Sponsored by
Seaside donkeys simply the best
DONKEYS at Filey have been given something to bray about after being judged the best in the country.
"The boys" – as their owner Amanda Pickles calls them, Lenny, Alfie, Chico, Rueben, Neville and Max, beat off competition from resorts like Blackpool, Weymouth and Scarborough to take the title.
Expert Jenifer Tucker, from the Devon-based Donkey Sanctuary, travelled 1,400 miles across England and Wales judging the animals.
She said the traditional rides were still as popular as ever, adding: "I chose the donkeys at Filey as the overall winners of the best group because they are a relatively new group working on the beach.
"I believe most of the donkeys have been rescued and Amanda Pickles has achieved so much in terms of training and getting them all into such superb condition.
"When I met the donkeys, all of them were bright and alert, ready to take the children along the beach for a donkey ride.
"My overall impression was of them being very smartly turned out and a group of very happy donkeys."
Mrs Pickles said: "To win this is as good as a Lottery win. It's just amazing. The donkeys – as I call them the boys – they deserve it."
Ms Pickles, whose sister Rachel runs the donkey rides at Scarborough, only bought the animals 15 months ago and they were all novices to the job.
She said: "They absolutely love it. I only work two days on, then they have a day off, but on the third they are still wanting to come. I leave them braying behind in the field."
The individual title of best beach donkey went to 13 hand-high Del Boy from Aberdyfi, Gwynedd in Wales, owned by Louise Peters.
The group of donkeys with the best feet in Britain were Jasmine, Stumpy, Sooty, PeeJay, BeeJay, Sparky and Daisy in Weymouth, Dorset, owned by Maggie Aldridge.
The Donkey Sanctuary was founded by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen in 1969 and has taken into its care 13,000 donkeys in the UK and Ireland. A further 400 are looked after at the Sanctuary's offshoots in Spain and Italy.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
