General

Every day between now and Christmas Mark Perry will go the extra mile for the charity he loves and works for.

Despite chronic osteoarthritis as a result of Chrohn’s Disease, Mark will run a mile every day for the next 175 days to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

He is supporting the ‘175 Campaign’ – a major, six-month appeal by Sheffield-based healthcare company B. Braun Medical Ltd to raise vital funds for the rapid response emergency charity.

Mark, from Barnsley, is South Yorkshire Regional Fundraiser for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, having worked for them for the last 7 years.

He said: “It seems a long time until the last run on Christmas Day but I’m determined to complete the challenge. It will be huge because I do have bad osteoarthritis as a result of my Chrohn’s Disease.

“But, it was a choice between giving up chocolate for 175 days or running a mile a day – and it was never going to be the chocolate!

“In my role as the South Yorkshire Regional Fundraiser I see every day the efforts people go to, to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, raising money in brilliantly different ways. I

thought it was about time I did something too – it’ll be nice to present a cheque, rather than collecting one on behalf of the charity!”

The ‘175 Campaign’ encourages people across the region to donate a minimum of £1.75 each to help organisers reach the total in time for Christmas.

Mark and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance will be keeping supporters up to date with his progress through their social media channels.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has carried more than 5,500 people in its 13-year history. It needs to raise £9,990 each day to keep its two helicopters in the air and maintained – equivalent to £3.6 million each year.

Without any direct government funding, the only help the charity receives is through the secondment of its paramedics from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

B. Braun Medical Ltd has been a key supporter for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance since 2000, providing both donations and in-kind services for the charity.

For more information about the campaign visit www.justgiving.com/The175Campaign, follow @The175Campaign on Twitter or like www.facebook.com/the175campaign.

A ground-breaking fundraising partnership between Huddersfield Town Football Club (HTAFC) and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) has raised over £1million.

The pioneering ‘Keep It Up’ campaign, was launched back in 2009 to help establish sustainable income for the Charity as well as supporting Huddersfield Town’s Youth Academy, which actively promotes the development of future football stars from the local community. Over the last five years, Huddersfield Town have driven the campaign through a series of high profile events including Walk for Pounds, Run for Pounds and the now infamous Pedal for Pounds cycle challenge.

The campaign was a first of its kind in the Football League and no one could have pre-empted how successful it would turn out.

Paul Gowland, YAA’s Director of Fundraising said “Five years ago when we launched the ‘Keep It Up’ campaign, we could never have predicted just how successful the partnership was going to be. It was new territory for both us and HTAFC – neither of us had ever been involved in a partnership like this before. We knew it would be a success, we didn’t quite realise just how successful!”

Paul continues “HTAFC have been fantastic at driving the campaign, however the success of it has been down to the fans getting behind ‘Keep It Up’ and showing their support. Their passion and dedication to the campaign over the last five years is amazing and they should all be commended for their continued support. We cannot thank them and the Club enough.”

Huddersfield Town Chairman Dean Hoyle added:

“Huddersfield Town is committed to making a difference to the local community and there is no better example of the Club and its fans working together, alongside a charity with this goal than the ‘Keep It Up’ campaign.

“The Yorkshire Air Ambulance provides a vital service across our county and I’m delighted to report that the money generated for the charity through ‘Keep It Up’ has funded every life-saving flight the YAA has undertaken in a Huddersfield postcode since we launched this partnership in 2009.

“Keep It Up has also been of huge financial benefit to our Academy; the success of which is very important to the long-term sustainability of the Club.

“I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to make the Keep It Up campaign such a huge success, from the staff at Huddersfield Town and the YAA to all the cyclists, walkers, runners and every other person who has participated in an event or has made a donation.”

For every £1 raised through the ‘Keep It Up’ campaign, 50p is donated to the YAA, and the other 50p is donated to the Huddersfield Town Youth Academy.

The monies have been raised through a series of successful events, including the annual ‘Pedal for Pounds’ bike rides which took hundreds of riders, hundreds of miles across the UK. The most recent ride saw nearly 300 cyclists embark on the ‘Chapman Trail’ cycling the 250 miles back to Huddersfield’s John Smith Stadium from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London. Over the five ‘Pedal for Pounds’ rides, 635 different cyclists have taken part, covering a total of 1,250 miles and raising in excess of £700,000 to the ‘Keep It Up’ campaign.

The ‘Walk for Pounds’ events have also raised over £61,000 and the annual carol concert tipped the £5,000 mark. There have also been many fantastic fundraising events organised directly by the fans themselves which have included a running from Lands End to John O’Groats, football tournaments, balls and local collections.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s logo also appeared on the front of the team’s shirts during the 2009/10 football season, with the players wearing a special YAA red and yellow shirt during a home win over Southend United in January 2010.

The occasion was marked in style earlier today when one of the YAA’s helicopters made a visit to HTAFC’s training ground at PPG Canalside – the home of the HTAFC Academy.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance Regional Fundraising Manager Nicky Massen is flying high after being chosen as a Tour Maker Supervisor for the world’s largest annual sporting event.

She will be in charge of a team of approximately 15 other volunteer Tour Makers

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) has announced its operational plans during the Grand Départ when it is expecting to see an increase in its activity as well as busier operational periods.

Yorkshire’s only emergency helicopter service has announced plans to operate a third aircraft for the week leading up to the Grand Départ as well as over the weekend the event will be taking place, the 5th and 6th of July. The third aircraft will complement and assist the already established two helicopters that the Charity currently operates.

Speaking about their plans, the YAA’s Chief Pilot, Captain Andy Lister commented: “During the summer months, we always see an increase in our operational activities. As the population swells with tourists and local residents being on holiday, the likelihood of accidents happening increases, and in many cases, the air ambulance needs to be utilised. Not only will we have normal day to day incidents to cover, but we will also have the increased visitor numbers expected leading up to and during the Grand Départ in early July.”

Captain Lister continues, “Although the Tour de France provides their own medical assistance for competitors, there will be the spectators and the local people who live along the route, and this is one of the many reasons why we have taken the decision to bring in a third helicopter to give us increased cover during this period. There will also be access problems with roads being closed as well as much of the route travelling through remote areas of Yorkshire where access can also sometimes be problematic.

We will be working alongside all of the emergency services and mountain rescue teams during this period, with support as necessary.”

The two current YAA helicopters are based on the Nostell Estate near Wakefield and at RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk respectively. The third helicopter will be added to the fleet for the week preceding the start of the Grand Départ and cover the weekend during the race. Between the three helicopters, one each will be based from their current airbases, whilst the third helicopter will be operational from stand-by points at pre-identified and surveyed locations close-by to and along the route.

Captain Lister added “We have been extremely fortunate to have been offered great support from some local land owners who been very kind to allow us an area of their land to operate our helicopter from during certain stages of the race. On day one, we will be up in North Yorkshire near Richmond at Wathgill Camp, and on day two we will be close to the village of Ripponden near Halifax. We hope that by positioning ourselves close to the route we will be in the best possible position to respond to emergency calls.”

The third helicopter is being provided to the Charity by helicopter services provider Medical Aviation Services (MAS) under their current agreement with the YAA for the provision of a relief helicopter. This means a helicopter is provided to the Charity during scheduled and un-scheduled maintenance periods to ensure they continue to offer optimum coverage. MAS have been generous enough to offer the YAA use of a third helicopter during the Grand Départ period knowing the increased activities the YAA are likely to experience. The helicopter itself will be provided to the YAA at no extra cost.

Director of Fundraising Paul Gowland adds “As many of our supporters will know, the YAA is an independent Charity needing to raise £9990 every day to keep our helicopters flying and helping to save lives. We have been overwhelmed by offers of fundraising support from businesses on the route, including public houses, campsites, shops and restaurants that are going to support us and organise fundraising events during the Grand Départ celebrations. We are constantly overwhelmed by the support we receive from the generous Yorkshire people and cannot thank them enough – we are looking forward to welcoming the Tour de France to Yorkshire along with its spectators, and showing them what a fantastic county Yorkshire is!”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent Charity providing a rapid response emergency service to the people of Yorkshire. Their two yellow helicopters provide air ambulance cover 7 days per week, 365 days per year. It costs £9990 each day to keep the Charity running, and with no direct government funding, relies on individuals, groups and organisations to help raise the vital funds required. The only help they receive is through the secondment of their paramedics from Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

If anyone is interested in supporting the Yorkshire Air Ambulance during the Grand Départ, please contact the Charity HQ on 01422 237900.

How do you thank the emergency services for saving your life? Michael Wood has found a way and he has now written a book about his experience. Catherine Scott meets him.

Chatting to Michael Wood in his beautiful Grade 2 listed home in North Yorkshire it is hard to imagine that just a year ago he was fighting for life after an horrific horse riding accident.

It was on June 16 last year just three months after Michael, his wife Ena, their seven horses, mainly Clydesdales, and numerous dogs moved into their home in Boltby, that everything changed.

“It was a beautiful day and I was out on a three-hour hack with my friend Andy from my home to Gormire Lake, just below Sutton Bank,” recalls Michael. “As I had saddled up Diola, a Dutch Warmblood, we had no premonition of catastrophe.”

But as the two friends decided to have a little fun and let their horses gallop something went wrong.

“I’ll probably never know exactly what happened, but I vaguely recall feeling Diola start to buck and hearing my own voice squeal. The next thing knew I was flat on my back on the ground and Andy was standing over me.

“It really didn’t seem that serious. It was just a fall. I’d had plenty before. I thought once I’d got over being winded I’d climb back on the saddle and ride on.”

But Michael’s injuries were far more serious than anyone could have imagined.

Some passing walkers came over to help and tried to get a mobile phone signal to call for help, which they eventually managed to do.

“I remember the ambulance crew arriving and asking me if it was okay if they cut my coat off,” continues Michael.

“I still thought everyone was making a fuss about nothing. From the moment it happened to this day I have suffered very little pain really.”

It soon started to dawn on him that things were far more serious than he thought. The paramedic noticed spots of blood on Michael’s chest, a sign of internal bleeding. They immediately called for the air ambulance as speed had become even more crucial.

“I never panicked though. As I lay there I did wonder if the farmer might come and put me out of my misery. I remember thinking: ‘If I die today I have had the most fantastic life so I can’t grumble. I haven’t wasted a moment, so I regret nothing’.”

As he was stretchered on to the air ambulance Michael was starting to lose consciousness.

“I remember someone saying ‘Michael stay with us, Michael stay with us.’ I also remember asking them to close the helicopter doors as I was cold, but obviously we were thousands of feet up and they were closed.”

The air ambulance took Michael to the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough and he was rushed straight to intensive care where he was to spend more than a week fighting for life.

“I still don’t think I realised just how serious things were. It wasn't until a nurse pulled the curtains round me and explained the extent of my injuries and said ‘We nearly lost you’ that it hit home. It was worse for my wife Ena, who was faced with the prospect of having to sell the business and the house if something had happened to me.”

Doctors think Diola must have fallen backward onto Michael after she had thrown him off, landing on his left hip, She then rolled over him in an attempt to get back on her feet. As a result she caused catastrophic injuries, pushing his stomach up into his diaphragm which shattered, opening his pelvis, smashing both hips and many of his ribs.

Doctors had to remove his spleen in order to repair the other damage and he underwent two operations, one lasting seven hours, while surgeons tried to mend his shattered body.

Seeing him today it is hard to imagine just how seriously injured he was. He says much of that is down to his physiotherapist, Louise Broom.

However he does admit to some lasting effects. Due to having no spleen he will have to take penicillin for the rest of his life and he does suffer from pains and stiffness in his right hip, but things could have been far worse.

“If it hadn't been for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and staff at James Cook I would not have survived,” he says matter-of-factly. “I will be forever in their debt. How do you say ‘thank you’ to people who have saved your life?”

He may not now how to thank them but he is doing his best to do so. He has just published a book about his life and accident in a bid not to only raise funds for the air ambulance but also to give people some insight into how he became a successful entrepreneur despite struggling at school.

All proceeds from Whatever It Takes go to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Michael also recently held a party at his home which raised in the region of £20,000 and he also invited some of the staff who helped him. He is writing a second book which will raise funds for the James Cook Hospital. He is also involved in a campaign to raise £600,000 for a new scanner. But he wants to do more.

“I had never really thought about the resources the NHS needs,” says Michael. “I was horrified by the way some people abused the system and were rude to the nurses. I was eternally grateful to everyone. We take the NHS for granted. One of things I want to do is raise awareness of just how much it costs to be treated by the NHS.”

As for horses, they are 
still one of the loves of Michael’s life.

Within six months of leaving hospital he was out riding again and now tries 
to get out at least three times a week.

Two year’s worth of fundraising and awareness support from Sainsbury’s Wakefield Trinity Walk has made a huge difference to the staff at Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Thanks to generous donations from customers, the store has announced they have raised £19,235.35 in total. On 2nd June, colleagues from the store, including PR Ambassador Steve Scriven will be meeting the charity members at the Trinity Walk Store to celebrate the successful partnership. It’s been an amazing two years for the charity after they entered Sainsbury’s Trinity Walk’s Local Charity voting process back in May 2012. For the last five years, the retailer gives customers nationwide the chance to vote for their favourite Local Charity, to be considered to receive support from their nearby Sainsbury’s store. When the charity were announced as Sainsbury’s trinity Walk’s new Local Charity partner, Kerry Garner, Regional fundraiser, for Yorkshire Air Ambulance said “The continued support over the last 2 years from Sainsbury’s Trinity Walk has been phenomenal. We cannot thank the staff and shoppers enough for raising such an amazing amount, the money raised will ensure we can continue to save lives across Yorkshire. It may surprise many people that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a Charity that relies solely on the generosity of individuals and organisations to help save lives across Yorkshire. To keep both of our helicopters in the air we need to raise £9990 every day. This is equivalent to £3.6 million per year, so the support from businesses and individuals is invaluable and greatly appreciated by everyone here at the YAA” Throughout the last 2 years, colleagues at the store held several activities to raise funds and awareness of the charity’s cause. These included Bag Pack’s Quiz Nights and Bucket collections which helped the Air Ambulance. Despite the partnership coming to a close, it doesn’t mean that the charity will now be forgotten, as Store Manager Sean Higgins explains: “Our colleagues have really enjoyed working with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and it’s certainly touched the hearts of many of them that before didn’t necessary have a direct link to them. We know what an important part they play in the community and we hope the partnership has helped remind our customers of the valuable service they provide in Yorkshire. Thanks to the partnership, we’ll certainly now be looking into ways we can support them in the future”. Customers now have the chance to vote for a Local Charity to be Sainsbury’s Trinity Walk’s new Local Charity Partner. Voting takes place from 28th May to 8th June, while customers can also vote online from 28th May by going to www.sainsburys.co.uk/localcharity. A shortlist of nominations will be drawn up after the closing date and the store’s colleagues will then invite the three charities that they feel best fit the needs of the community into store to talk about how Sainsbury’s can support them. The chosen charity will be selected based on the reasons given and the store will announce their chosen charity in July.

Employees from Cranswick Country Foods set off on their bikes from the Preston, Hull site travelling to the Cranswick Norfolk site last month and raised a fantastic £10,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The first annual Flying Pigs Charity Bike Ride saw 15 employees complete the 136 miles between the two Cranswick sites in one day – the first finishing in 7 hours and 45 mins and the last man completing in 16 hours and 30 mins.

Last week the Yorkshire Air Ambulance landed at the Cranswick Country Foods head office on the outskirts of Preston to collect the money from the Cranswick staff and other fundraising cheques from community groups in Holderness.

Chris Aldersley, Managing Director – Fresh Pork, completed the ride in 10 hours 28 minutes, he commented:

“It was a real team effort and although we are all keen cyclists, this was a long route to undertake. We were delighted to reach the finishing line and have so many generous supporters sponsoring our efforts.

“Supporting local charities is important to us at Cranswick, we are proud to be a part of this region – we invest heavily in jobs and facilities, but it remains important to us to give charitable support and we are delighted to be able to donate this amount to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, who serve us all.”

On receiving the £10,000 cheque, Bob Smailes, Regional Fundraising Manager for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “This is a phenomenal amount to raise – a really superb effort by everyone involved at Cranswick. To be supported by all levels of employees from across the business is real testament to their charity effort for us.

“This money will go directly towards helping run the Yorkshire Air Ambulances and saving lives on the ground. We are very grateful to everyone’s generosity, not only in the time given to do the bike ride, but also to the sponsorships of the riders. Their achievements will make a real difference to us – thank

you.”

Darren Axe, Clinical Supervisor and Air Crew Paramedic, on board the Air Ambulance, added: “It costs £3,600,000 every year to run the service and this huge donation is very gratefully received by us all at Yorkshire Air Ambulance.”

Local craftsmen have decided to enter into the spirit of the Tour de France route passing through Ripponden and past the showroom.

Brian and Lewis Brooks of B D Brooks Stonemasons, Ripponden, and a colleague Karl of Waterjet, decided to carve a bike out of solid stone.

This unusual bike can be seen in the window of B D Brooks Stonemasons in Ripponden and has already caused a lot of interest.

B D BROOKS STONEMASONS

(www.bdbrooksfireplaces.com) have worked all over the country carrying out bespoke stone masonry, with fireplaces a speciality. Waterjet has cut templates occasionally for B D BROOKS, and together thought the stone bike would be a great idea.

After the Tour de France, in order to support the whole of the Yorkshire area, the bike is to be raffled in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Raffle tickets are available in the showroom of B D BROOKS in Ripponden and at various other local outlets.

See our Facebook page or web site for details or tel 01422 822220

This summer the Tour de France, one of the world's greatest sporting events, is coming to the UK for three incredible days. To celebrate this, and to get involved in the cycling action, Napoleons Casino & Restaurant on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, will be hosting a 9 hour, 3 bike Cyclathon all in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

From 12pm until 9pm on Saturday 5th July Napoleons have three stationary bikes running non-stop, kindly supplied by Xercise4Less on Kirkstall Road. Staff, customers & friends of Napoleons are already signing up for 30 minutes slots throughout the day to keep the bikes going non-stop.

General Manager at Napoleons, Sandy Kopec, commented:

“We’re really excited about the Tour De France coming to Leeds & we thought the Cyclathon would be a great way to get into the spirit of things, whilst raising money for a fantastic cause.

It’s already shaping up to be a fantastic day; we have an outdoor gazebo, goody bags for all participants, well known faces taking part including rising local superbike star Ben Neary, and all the staff are going yellow for the day. On top of all of this, Xercise4Less will be joining us too and they’ll kindly be donating a month’s membership to the charity for anyone who signs up as a gym member on the day.

“The team at Napoleons would be grateful for any support you can give, whether it’s through signing up for a 30 minute slot or attending on the day to cheer the riders on to get involved in the tour spirit.”

Napoleons is Leeds’ longest established casino and opened its doors in 1986. Since then the venue has earned a reputation for an unforgettable night out with a fantastic restaurant and gaming experience coupled with exceptional customer service.

Napoleons nominated charity of the year, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, is an independent charity providing a lifesaving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across Yorkshire 365 days a year. To keep Yorkshire's air ambulances in the air the charity need to raise £9990 per day which is equivalent to £3.6 million per year.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has become one of the first air operators in the country to achieve compliance with new European air safety regulations.

The emergency rapid response charity – which operates two MD902 Explorer helicopters – has revised all its operator manuals to meet new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requirements that come into force on October 28.

It now becomes just the third out of nearly 70 UK operators to be awarded a new Air Operators Certificate by the Civil Aviation Authority, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with EASA regulations.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance Chief Pilot Andy Lister said: “We were very aware that we would be moving from a UK to a European system of governance and so have re-written all our operating manuals in accordance with the new procedures laid down by EASA.

“That has now been approved by the CAA and we are delighted that we have become one of the first air operators in the country to achieve this.”

Both of Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s aircraft have state-of-the-art medical and helicopter specification. They can reach speeds of up to 160mph and together provide a life saving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across 4 million acres of Yorkshire.

In November 2012, the charity became the first air ambulance in the UK to acquire its own JAR-OPS Air Operators Certificate, employing all its own pilots.

Extended daily flying hours now ensure the service is operational for up to 14 hours during daylight, with the aircraft operating from air support units at RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk and a new, purpose-designed and developed base at Nostell, near Wakefield.

Andy added: “For many people the paperwork involved may seem onerous, but proper safety can only be achieved through the implementation of robust procedures that comply with published regulations. I am fortunate that the charity has provided support to ensure we achieve compliance so early.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has carried more than 5,500 people in its 13-year history directly to hospital for treatment. It needs to raise £9,990 each day to keep its two helicopters in the air and maintained – equivalent to £3.6 million each year.

Without any direct government funding, the only help the charity receives is through the secondment of its paramedics from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

As part of the company’s CSR activities for 2014, Leeds based Intellectual Property specialists, UDL, has chosen Yorkshire Air Ambulance as it’s charity of the year and has committed to helping their much valued services continue to thrive, and at this week’s Buy Yorkshire event the team enticed delegates from the exhibition to dig deep for the cause, with a little help from some of England’s most loved sporting stars.

Visitors to UDL’s stand at Buy Yorkshire were greeted by a signed England rugby shirt, which features Canterbury’s revolutionary neck design, which has been protected by UDL through intellectual property.

The shirt was signed by all 33 members of the 1st team squad, including Yorkshire born Danny Care.

UDL has chosen The Yorkshire Air Ambulance as their charity of the year and has committed to fundraising support throughout 2014, and guests at Buy Yorkshire were asked for donations for the chance to win the prize.

Allan Fiddes, Partner at UDL said: “We are big supporters of the work Yorkshire Air Ambulance do and wanted to find a fun way to get people to donate to them.

It’s an invaluable service that saves thousands of lives of people living in our region. The rugby shirt worked a treat – but we were a little sad to see it go!”

Nicky Massen, Regional Fundraising Manager at Yorkshire Air Ambulance said:“ We are delighted that UDL have chosen to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in 2014 and it was great to see them fundraising for us at this year’s Buy Yorkshire conference – what an ideal place to raffle such a fantastic prize! As an independent Charity, we have to raise £9990 each day to keep both of our helicopters in the air and saving lives – the support we receive from companies such as UDL is invaluable to us. We look forward to working with them throughout the rest of 2014.“

Urquhart-Dykes & Lord LLP (UDL), one of the UK's leading firms of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, specialising in all aspects of Intellectual Property Law and is proud to act for Canterbury of New Zealand, the sports clothing brand and official kit sponsor of the England Rugby Union Team.

The Middleham Stables Open Day celebrates its 21st anniversary this year on Good Friday, April 18, with a host of attractions for horse-racing enthusiasts and families alike.

Fifteen stables will be open to the public, with more than 500 horses for visitors to see, while racing will be screened live from a big screen at the Top Cross in Middleham from 1.45pm.

The star attraction will be “Trooper” Middleham, the popular cavalry horse, who was named after the town. “Trooper” Middleham will help to open proceedings at 9.15am and will then tour the town, before resting at the Manor House Stables of Jason Ward.

Another highlight of the day will be to see legendary Almaty Express, who will be paraded at John Weymes Racing at Ashgill Stables at 11am and 12.45pm.

Robert Beaumont, one of the organisers of the day, said: “Almaty Express is one of the most genuine racehorses the north of England has ever seen. He was bought for less than £4,000 after a selling race at Catterick 10 years ago, and during 143 starts, he won 22 and finished in the first three in a third of them. He is now enjoying a well-deserved retirement”.

Last year’s event raised more than £12,000 despite the bad weather and organisers hope to raise even more for this year’s many charities, including the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Household Cavalry Foundation.

Mr Beaumont said: “Last year was hit by terrible weather, with Easter being much earlier than usual. We are hoping for a much milder and warmer day this year to help make the Open day a great success. With the Tour de France passing through Middleham in July, and the continuing interest in Richard III, who had very special links with the town, these are tremendous times for the Newmarket of the North.”

He added: “With 16 stables open, containing some of the best racehorses in the north of England, this year will be one of the biggest and the best in the Open Day’s history. As we are celebrating our 21st anniversary, there is every cause for celebration.”

James Bethell, the chairman of the Middleham Trainers Association, said: “The traditional date for the Stables Open Day had been threatened with the introduction of Good Friday racing this year. However, with the support of Betfair and the Arena Racing Company, who are arranging the live screening of racing from Lingfield and Musselburgh, we are preparing for one of the most enjoyable Open Days of recent years”.

Jim Allen, the director of Arena Racing, added: “We understand that the changes to the racing calendar were controversial to some in racing but we are very pleased to show our support to the Middleham Open Day by ensuring visitors have the opportunity to enjoy the day’s racing as well as making the most of the many attractions on offer”.

Meanwhile a spokesman for Betfair said: “Open Days are an exciting way of allowing existing racing fans, and potential new fans, to see the sport from a unique angle. We are pleased to be part of making this happen”.

William Hague, Conservative MP for Richmond and the Foreign Secretary, said: “Middleham is a tremendous success story and fully deserves its reputation as the finest racing centre in the north of England. We have some phenomenally successful trainers and it is wonderful that they open their yards to so many people. This is a very special day in the racing year”.

Tickets cost £10 per adult, including a souvenir brochure and a chance to win a prize in the programme draw, which includes a signed photograph of top jockey and the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year A P McCoy.

Admission for accompanied children under 12 is free.

The yards are open to the public on Good Friday from 9.30am – 1.00pm or 2.00pm. Free parking is available in Middleham or nearby Leyburn, with free bus links between car parks and the outlying stables. This includes Ann and George Duffield are opening their successful Sun Hill Stables at Constable Burton from 9.30am until 4.30pm.

For more details, visit

www.middlehamstablesopenday.co.uk

T:01969 624411