A generous donation of $100,000 to Equine Guelph has been made by the Kerr family to establish an equine education and community outreach endowment.

A portion of the Kerr Fund for Equine Education and Community Outreach will support much needed ongoing operational funding for the University of Guelph’s not-for-profit centre for the horse owner.

Sheryl Kerr was inspired to set up the fund through her positive experience taking courses on TheHorsePortal.ca, Equine Guelph’s online learning platform. After taking the Horse Care and Welfare course, quoting from the National Equine Code of Practice came naturally for creating a COVID-19 response plan for her 150-acre farm and training facility. Kerr was impressed with the practicality of the Equine Guelph course and how lessons learned could be directly applied to daily operations.

“Having learned so much myself from Equine Guelph’s online courses, I know first hand how much value they bring to the horse community," said Kerr. “Our horses deserve the very best, and Equine Guelph has access to the latest advice from experts across a range of topics that are essential for any horse owner – from beginners to barn owners.”

Equine Guelph Director Gayle Ecker expressed gratitude and says, “the funding will help us to continue to build our practical and affordable educational programs and industry resources that help improve horse welfare.”

The global reach of Equine Guelph’s programs was recognized recently by Equestrian Canada as the 2019 recipient of their National Health and Welfare Award. Equine Guelph has been a pioneer in the development of evidence-based, award-winning online education since 2002.

Many student testimonials resonate with Kerr’s sentiments, extolling the merits of a wonderful online learning community, the quality of content and expertise of the instructors and guest speakers.

“My hope is that the Kerr Fund for Equine Education and Community Outreach will bring greater awareness for the excellent programs and resources that Equine Guelph has to offer, as well as to inspire others in the horse community to give,” said Kerr. “Any horse enthusiast can benefit from what Equine Guelph has to offer, and programs like this rely on donations to survive and thrive.”

(Equine Guelph)