Josh Widdicombe, Angela Rippon and John Nettles back new Devon horse sanctuary centre

A new purpose-built centre for rescued horses and ponies with complex needs has opened near Totnes, with Devon celebrities including Josh Widdicombe, Angela Rippon and John Nettles sending messages of support.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary officially opens the Rosemary Kind Barn at its Coombe Park site on Wednesday, September 30, in what the charity describes as one of the biggest milestones in its 38-year history.

The centre houses 13 stables for horses and ponies with complex needs, along with dedicated spaces for specialist care, education and community work. It replaces the site's former American Barn, which was demolished in 2020 after subsidence left it unfit for purpose, and the temporary stabling used since then.

Among the first residents is Inula, a draught cross who arrived at the Sanctuary in 2019 as part of a large multi-agency rescue of more than 100 horses. She arrived underweight, malnourished and with life-threatening liver problems. X-rays also revealed an air gun pellet lodged in her foot, showing she had been shot at some point in her past.

Inula is joined in the new barn by Shetland cross Iris, born at the Sanctuary in 2011, who lives with Equine Metabolic Syndrome and a history of laminitis, and her dam Matilda, who is now 34 and arrived unhandled following a local drift sale. Another resident, Irish Draught cross Vogue, was rescued in a separate multi-agency operation in 2019 and now takes part in sessions helping children and adults.

The building is named after Rosemary Kind, who founded the charity in 1988 and died in 2022. The Sanctuary is now the South West's largest horse welfare charity, caring for around 550 horses, ponies and foals across four Devon sites in Newton Abbot, Totnes, Holsworthy and Yelverton. Alongside its welfare work, it runs therapeutic equine-assisted programmes supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of children, young people and adults, and the new centre brings both strands of work under one roof.

Ahead of the official opening, comedian Josh Widdicombe, who recently made his debut as the new host of Strictly Come Dancing, sent a recorded video message of support. "As someone from Devon, from Dartmoor in fact, I know how important the horses and ponies are, not just to the landscape but to the people," he said. "So, it's great they're having a place where they can be cared for so well and where people can find peace and connection."

Broadcaster Angela Rippon, a patron of the charity since 2018, said horses had been "a constant thread" throughout her life since growing up in Devon. "The Rosemary Kind Barn represents an important new chapter for The Mare and Foal Sanctuary," she said. "It will strengthen the charity's ability to care for horses, ponies and foals in need, while supporting its education and wellbeing work for years to come."

Actor John Nettles, a patron since 2014, said the barn marked "a big milestone in this charity's history" and would "make a real difference to the Sanctuary's work and to the lives of the horses, ponies and foals it helps, now and for many years to come."

Work on the new building began in 2020. Phase one, covering foundations, drainage, steel frame, roof and concrete base, finished in spring 2025, with local contractor MW Benney Ltd completing phase two between January and July 2026. More than 1,200 supporters gave to the initial appeal, with a further 121 funding the tack room and 57 contributing through a Crowdfunder campaign.

Rhodri Samuel, Chief Executive of The Mare and Foal Sanctuary, said: "The launch of this new building marks an important milestone for our organisation. It brings together within one site our care for the welfare of horses and ponies, our therapeutic equine-assisted work with children and adults and our deepening respect for the land and the natural world."