Daya Vieja Mayor offers stables as way of apology

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THE Villa Vera property, under the management of the Daya Vieja Town Hall could soon become home to some of the horses from the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre.

This property is located on the CV-901 Guardamar to Orihuela road. It is a large ornate villa and stables that was built in 1981. “The 14 empty stables in the equestrian area close to the main villa have been generously offered to the charity as emergency stables should they need them by Mayor Rafael Vives Pertusa,” said Sue Weeding.

“This is a peace offering for not doing more to help them two years ago.”

The Mayor reportedly received much criticism from local residents when co-founders of Easy Horse Care, Sue and Rod Weeding, were alerted to the problem of two horses in the village that were suffering from severe starvation and he refused help.

Police and SPERONA were also called but to no avail and the charity ended up buying the horses from the owner to save them. He was later imprisoned for the mistreatment of the horses in a case that hit headlines in both the English and Spanish media.

However, the disapproval from the local public was unfair according to local resident David Munn who says the Mayor was dealing with family illness at the time.

“He has done so much for this village and a lot of ex-pats got the wrong end of the stick regarding Captain and Hope,” said Munn Munn contacted the Mayor personally when Easy Horse Care were looking for a new venue to hold the monthly quiz and he happily offered the use of the Daya centre in the village.

A recently renovated picnic and recreational area is now also at the disposal of the charity should they wish to hold any event there and there are possibilities of a new regular market.

But the biggest offer of sincerity came when Rafa, as he is locally known, announced he would offer them free stabling should they need it at Villa Vera.

Meeting with Sue and volunteer Bradley, along with David on Tuesday, he admitted this was his way of making it up to the charity. “I thought they were aggressive activists and I did not know what they were doing before and it is my way of saying sorry,” said the mayor.

“From day one it was my intention to show this and show we support them and the work they do. There is a temporary stable here for them if they need it.” Meanwhile, this is all part of the mayor’s future plans for Villa Vera.

The main building is currently used for functions and conventions and houses six dormitory rooms with ornate ‘his and her’ bathrooms, which can sleep up to 60 in the summer.

There is an outdoor pool and terrace, which has been used by numerous brides and grooms on their big day and children visiting them across the world.

There are reportedly plans for a €6million regeneration of the site that will bring in new business and tourists to Daya Vieja. Rafa explained that he wants to build a new hotel adjacent to Villa Vera, create a spa area and develop the equestrian centre attracting jockeys and enthusiasts from across the world who could train and enjoy the winter sunshine.

“By allowing Easy Horse Care to use it as emergency stables it is a great way for people to understand what we are trying to do here,” said Rafa. However, there are no definite plans to start work at present.

“We are just waiting for that movement in the economy to get things going and interest from a private investor or a hotel chain,” said Rafa.

In the meantime the Rescue Centre are overwhelmed at the generosity for the Mayor and intend to make full use of his offer.

The team have volunteers coming from all over Europe to help with the day to day running of the Centre in Rojales and to have the opportunity of being able to house them all close by will be of immense benefit. There is also already talk of arranging a summer ball in aid of Easy Horse Care so others can witness the allure of Villa Vera for themselves.

“It is a very kind offer of help from the Mayor and we feel very excited that we are now getting more involved in the Spanish community and forging new relationships with the local authorities,” said Sue Weeding.

www.easyhorsecare.net

By Gemma Quinn

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