Nick’s riding out the credit crunch

Jan 8 2009 Blairgowrie Advertiser

BRIDGE of Cally fund-raiser Nick Warner will endure a 2000-mile trek along the Peruvian Andes from Ecuador to Boliva ... on horseback.

The 23-year-old will be accompanied by his pals Ed Lines and Phill Sutton (both 23) and he expects to raise £30,000 for two charities – Alzheimer’s Society and the Bruce Organisation.

The extraordinary trek – expected to take five months to complete – will see the trio cross deserts, jungles and mountains with altitudes of up to 5000 metres.

The muscle-pounding course, which will kick off next Wednesday, is reckoned to be a extreme venture in these credit crunching times.

Nick said: “We hope to arrive in La Paz in time to attend the opening of the new Bruce Inca Ride Centre.

“To be in La Paz in time to see what we have helped to achieve would make the whole trip worthwhile.

“My friend, Phill Sutton, conceived the expedition in March 2008.

“Talk about riding out the recession! During these troublesome financial times it’s important that we don’t forget those in far worse situations than ourselves.”

At its conception, none of the riders spoke Spanish and only Nick had relative experience with horses.

Now Phill and Ed have adopted the crash course approach to riding and all three are taking evening Spanish classes.

“For us this trip is about helping others who haven’t had what we’ve had,” said Nick. “If we have to learn new things and completely remove ourselves from our comfort zones to do it, then so be it.”

Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading dementia charity, is a personal choice for Lines, Sutton, and Warner, who have all experienced dementia in their families. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a progressive condition affecting 700,000 people in the UK and millions more carers, said Alzheimer’s chief executive, Nick Hunt.

The second charity, Bruce Organisation, aims to educate street children and reduce poverty all over South America.

If the riders achieve their fund-raising targets Bruce Organisation will rebuild, re-open, and sustain the education centre as well as five affiliated schools.