Show-jumping legend Paul Schockemöhle has given a helping hand to 80 refugees fleeing Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
“We picked up 80 people from the Ukrainian-Polish border,” Schockemöhle told a Frankfurt-based media outlet. “They are all women with relatively small children.”
Schockemöhle had been a star on the international equestrian scene for decades; now 76, he won equestrian team jumping silver at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in Montreal and bronze at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, and numerous other accolades. Since retiring from competition he runs one of the most successful sport horse breeding and sales farms in Europe.
According to the news report, Schockemöhle is footing the bill for the refugees to stay at a hotel near his stud farm in Germany. While he normally wouldn’t be so public about such matters, he wanted to encourage others with the means to follow his lead.
Of course, alongside thousands of humans displaced and suffering from the unjust war, there are also animals in the crosshairs. If you’re able, you can make donations to well-respected animal groups such as Humane Society International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), or the newly-established USEF Ukraine Relief Fund to support Ukraine horses and equestrians.