
KY 40511.Also, please visit
www.
TheBrookeUSA.org, or contact Cindy.Rullman@TheBrookeUSA.
orgor call Cindy at 859-296-0037.
About thewriter:AshleighBrownhasworked for theBrooke for
five years. Her educational background is in animal behavior and
animal welfare science, whileher hands-onexperience includes
workingwith, riding, or traininghorses inher home country of
Scotland in addition toCanada,Argentina andAustralia. She
travels extensively, having visited40 countries across 6
continents, in spite of her fear of flying. In her spare time, she
trains in boxing, andenjoys glamorous nights out in London (in
high contrast toher work in remoteand rural locations), and is a
self-admitted shoe junkie!
Ashleigh conductingwelfare assessments at ahighland
market, assistedbyBrookeEthiopia staff andobservedby
local communitymembers.
Ashleigh taking time to reassure a foal while conductingawelfare assessment of themare at amarket.
