16 June, 2011 – Montreal, Quebec – Following the devastating fire that killed six horses at True Prospect Farm in West Grove, PA on May 31, 2011, resident trainer and four-star event rider Boyd Martin’s sponsor ECOGOLD decided to take action and start a fundraiser to benefit Martin’s recovery efforts.
Initially ECOGOLD donated six saddle pads, one in memory of each horse that died in the fire. The response was so positive – all six saddle pads were sold within an hour – the company offered an unlimited number of saddle pads for sale over five days, during which 50% of the proceeds would be donated to Martin.
“As soon as we put those six saddle pads online, we were overwhelmed,” said Patricia Da Silva of ECOGOLD. “It was a huge wave of generosity; I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Orders were coming in left and right, from all parts of the world: dressage riders, hunter-jumper riders and eventers came together to help a fellow rider. We were still getting orders at 11:59 pm on the last day of the fundraising sale. It was unbelievable and for us at ECOGOLD, quite overwhelming.”
Jennifer Pavlinich, who ordered one of the original six saddle pads, said, “When word first came out about the fire at True Prospect Farm, my first thought – after I could form coherent thought that is – was, ‘How can I help?’ As soon as I saw that ECOGOLD was donating saddle pads to help Boyd, I jumped on it. I wanted to help, and it didn’t hurt that I’d been drooling over the ECOGOLD pads for a while now – I just couldn’t justify spending the money. But spending the money to help a truly great horseman through such a difficult time, and get a great saddle pad? That, I can justify.”
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One person who bought a saddle pad re-donated it to the Professional Riders Organization (PRO) Fire Relief Auction so that it would raise even more money for True Prospect Farm.
Da Silva said that she believed the ECOGOLD sale would raise somewhere around $2,000. “We just finished entering the orders last night and got the final number today: $8,032.50, which is simply amazing!” she said. “I’m really glad we could do our part to help Boyd, who truly deserves all the happiness in the world from this point forward.”
About ECOGOLD
ECOGOLD is an active sponsor of eventing, dressage and show jumping riders and teams. In addition to saddle pads, ECOGOLD manufactures open-front horse boots, cross-country horse boots, and dressage boots.
ECOGOLD is comprised of a team of experts in the field of textile engineering with more than 40 years experience in high-performance materials. All ECOGOLD products are made in a company-owned factory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to ensure the best quality materials and workmanship.
For more information or to order ECOGOLD products, please visit www.ecogold.ca or call 1-866-432-6465.
