Strictly Come Dancing fever has swept The Mare and Foal Sanctuary in preparation for its patron Angela Rippon to take to the dancefloor again this weekend. The veteran news presenter and her professional partner Kai Widdrington had to compete in a “dance-off” against actor Adam Thomas and his dance partner, Luba Mushtuk last Sunday.

But all four judges chose to save Angela, delighting her supporters at the Southwest based equine welfare charity.

The staff and ponies at the Sanctuary’s Coombe Park Equestrian and Education Centre near Totnes recorded a special message to cheer their patron on this week. And all hoofs are crossed for Angela and Kai to qualify to dance at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom next week – one of the series highlights of the BBC celebrity dancing competition. Rescue Shetland Sir Didymus did his best to steal the limelight, giving one-eyed dancing pony Geronimo a measly score of three for his Cha Cha Cha. But Storm and Ludo rated the performance worthy of a 10. Vogue took a real shine to her glitter-ball and Bunnie enjoyed it all with her head in a bucket of bobbing apples as part of her daily enrichment!

Dawn Vincent, Director of Fundraising and Communication, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to extend our support to Angela as she competes in this year's competition. She has been a wonderfully supportive patron for The Mare and Foal Sanctuary since 2019 and we wish her all the best.  It’s great to showcase the excellent training and care given to our equines in this special film too.  Geromino was already receiving clicker training to help boost his confidence as he’s visually impaired and his dance routine that features in the film shows how positive reinforcement can help an equine gain confidence by learning new activities!”

You can see the full video here: 

https://www.mareandfoal.org/news/strictly-fever-at-the-mare-and-foal-sanctuary/