Why?

This afternoon we received the following email from Louise Ansdell, Chairperson of CHL's Board of trustees: Louise Ansdell (louiseansdell@gmail.com) "Dear Mr Tarte-Booth, Thank you for your proposal which we reviewed at January’s trustee meeting. As you know, it was with heavy hearts that we came to the decision last summer to no longer keep shire horses on the estate. It was tough but it was borne out of the necessity to preserve the future of the house, the estate and the collections, all of which were put in jeopardy by our changed financial situation. While we appreciate that your proposal is predicated on the basis of it being cost neutral, or even profitable, to the charity, our stance on this has not changed. We are not in a position to commit to any arrangement which would involve the keeping of shire horses on the estate when all of our focus needs to be on the preservation of the house and grounds. We recognise that this will come as a disappointment to you but this is as our committed and settled position. Yours sincerely, Louise Ansdell" When the trustees decided to close Chawton House's stables; make their equine staff redundant and evict Royston, Speedy, Isaac & Summer, their 4 iconic Shires it was not with a 'heavy heart,' it was with a calculator and a balance sheet. We were told that the horses were too expensive (£50k pa). So, we offered the trustees £10k to cover the upkeep of the horses while we mutually agreed a plan to raise sufficient funds to cover their costs. Our offer was rejected without adequate explanation. In December we proposed that CHL provide us with a quotation to lease 2 of their stables and cover grazing rights for 2 of the Estate's fields. Our plan was to restore Shires to Chawton while removing any financial risk from the charity. We would not only absorb all the operating costs but convert illiquid assets (abandoned stables & fields) into a revenue stream desperately required by an organisation in a self-proclaimed financial crisis. This afternoon Louise rejected our second proposal. Clearly, money isn't the issue. CHL's trustees have a different agenda & it doesn't involve horses, endangered species or any other form of wildlife on their Estate. We cannot accept their horse-hostile strategy. Please continue to support and promote our petition. We are not done yet! In coming updates we will outline our objectives and position following this second rejection of a rational plan. Thank you all.