Saturday the 7th November 2020 should have seen the running of the 32nd Bob Owen Memorial Trial at Parkwood Offroad Centre, who have allowed use of this venue since the inaugural event on 16th November 1988. Over these years Horsforth & DMC Ltd have overcome many problems to run this, their annual charity trial and in the process have donated over £70k. from the entry fees and donations.
However, Covid 19 is one problem we were unable to overcome. After attempts to run at a reduced level to deal with West Yorkshires tier 3 classification, the national lockdown and the blanket ban on ACU events from the 5th November saw the cancelation.
With an entry of over 90 well before they were due to close, West Yorkshire was put into tier 3. This meant that those entrants not in the area would not be able to attend. We contacted them and had a wonderful response with most donating all or part of entry fees. This left us with about 60 plus, but the lockdown and ACU announcement meant we had to contact the remainder. Again, response was fantastic and we will be donating these fees to the ACU Ben Fund.
Margaret Carter, Yorkshire Centre Ben Fund Officer and Treasurer and Trustee of the fund said “I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the riders and would particularly like to thank Graham Wilson and all the Officials from Horsforth & DMC Ltd for all their hard work. The ACU Benevolent Fund was set up in April 1950 and is the only Charity out there to help past and present members of the ACU and their dependents in times of financial hardship. In 2019 the Fund paid out just short of £84,000 to those who needed help and it relies totally upon donations. Sadly, like many Charities this year we have seen a considerable fall in donations. However, we are always grateful and appreciative to Horsforth & DMC for their continued support of the Benevolent Fund especially with their Bob Owen Memorial Trial and we wish everyone at the Club all the best for the coming year”.
The Club are ever grateful to the help and response we get and have had over the years from the riders, observers and officials, that has enabled us to have run this event successfully for so long, particularly this year, with the generosity of the entrants doating fees to the cause.