Best of British Brighton sporting lunch raises £18,000 for Rockinghorse at their latest event.

World Cup winning rugby legend Mike Tindall MBE was the guest speaker at the Best of British...

World Cup winning rugby legend Mike Tindall MBE was the guest speaker at the Best of British charity sporting lunch at The Grand Hotel in Brighton last week.

With more than 500 guests in attendance, this event in aid of Rockinghorse raised a wonderful £18,000.

Ryan Heal with Mike Tindall

The Best of British Brighton lunch, generously sponsored by Rubix VT, had the pleasure of hosting Mike Tindall, the legendary Bath, Gloucester and England outside centre and now a member of the Royal Family having married the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips in 2011.

Mike regaled the guests with tales of his life and career, including some great stories about his involvement in the England team at the 2003 World Cup, the team manager Sir Clive Woodward and some of the fun he and his teammates got up to during his playing days.

During the event Ryan Heal, Director of Best of British, welcomed guests and thanked Mike for being such an enjoyable speaker: “What a day! Mike was in top form and all the guests were in great spirits. These events don’t just happen and a special thanks to our sponsors for helping to make the day the success it was and to all our guests that helped us raise so much. That brings our total donated to Rockinghorse, in just the past nine months, to £45,000 across our recent Best of British events – something we’re incredibly proud of.”

Our CEO Donna Holland spoke to the guests about the work the charity does supporting thousands of children every year all over Sussex.

Donna Holland speaking at the event

The money raised at the event will go towards funding a range of projects to support the children and young people throughout Sussex. These include art therapy sessions, sea swimming courses and woodland wellbeing days for children with long-term health conditions, funding specialist paediatric psychological support for children diagnosed with cancer, and trauma informed yoga for children recovering from major surgery.

Janella Merritt, Head of Fundraising here at Rockinghorse said: “The latest Best of British event was a real winner! It was a great event with lots of fun and Mike was such a great guest – so funny and generous with his time.

“Plus, this is an amazing amount that Ryan and his wonderful team have managed to raise for Rockinghorse. Thanks to everyone who came along and donated so generously.”

Nick Poyner, Managing Director at Rubix VT, was really pleased to be able to support the event: “Having started Rubix VT in September 2020, we’re fortunate to be able to sponsor this event and to continue our support of such a great charity. Today’s event was really good fun and Mike was a superb guest.”

To find out more about the kind of projects we fund, take a look at our ‘Currently Funding’ page here.