Rockinghorse Ambassadors
We are lucky enough to have some wonderful Rockinghorse Ambassadors who offer their time, effort and expertise to us in order to support our work and help spread the word about what we do to as many people as possible.
Dr Marc Abraham OBE
Dr Marc Abraham, OBE, is our latest Rockinghorse Ambassador.
Marc is a multi-award-winning veterinary surgeon, based at the Mewes Vets in Rottingdean, as well as an author, broadcaster, animal welfare campaigner, and has also just released his first movie documentary called ‘Dogspiracy’.
Marc qualified from Edinburgh University, and years later, after treating some badly bred pups one emergency nightshift in Brighton, decided to campaign against irresponsible and unscrupulous dog breeding and selling practices, such as puppy farming.
He led the successful ‘Lucy’s Law’ campaign in Westminster to ban commercial third-party puppy and kitten dealers, e.g. pet shops; therefore making all UK dog and cat breeders accountable for the first time.
Marc is also the co-founder and secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG), and was responsible for sourcing rescue pup Dylan for 10 Downing Street. He regularly appears giving vet and animal welfare advice in the media, including being a regular on BBC Sussex Radio, and visits local primary schools chatting with pupils about caring for animals, staying safe around dogs, and looking out for one another, as well as protecting children’s mental health.
Marc was also awarded the OBE for Services to Animal Welfare by His Royal Highness King Charles III.
One of the many reasons Marc is joining forces with Rockinghorse is to help us develop a brand new programme of pet therapy at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, working together with fantastic charity Pets As Therapy. Marc is a great advocate for this kind of support, especially for children and young people, and has seen first-hand how interactions with friendly dogs can have a real impact on both a child’s physical and mental health.
Olly Smith
Olly has recently come on board as a new Rockinghorse Ambassador, offering his time and skills with a wine tasting prize in our Glitter Ball auction.
Olly Smith is a multi award-winning broadcaster, wine expert, TV personality, author and columnist. He is best known for his finely-tuned taste buds, boundless knowledge and infectious enthusiasm especially in the world of food and drink.
He is the weekly wine columnist for the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine and regular wine expert and occasional host on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen.
Olly hosts his own drinks podcast ‘A Glass With’ featuring an array of celebrity guests including Kylie Minogue, P!NK, Sting, actor Sam Neill, Sir Michael Parkinson and Dawn French.
He is a Food Hero for P&O Cruises, curating the wine list for his award-winning wine bar the Glass House across the fleet. He has written six books – his latest Home Cocktail Bible offering a collection of over 200 new and classic cocktails, and launched his own range of crystal glassware in 2021.
The only thing Olly is more enthusiastic about than a glass of the good stuff, is sharing it.
Marcella Whittingdale
Marcella has been supporting us for several years, including hosting our biggest annual fundraiser, the Rockinghorse Ball, on the last two occasions.
Marcella is a familiar face on our televisions screens here in the Southeast. A presenter for BBC South East Today, she also works for their politics show as as reporter.
An experienced broadcaster when it comes to both TV and radio her list of credits include GMTV, ITV, Classic FM, Heart Radio and LBC.
Memorable moments include reporting live from Afghanistan a trip to South Africa with the Born Free Foundation and a stint as New York correspondent for GMTV. Marcella now works across the board in TV, Radio and Voice-overs.