Willberry received a Wish application from an amazing girl called Bryony who needed some horsey therapy after a tough time.  Bryony is 22 and last year had to have her kidney removed, then endured 8 rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.  This obviously knocked the stuffing out of her physically and mentally, and she deserved something lovely to look forward to and help rebuild her confidence and strength.

Her wish was to spend a day at Badminton on cross country day, so Willberry knew he could make this happen but wanted to add some extra treats to make her day extra special! 

Willberry sent Bryony the admission tickets and car pass in advance with a few special goodies, and the day finally dawned.  Despite all the dreadful days of rain previously, Sunday stayed dry and the sun shone, drying up the gloopy mud that made shopping a little bit harder work!  Thanks to the ever-supportive Event Director Jane Tuckwell, Willberry was able to offer Bryony and her friend Nicky a special surprise - VIP treatment in the Portcullis Club beside the Main Arena.  They were treated to breakfast, then lunch (with a glass of wine!) and afternoon tea to finish!  Well, they needed to do some serious course walking and shopping to make some room between meals so off they went!  After a sumptuous lunch Nicky dragged Bryony around more of the course, and then they came to Willberry’s stand to meet the Wish team Willberry, Rachel and Toni, and also all the wonderful volunteers who have helped so tirelessly all week on our busy stand.  It was so lovely to meet face to face for a chat, but there was one more surprise in store for Bryony... 

An hour later they met again in the late afternoon sunshine in front of Badminton House, and who was there to greet them but Olympic gold medallist and Badminton competitor Tom McEwen!  Bryony spent some time chatting with Tom and his fiance Harriet, and it was fascinating to hear all about Tom’s superb clear cross country round, and how thrilled he was with his horse, Toledo De Kerser.

Tom then asked Bryony if she would like to come for a sneak peek of the stables which she obviously jumped at!  So he took her off for a behind the scenes view of the horses who were quietly recovering from their cross country efforts, and the beautiful old stable yard, even getting a cuddle with the main man Walter himself!  What a treat!!

It was such a special day for Bryony, and we were so pleased to give her such a well deserved treat with some wonderful memories to share with her friends and family.

Our thanks go once again to the generosity and support of Jane Tuckwell, and of course to the legend that is Tom McEwen, who was a good friend to Hannah when she was poorly, and has been a staunch supporter of Willberry and his team every since.  Thank you 💓💓💓