The deafblind charity Sense has been chosen as charity of the year for a worldwide prestigious equestrian event in Badminton.

The national charity has been selected as the winner for the 2015 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trails.

The charity will join equestrian fans at the event in May to fundraise and raise awareness of sight and hearing loss.

The Sense CEO, Gillian Morbey, said: “We are delighted to be Badminton’s charity of the year. It’s a unique opportunity for us to spread the word about dual sensory impairment and raise vital funds to continue our work.

“We look forward to being part of an exciting event that attracts one of the biggest sporting crowds in the world.”

Sense supports and campaigns for children and adults who are both deaf and blind, offering practical services, advice and specialist information.

The charity also supports families and the professionals who work with the deafblind across the UK.

They run the only stables in the UK entirely adapted for the complex and specific needs of deafblind people.

Ms Morbey said: “The Sense stables are a unique educational centre, where every aspect of horse care and yard work is adapted so that deafblind people can participate in every aspect of stable life.

“The project has proved to be of significant and long-lasting benefit to deafblind people, helping to build confidence, develop self-esteem and learn new skills.”

The event director, Hugh Thomas, said: “At Badminton our policy is to support just one charity each year and give it our full cooperation. As a rule we alternate between an equestrian based cause one year and a human benefiting charity the next.

“We are very happy to support Sense and all the great work they do for the deafblind community. We wish them all the best in their fundraising efforts at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in 2015.”

The Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials take place from Wednesday, May 6 to Sunday, May 10, 2015.