Sam wrote to Willberry asking if he could help her with a very special treat to help her through her cancer battle.  She had been diagnosed with bowel cancer, and following surgery was going through her six month chemotherapy course.  Sam had a very particular dream and that was to ride on the Newmarket gallops with her little horse Goldie, together with her friend Pia.

Well Willberry was gobsmacked for a moment – was it possible for anyone other than jockeys aboard million pound thoroughbreds to set hoof upon those hallowed tracks?  This was a very new challenge, but he had faith in his team to give it their best shot and try to make Sam’s dream come true.

After a couple of conversations with trainers, Willberry decided to go straight to the top and write to the Jockey Club head office – I mean the worst they could do was laugh at them wasn’t it?! 

The loveliest part of being a part of Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony is that you are constantly surprised and humbled by people’s generosity, and the Jockey Club were no exception.  Much to their amazement, wonderful Lindsay from the Jockey Club Estates came back with an immediate “Yes we can”!  But before we could even begin celebrating, Lindsay also offered Sam and Pia a tour around Newmarket training grounds and the Jockey Rooms followed by lunch – wow wow WOW!  Lindsay thought it would be better to have the two treats on different days because the horses would not want to be on the lorry for too long, so the good news was relayed back to Sam that she had not one but TWO treats in store.  She was blown away by such a kind and generous offer, and couldn’t wait to tell Pia! 

Because Pia's horse, Annie was struggling a little with a dust allergy in the dry summer, the first treat was the tour of the grounds with Lindsay, and lunch, courtesy of kind and generous Charlotte.  Sam had the most memorable day,

“Watching the horses training on the gallops this morning was wonderful - seeing so many of them was awesome! Lindsay's tour of Newmarket and all of the yards was brilliant ... we had no idea there were quite so many.”

They then had a lovely lunch on the patio at the Jockey Club, being treated like VIP’s and enjoying the delicious food.  An extra treat was a tour around the Jockey Club afterwards with Charlotte, looking at the amazing art collection and learning all about the history of horse racing.  What a day to remember!

Once the rains had fallen, it was finally time for the big day on the gallops! Sam and Pia were so excited, but Willberry had one more surprise up his sleeve.. He had found someone very special to come and take some photos of them in action.  Dominic James is an incredible photographer whose work is known globally as well as in the racing world.  He was exceptionally generous in giving his valuable time to come and spend the morning with Sam and Pia, and was so lovely on the day, making them feel completely at ease.

Dominic took some beautiful photos which Sam and Pia will treasure forever, and we are so grateful and thankful for his support and generosity. (Photography by Dominic James of @horsesintraining.)

           

They had the most fantastic time on the gallops, getting a little taste of that exhilarating feeling of speed – even if Goldie and Annie weren’t quite as fast as the racehorses, they believed they were! It really blew the cobwebs away for a day, and both Sam and Pia have been talking about it ever since. A truly memorable experience where just for a few hours nothing else in the world mattered.

There are barely enough words to thank Lindsay for her incredible support and generosity in making this wish possible – we literally couldn’t have done it without you! Our huge thanks also to Charlotte for giving so much of her time to make the girls feel so special, and of course once again to Dominic for his time and talent to tell Sam’s story in wonderful photographs that will last forever. 

Keep kicking and keep galloping Sam and Goldie 💗

After enjoying a fantastic lesson with Wills Oakden, Jo was given a second treat when Willberry’s very own Scottish Fairy Jemma Docherty flew into action again.  The Wish team heard from Jo’s friend Fiona that she was going to Blair Castle International Horse Trials and wondered if they could arrange for Jo to meet a rider if possible. 

Well in typical Jem style she managed not one but two treats for Jo!  On the first day she was treated to a drive around the cross country course with the amazingly generous Matt Heath.

The next day she met her idol and Hannah and Willberry’s very good friend the legend that is Pippa Funnell!  What a fantastic weekend and some very special moments to put into Jo’s memory bank. 💗

Our huge thanks go to Matt and Pippa for taking time out of their busy days to generously give their time, care and support both to Jo and to Hannah’s charity.   And of course, our special thanks to our special Scottish ‘Team Willberry’ volunteer, Jemma Docherty – you’re amazing! 💗

Willberry was contacted by a lovely lady called Charlotte to ask if they could help make a wish come true for her good friend Heather.  Heather had suffered brain injuries and was registered disabled, but then was sadly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in her adrenal gland.  Charlotte has been trying to make as many happy memories for Heather as possible, and Willberry was delighted to see his team jump into action to help make another special event for Heather.

Heather has a sweet cob cross mare called Polly who she determinedly rode through her first chemo treatment and is still out competing when she is able.  Charlotte knew she would just love to go to an adult riding camp with Polly, and so plans were made for her to go to Aston le Walls riding camp in the summer.  Heather was absolutely over the moon when she heard the news, but there was a second issue that she had no transport to get Polly there.  “No problem!” said Willberry, and they enlisted the services of the excellent AWE Horse Transport, owned and operated by the lovely Amber Woodhouse.  Amber was immediately on board with the scheme, and kindly offered her ongoing support for the charity in the future.

So at the beginning of August, Amber collected the precious cargo Polly and took her to Aston le Walls for an exciting few days ahead..   Polly travelled well in absolute luxury in the smart little two horse box, and she was very happy indeed to be treated to a haylage net!

The camp turned out to be absolutely super, the weather was lovely and with a good breeze so humans, horses and dogs didn’t overheat. Charlotte had booked herself a place with her horse too, but suffered a huge disappointment when Billy went lame just days before the camp and was unable to go.  Undeterred, Charlotte went anyway without her mount, and supported and cheered on Heather throughout each day.  Aston is a first class venue for these events, and the camp organisation was excellent.  Polly hadn’t done a stay away camp or competition before, but she took it all in her stride. Heather and Polly were treated to four lessons over the two and a half days, with two grass XC sessions, one arena SJ and one arena XC. Polly had previously only done one arena XC competition prior to camp but absolutely loves her jumping and didn’t seem at all phased by rustics or jumping on grass. Heather said “Polly dragged me into the jumps apparently loving her camp activities!”  Many positive comments were received from the instructors about Polly and her potential, she’s such an honest pony and really tries her best. Heather was so thrilled to be able to take Polly away for some intensive instruction, something she couldn’t have afforded to fund herself. Their neighbour in the lorry park and stables had ovarian cancer and over a long dinner the new friends discussed how essential horses were in maintaining motivation and giving a purpose to each day in the face of such an awful illness.  

Charlotte told us, “We are lucky to be a part of such a wonderful community through our united equine passion.  The whole weekend went so smoothly from start to finish and I can’t thank you and Willberry enough for making this possible. The cards Heather have been dealt seem so unfair and this was such a lovely bit of escapism for her.  She is so so grateful to Willberry and the Wish team for giving her what she called “the mental holiday from my day to day reality.”

Heather is now saving up and determined to get to another camp, hopefully with her good friend Charlotte and her horse Billy to share the fun.  Keep #kickingcancers butt Heather!! 💗

Willberry Wishes were recently contacted by Kayleigh, Ryleigh’s Mum who told us that Ryleigh was diagnosed with a brain tumour three years ago and sadly has relapsed. She adores horses and ponies and although she has never ridden, Kayleigh knew she would love to experience a pony ride.  Willberry immediately had a plan in mind, and got straight on the case, getting on the Wishes hoofline to his two favourite ponies.  Willberry wanted Ryleigh to have an all-round experience of everything that a pony mad little girl would do; catching the pony from the field, grooming, and that extra special excitement of riding a pony.

Ryleigh has an older brother Dominic who also loves animals, so the perfect choice was to bring them to Hannah’s farm as they didn’t live too far away. Willberry worked his magic quickly so that Ryleigh could have her special treat the day after her 6^th Birthday.

Ryleigh, Dominic and Kayleigh arrived at the farm, and once they had settled in Ryleigh led Doris the Shetland to her yard to have a cuddle and a full groom.  Ryleigh really liked brushing her fluffy mane and smoothing her soft coat, giving her special cuddles.  Dominic groomed Millie and helped to get more straw and hay for the stable. 

    

Ryleigh sat on Teddy like a princess, and walked around the farm, saying hello to the cows as she passed.  Dominic was keen to have a go as well and gave a squeal as Teddy went into trot.  Ryleigh sat and watched her brother ride but was keen to get back on board.  She was an absolute natural and so brave and calm, enjoying the connection with the ponies.  Dominic enjoyed seeing the tractors, hens and he had a definite connection with the cows, as he kept going back to see them.

       Willberry always likes to feed his guests, so we had a picnic lunch with special Willberry chocolate cake!  Doris and Teddy munched their grass in the garden with Ryleigh and her family while everyone refuelled with food.  Teddy was a superstar and showed off his lying down trick.  Ryleigh was keen to ride Doris, so we borrowed Teddy’s saddle and Ryleigh got on board - Doris loved it and so did Ryleigh.  Willberry loved seeing Ryleigh with both ponies, she looked so happy and connected.

Ryleigh had one more wish and that was to feed the ponies apples and carrots – so both Ryleigh and Dominic gave Doris and Teddy their succulent treats.  Willberry wanted to give Ryleigh her own special Berry pony to have by her side, wearing a lovely pink scarf which is Ryleigh’s favourite colour. After much careful consideration Ryleigh decided to name her pony Elsa.

Ryleigh and Dominic left the farm with a final goodbye to the cows, with their special presents and a unicorn easter egg for the journey home.  Doris and Teddy had an amazing time, being cared for by Ryleigh, a very special little girl who we adored meeting 💗

Thank you to Alice for bringing Teddy the Shetland, Doris could not believe that she got to see her boyfriend so soon after Arena UK, it was so kind and generous. Also thank you to Vicky for coming at such short notice to take the beautiful photographs.

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