'Abhorrent situation' - Gay Kelleway rescues horses and people from Ukraine

Gay Kelleway has recounted her experiences at the edge of the war zone in eastern Poland after returning from a second mission to rescue horses from a rehabilitation hub close to the Ukrainian border on Monday.

The trainer was joined by fellow Newmarket racing staff volunteers Julia Bennett, Neil Carson and Alex Shortland on the weekend trip of nearly 2,000 miles that took out much-needed feed and shavings to the makeshift stables run by fellow British volunteer Charlie Thorneycroft.

Kelleway was making her second trip as part of a campaign to raise £40,000 to help reunite horses with their owners who have been displaced across Europe by the conflict. She dropped off two horses in Holland on the way home.

Not surprisingly, many of the horses at the hub arrive in poor shape but Thorneycroft, who is a former PA to Khalid Abdullah, is making the best of the situations thanks to such donations.

Gay Kelleway (second right) and the team prior to departure last Friday morning

Kelleway said: "Charlie came out to help for three days and several months later she's still there looking after horses and the pets and people who arrive with them. She has travelled into Ukraine with the drivers to evacuate horses and knows all too well how they are.

"At the hub she's organising veterinary care and paperwork for onward travel. She also sources hay, shavings and water for the horses still in Ukraine and organises the donations that are needed for the hub and other centres. She also does shifts at the border train station to protect children from trafficking in the hope of preventing an abhorrent situation becoming even worse."

The rehabilitation hub is also a staging post for supplies to go into Ukraine and Kelleway added: "Some items will be used at the hub, some will go with horses when they leave, and other items will be shipped into Ukraine for use by the courageous people who have stayed behind and are already trying to resurrect some stabling and storage facilities.

"They can't put up nothing fancy in case it gets bombed again and they've found a temporary stable block will disintegrate quicker, which helps the horses escape more easily."

Recounting her days at the hub, which lies across the border from the Ukrainian city of Lviv, Kelleway said: "Periodically, unaccompanied children arrive with the horses absolutely scared out of their wits and with no remaining family, not to mention the frightening and uncertain future that lies ahead.

"A very young boy became inseparable from a large dog also sheltering at the horse hub and in an extraordinary twist of fate he was able to be fostered by the family who had the dog."

The team were able to help one Ukrainian girl from the besieged south-east of the country and take her horse to Holland. Kelleway said: "We were able to take two horses to Holland on our way home. One was to be collected by another horse transport lorry and taken to Ireland."

Ukrainian refugees Ronnie (left) with her mother Julia and dog Laffy

Also on the box to Holland were a Ukrainian mother and daughter with their tiny dog who were destined for Portugal.

The Exning-based trainer said: "They left all their possessions, their lives and careers far behind. Their horse, named Lucky, was bought to support the daughter's mental health issues that surfaced during the first Covid lockdown. This lady has given up everything she has to care for her daughter. She wears a T-shirt with the words 'Nice, Tender, Kind, Friendly, Dreamer, Joyful' printed on the back."

On the way home the team got some bad news.

Kelleway said: "As we approached Holland news filtered through that the border had released 15 horses and they had just arrived at the horse hub, some so weak they were unable to stand. We should have stayed another day. But there's never a good time to leave such a desperate situation."

You can support Gay Kelleway's mission and the Racing To Help campaign by following these links . . .

Racing To Help Ukraine campaign

Saving Horses in Ukraine fundraiser

Read more on this subject:

Gay Kelleway calls on racing's support after equine mercy mission to Ukraine

Ukrainian head lad speaks of horrors in homeland following Abernant success

Oisin Murphy to join globetrotting Charlie Mann on Ukraine aid trip to Poland

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