On Saturday 1st December over two hundred guests enjoyed the Quest RDA Biennial Ball at The Brooklands Museum in Weybridge. With a “Christmas” theme there was plenty of sparkle and great fun was had by all. Guests were entertained by two magicians on arrival before taking their seats to enjoy a delicious three course dinner.
The Quest Fundraising team who organised the event were delighted to be supported by Crest Nicholson at Longcross who generously sponsored the Ball. Crest Nicholson have been supporters of Quest for 18 months and it was fantastic that some of their employees were able to join us for the evening.
We were absolutely delighted to be joined by Mary King MBE and her husband, David from Devon. Mary has been a stalwart of the British Eventing Team having represented Great Britain at six Olympic Games, as well as numerous World and European Championships.
Mary gave an inspirational talk about her career and really showed us that with determination you can achieve your dreams. Mary also spoke about the special bond between horse and rider which we also experience with our ponies and riders. Mary very kindly donated “A Day with Mary King” enabling our guests the opportunity to experience a day either at home with her or at a competition with her.
Throughout the evening there was a Silent Auction and Raffle with some wonderful prizes generously donated by Quest supporters and local businesses. The fundraising team were extremely pleased that all the prizes and Auction Lots were generously donated, ensuring that every pound spent by our guests went directly towards helping the charity.
After dinner Chris Mills, President of Richmond Rugby Club auctioned some fabulous Lots with guests winning holiday stays in South Africa, Scotland
and the Scilly Isles, A day Fly fishing, White Water Rafting with an Olympian…. to mention just a few.
Chairman, Julie Jones spoke about the work of the Quest and the progress it had made since the last Ball telling guests that as a direct result of their generosity two years ago Quest had been able to buy three new ponies, erect a clubhouse as a base at Laris Farm and substantially enhance the sensory ride, enjoyed so much by many Quest RDA riders.
Guests then enjoyed a short film which Crest Nicholson enabled us to produce, showing the work of Quest RDA. It was a powerful and moving experience featuring six of our Quest riders, illustrating to people not involved directly with the charity, the many benefits of horse riding.
Following dinner and the speeches guests enjoyed the casino tables and dancing to the fabulous sounds of Orange discos. The splendid evening
came to a close at 1am.
Quest would like to sincerely thank our guest speaker Mary King MBE and Crest Nicholson at Longcross for their very generous sponsorship.
We are very grateful to the following companies and individuals for their donations and support:
Rokers Worplesdon and Squire’s Garden Centre Woking, Adventure Balloons, Apollo Housewares Ltd, April Nelson, Art by Lottie, Ascot Racecourse
Badminton Horse Trials, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Brooklands Hotel, Chelsea Football Club, Chobham Golf Club, Cooks4Charity, Coworth Park Hotel, Foxhills Club & Resort, Grange Park Opera Horsley, Guildford Flames, Hickstead, Horse of the Year Show, Jess Richardson Styling, Jill Wood, Karma Hotel St Martins, Lynn Hunting, Neil Strong, Sadie Penn Photography, Sandown Park Racecourse, Sangeeta Patel, Silent Pool Distillers, Sir & Madam West Byfleet, Spafax Mirrors, Stovell’s Chobham, The Bird in Hand Woking, The Ivy Cobham, The Red Lion Horsell, The White Hart Chobham, Waitrose, West Byfleet Golf Club, West Hill Golf Club
