Benzion’s mother Leah contacted Willberry’s Wish Fairies to ask for a wish to be granted to her son, who suffers from brittle bone disease.  Benzion had been going to a local riding centre for group riding sessions, and one of her original wishes was to have some private riding sessions on his favourite horse Jazz.

Of course Willberry was delighted to help, and the fairies began making enquiries with the riding centre.  Unfortunately this wish was not possible in the circumstances, and so the fairies started thinking about Plan B....

They came up with the idea of a horsey mural being painted on the garden fence outside Benzion’s window, so that he could look at it every day.  Leah was thrilled with the idea, and so Willberry’s team started asking for any artists who might be interested in helping create this wonderful gift.  Onto the stage steps the most talented and generous artist that Willberry has been privileged to meet – Amy Goodman!  Amy instantly jumped at the opportunity, and began liaising with Leah about the style of the mural over the following weeks.  All seemed to be going full steam ahead, until a curve ball was thrown at the exciting plans.. The next door neighbours decided to have some building work done, which would involve the adjoining fence, and it was unsure whether Leah’s fence would be affected.  After several months of waiting without any clear answers on the building plans, the Covid pandemic took over and the whole project was put on hold for the first half of 2020.  Once we were safely out of lockdown, the fairies decided that time was of the essence, and it was time to go to Plan C and give Benzion a much needed boost!  They chatted to Leah and Amy once more, and it was decided that Amy would create a painting that could go on the wall inside the house.  Leah was so thrilled with the idea and said it was her dream to have a painting which could be cherished forever.  Amy was excited to be able to get to work at last, and started sketching....

    

At last, just in time for Christmas, Amy completed the most incredible painting that Willberry has ever seen.  Willberry galloped to Amy’s, he was so excited to see her masterpiece, and was overjoyed when he saw it, and keen as mustard to get the parcel to Benzion.  All in a mad rush to get this amazing painting to Benzion in time for Christmas, Willberry packed up the painting and waited patiently for the courier.

FINALLY, Benzion has his ‘Willberry’s Wish’ and he was thrilled.   Leah, Benzion’s Mum said ‘Benzion is delighted with the magnificent painting. He studied it and couldn't take his eyes off it.’ 

     

Amy has portrayed Benzion riding along his favourite beach with Bournemouth pier in the background, a beautiful and inspirational vision of an exceptional young man.  Amy said ‘I wanted to show him galloping free on Bournemouth beach, emerging out of the sea mist to create a magical atmosphere’ and this is exactly what has been created.  Heartfelt thank you to Amy Goodman www.amygoodman.co.uk

Willberry’s Wish fairies were contacted by Lauren Bowes, a family friend of Rachael and Alun Jervis to ask for some help in granting a special wish for their 14 year old daughter Maddie.  Maddie, a typical pony and sport mad teenager had been competing her beloved pony Eyros when she began to get terrible pains in her legs.  After comprehensive hospital tests she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancer which affects growing bones, and the family’s world turned upside down.  Maddie underwent an operation to replace part of her femur and knee in a bid to cut out the affected bones, but as she lay in recovery doctors had to break the news to her parents that, during the operation, it was possible some of the cancer cells had been pushed further up into the remaining bone, leaving no other option but to completely remove the femur at a later date. 

It was at this terrible time, whilst she was undergoing brutal rounds of treatments prior to the amputation, that Lauren contacted the Wish team with an unusual request.  Maddie’s pony was being looked after by friends,  the place at her usual yard was very basic and they wanted to give it the DIY SOS treatment to make it a practical but comfortable place for Maddie to use when she was able to see Eyros again. 

Well of course Willberry’s fairies jumped at the chance to create a special place for a special and incredibly brave young girl, and in January Willberry and his team of volunteers travelled to Wales on a mission! 

There was a lot of work to be done, and Maddie’s wish was for the tack room to have a ‘Shoot Room’ theme.  A false roof was needed as well as flooring, building up of a doorway, painting and to get items that would help Maddie be able to care for her horses easily when she returned.  Willberry thought a wardrobe for storage would be helpful, adding some shelving so it was easier for Maddie to access everything.  The team put up saddle racks and hooks, all to enable Maddie to be able to look after her horses whilst enjoying a warm dry and cosy retreat when she needed it. 

This was how it looked before: 

Maddie’s horses had gone to stay at a friend’s house while Maddie was in and out of hospital.  She missed them so much, but the thought of getting them back home was what kept her going.

Willberry got everyone involved, even Rhodri.  Alun, Maddie’s Dad never knew he had such skills, while Willberry kept a close eye on the craftsmanship!

New roof to keep everything snuggly!  Important addition of the stag’s head.  Amazing new floor! 

Everything Maddie would need …………. 

When Willberry was on site in January Maddie’s temperature spiked and she had to return to hospital immediately, so sadly they never got to meet.  Covid 19 then stopped the grand opening with lockdown and restrictions.  Maddie’s operation went ahead and in May she had her leg amputated.  The pressure was on to get everything finished, so it was all steam ahead to get horses and everything put in place for her return. 

Finally Eyros came home to his beautiful stable ……………… AND THEN 

Maddie came home!!  Willberry was absolutely delighted to see Maddie back where she belongs, and with the animals and people she loves.  Her family and friends even laid on a welcome home party for her, Splashberry, Maddie's Berry Pony didn’t want to miss out and has found his pride of place in the tack room and look at the finished result!  

Willberry and the Wish team were so delighted to be able to help such an amazing young girl who has such passion and drive for her horses and is already planning her future with her new dreams of competing in the Paralympics.  We know there will be no stopping her, and this final photo from her mum just 8 weeks after her amputation says it all..

 ❤️ DREAM BIG MADDIE AND NEVER GIVE UP ️❤️ 

 Read more about Maddie's story in the Wales Online: http://bit.ly/33bKqHT 

Sienna has been undergoing treatment for cancer and has been unable to ride or barely go and see her pony for six months. Her sister Carys has been amazing and helped look after her pony for her, so their mum Kara asked if we could treat them both to a special day at Olympia, and of course Willberry and his team were delighted to help!

      Sienna’s family and friends were treated to tickets for the evening performance on Saturday, and spent some time doing some serious retail shopping first, with Sienna’s little friend Blue-Berry helping to choose some goodies. Then Willberry had a surprise treat in store by arranging for them to go behind the scenes and meet some of the stars of the show – the girls were literally lost for words! After a fantastic evening performance of top level showjumping, spectacular displays and of course Father Christmas, Willberry’s Wish fairies topped off the day with an overnight stay in a London hotel afterwards where they could relive their amazing memories.

Our huge thanks go to Olympia for their support and generosity in helping make this wonderful wish come true.

Pia got in touch with Willberry’s Wishes team following her diagnosis of breast cancer in September 2018. She has spent the last year enduring surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Despite all the horrid treatment, this incredible lady was not requesting a wish for herself but for her good friend …

Willberry and his awesome Wishes team were given a 24 hour challenge when an email came in from Lyndsay asking if we could provide some special memories at Blair International Horse Trials the following day for her good friend Moira. Moira sadly has a brain tumour and is in palliative care at present, so the Willberry jumped into action to try and give Moira plenty of smiles and joy. However, as the Wishes base is in the South West we needed to find a Northern Angel – and so we contacted the wonderful Jemma Docherty who is a staunch supporter of Willberry. She immediately jumped at the opportunity and within hours had an exciting programme planned for Moira and her friend Linda the following day.

 Jemma met Moira and Linda on Thursday morning in glorious sunshine and told them about their busy day ahead!

 They then went to the lorry park where they were taken to the most fantastic lorry you can imagine, owned by Fiona and Andrew Malcolm of the Malcolm Group and huge supporters of eventing in Scotland. They all went in to enjoy a lovely lunch of soup and sandwiches, lots of chat and plenty of laughs with Simon Grieve and Wills Oakden. Moira’s stories of the amazing achievements in her life blew them away, and were an inspiration to them all.

After lunch, they were given a VIP pass to go ‘backstage’ for a tour of the stables to meet the equine stars, filled with adrenaline and anticipation of the competition ahead. They stroked some beautiful noses, met a few well-known friendly faces and were even lucky enough to meet the legend that is Ben Hobday and his lovely wife Emma. Big smiles from Moira on that one!!

In the afternoon Moira was then treated to a drive around the cross country course with the FEI Technical Delegate Michelle Debenham, with Daniel Scott jumping in as well to give her his opinion on the fences and how he thought he would ride them. She had a fantastic insight into the challenges of the course, and knew exactly where she wanted to put her seats for the best viewing point when she came back on Saturday!

The sun shone throughout the day, the atmosphere was fantastic, and some very special memories were created for a very special lady.

Willberry sends huge thanks to the organisers and all the team at Blair for their unequivocal support as always. The Eventing Family shone through once again as riders gave their time and love to make Moira at home in their world. Last, but certainly not least, MASSIVE thanks from the bottom of Willberry's heart to the amazing Jemma Docherty, Willberry’s very own Flower of Scotland.