THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION WITH MYSCHOOL CARD
Here’s something you might not know about me: for almost all of my life I’ve ridden horses. From about 14 I was competitively showjumping. Up until 2 years ago, when I finally decided to “retire”, I used to travel the country competing in Adult Open Showjumping classes (that’s from 1.30m up to 1.50m). My proudest moment was finding out I was in the top 5 1.30m partnerships in the country with my incredible mare Zuperstar. We jumped our first 1.40m show at SA Champs in Natal and I can still remember the feeling of joy going through the finish flags.
That isn’t the only feeling I’ve felt. My horses were always a constant source of joy and happiness. I was blessed to have some incredible horses in my life. When our time together came to an end most found homes with other ladies who showered them with as much love as I did, while my older companions were retired. We made provision to find them great farms to live out their days. The problem is, this isn’t the case for many horses. Racehorses find themselves neglected and left to fend for themselves in terrible conditions when their racing careers come to an end. Older horses who have worked in riding schools or can no longer compete are handed over to dealing yards where they pass through hands and eventually find themselves neglected. Over and above all of that, there are also a large group of horses in townships used for work. While their owners love them very much they might not have the right education about the horses’ welfare and upkeep (never mind the money to pay for all of that).
This is why I’m such a big supporter of the Highveld Horse Care Unit. They re-home ex-racehorses, care for neglected and abused horses and also run amazing programmes around Gauteng where they educate horse owners in townships about basic care. They also supply that basic care for them so they don’t need to fork out a small fortune. The Highveld Horse Care Unit has been a beneficiary on my MySchool card since the beginning and, to celebrate the MySchool card 20th anniversary they’ll be donating R5000 to the charity on my behalf!
Wait, what is a MySchool Card?
The MySchool Card was introduced in 1997 (yup, 20 years ago, can you believe it!) and is a fantastic way to give back to charities, schools and conservation projects. When you make a purchase at a partner store, you simply swipe your card while you’re paying. The retailer then makes a donation to your chosen beneficiary on your behalf – without it costing you anything! It is completely free to sign up for the card and it can even be used for online purchases. The MySchool card programme currently donates around R6 million a month to supported beneficiaries. That’s around R500 million since they started. There are currently around 1.2 million supporters with MySchool cards, if you want to join them you can sign up over here.
And now, a chance to win!
As part of the 20th Anniversary celebrations, I’m not the only one able to give back to my favourite chairty. You can as well! All you need to do is share the cause you support on one (or all) of your social profiles using the hashtag #MySchool20 – 20 lucky people will win a R20 000 Woolworths gift card for themselves but also a R20 000 cash donation to their chosen charity, school or conservation programme. How rad? The competition ends today (8 November).
So what are you waiting for? Get sharing!
Disclosure: MySchool Card did donate R5000 to the Highveld Horse Care Unit on my behalf.
