Oh my what a fantastic time we had at Horse of the Year Show! I’m still brushing hay out of my mane from all the excitement! But this wasn’t just any day at HOYS... no, this was a very special Willberry’s Wish, and I was over the moon to welcome the wonderful Tegan and her amazing mum, Donna, for a weekend full of magic, ponies, and proper chocolate brownies!

Now, let me tell you a little something about Tegan. She’s faced more than her fair share of hurdles in life — diagnosed with leukaemia at just 3 years old and enduring 17 long years of treatment since. But she’s the kind of person that makes your heart do a little skip — strong, smiley, and totally inspiring. The kind of human Hannah would’ve loved.

Their journey up from Cornwall was a bit of an adventure in itself. Poor Tegan and Donna’s train was delayed, and they didn’t make it to Birmingham until after 6pm! Thankfully, a kind-hearted taxi driver whisked them the last stretch to the NEC and even refused to take a fare (humans can be so lovely sometimes, can’t they?).

When I trotted over to meet Tegan and Donna for the very first time, I was already feeling a bit excited. Every Wish we grant comes with a very special surprise — a Berry pony of their very own — and I was over the moon to discover that Tegan had already named hers Aliceberry, after the wonderful horse she used to ride at her RDA group.

As soon as I met Aliceberry, all smart and snuggled into Tegan’s arms, I knew we were going to be the best of friends. My heart was full to the brim. That’s the magic of a Wish: a little sparkle, a lot of love, and a pony friend by your side, no matter what.

That evening, they had a nice dinner at The Moxy, and then it was off to bed to rest up for a day full of horsey adventures!

Saturday at HOYS had arrived!

The next morning, we kicked things off with some shopping in the enormous hall of horsey delights. Tegan was on a mission for the perfect pair of gloves to help with her wheelchair — and she found just the right ones!

After lunch, we met at the hotel and made our way to the main arena. Some very kind NEC staff whisked us past the crowds to the Press Centre, where we met Debra of Grandstand Media  — she introduced us to the lovely Sarah, our guide for the afternoon. And let me tell you, Sarah knew all the behind-the-scenes secrets...

First stop: the international stables. Imagine the fanciest, sparkliest pony hotels, with enormous horseboxes parked tighter than bales in a haystack. We saw show ponies, massive Clydesdales, dazzling jumpers — every shape and size!

Then, we trotted over to the Pony Club stables, where the six top teams for the Prince Philip Cup were based. Everything was spotless — parents had transformed their little corners into pony palaces, and there were daily inspections for the best-kept stable.

Tegan had a very special moment here too — we visited Wylye Valley, the team closest to Hannah’s heart, and the girls (Bonnie, Ellie, Esme, Evie, and Phoebe) gave her the warmest tour of their ponies and kit. Then we popped by the Staff College & Sandhurst team for another look at the fabulous ponies competing in the games.

   

All that excitement called for a break, so off we went to the Wylye camp kitchen for a well-earned hot chocolate, well "warm" chocolate, with lots of marshmallows and cream. And guess what? Hannah’s famous chocolate brownies were on offer too. Naturally, I helped myself to one... or two.

After some rest and refreshments, Sarah took us to meet the amazing scurry ponies and their lovely human, Alison. This part was extra special, because Tegan has taken up carriage driving at the RDA since she stopped riding. We learned all about the speedy ponies (big and small), and Tegan fell head over wheels for a gorgeous pony called Buzz!

Next we visited the phenomenal UK Vaulting Team who had been wowing the crowds all week with their amazing precision and athleticism.  And we even had the chance to see some of the heavy horses too.

Finally, we trotted by the magnificent heavy horses before heading back to the hotel. Tegan’s wheels got a bit muddy on the way — not every stable is as clean as the Pony Club’s — so we had our work cut out trying to clean the wheels on the grass on the way back!

 Saturday Night – The Puissance

That evening, Tegan and Donna headed into the Andrews Bowen International Arena to watch the main event. The crowd was electric! They saw the scurry final, the astonishing Puissance with the joint winners jumping over 7ft!  and the penultimate round of the Prince Philip Cup. Of course, I nearly lost my voice cheering for Wylye Valley — and they won! I was practically galloping in the stands!

After another cosy night at The Moxy, Tegan and Donna caught their train back to Cornwall. I was a little sad to wave my new friends goodbye, but my heart was bursting. This is what Willberry’s Wishes are all about — sharing moments of joy, magic, and connection, just like Hannah dreamed.

A HUGE thank you to Debra, and Sarah from Grandstand Media and to all those in the NEC, who helped make everything run so smoothly.

And Tegan — good luck with your upcoming hip operations. I’ll be sending you all my Berry wishes and can’t wait to see you back with your RDA friends, reins in hand and dreams in your heart 💕

Bottom of Form

Now everybody knows that Willberry is the original party animal, and always top of the invitation list because of the way he can flash his hooves!  So can you imagine how excited he was when a new Wish application came in for a pony party.   This special pony party was for Ellie, she has osteosarcoma, the same cancer as Hannah had.  Now Willberry had to put his thinking cap on as this one was a bit special.... 10 year old Ellie wanted to have the party at her school so that all of her classmates could be there too – a grand total of 38 children!!!

Well, this was a fantastic challenge, and whilst Willberry knew his fairies have worked a few miracles in the past, he decided that a chat with the staff at St Martin’s CE Primary School would help the wish run smoothly as it would be all hooves on deck!  Our plan was in place, and we couldn’t wait to meet Ellie and her little brother Ted.

Willberry travelled down to Liskeard in Cornwall with lots on board!  His fellow Willberries in jump form, props for our unmounted games, party bags, freshly baked Willberry biscuits and some yummy snacks – and an extra surprise for Ellie of a very special cake for her and her family....  The journey down was a bit foggy and we hoped it wouldn’t rain, but thankfully although it was a bit misty the afternoon stayed dry.  Willberry was so excited when they drove over the Tamar Bridge crossing from Devon to Cornwall! 

When we arrived at the school had done Ellie proud, with bunting all around the playground and her name in big letters everywhere – what a special girl she is 😊

The stars of the show arrived at the same time as Willberry, four adorable ponies from the absolutely fantastic Little Margate Equestrian Centre in Bodmin, owned and run by the wonderful Rachel.   The ponies came out and looked at everything going on around them as if it was a perfectly normal occurrence to be in the middle of a school playground! Well the children were all so excited at seeing them, but obviously they couldn’t all ride at the same time so our plan was to divide them into four groups and rotate between four different activities..... there was obviously pony riding, then face painting with pin the tail on the donkey; another area where Willberry had brought lots of freshly baked Willberry biscuits for the children to ice and decorate and finally some gymkhana games on hobby horses!!  

                   

Ellie’s teacher Miss Nile was amazing, coordinating each group with impressive efficiency so that all the children managed to have fun in every single sector – what a feat!  Many children had beautiful unicorns painted on their faces, the biscuit decorating was great fun and the hobby horse gymkhana was hilarious and hugely popular.  What a lovely group of children, all helping one another.  We gave out little prizes for the winning teams of the gymkhana games, if one team had won again, they passed on their prize to the team that hadn't won, this all came from the children.  

   

The ponies were the stars of the day, and even though Ellie was in a wheelchair she was determined to get on board, and the huge smile on her face when she rode around on the sweetest pony Meg was just the best moment of the afternoon.   Every one of us who has ridden or been close to a horse knows how special this connection is, and how they make us feel is one of the most magical experiences in the world.  Many of the children who had not ridden or been with ponies before made immediate connections with them, which was extra special too.  Perhaps one or two may even become visitors to Little Margate themselves 😊 

   

Finally,   the children were gathered together and went inside for a yummy tea party in the classroom – Willberry had never seen so much popcorn and chocolate fingers, ohhh and cake!!  Miss Nile organized the children to collect their goody bags just before they said goodbye.

There was just one last treat for Ellie from Willberry – an AMAZING cake made by the incredibly talented Niki Lowe Cake Design in Liskeard with guess who on the top..... yep you guessed it..... Willberry!!

This has been the most wonderful and humbling wish to create for Ellie, she is the most incredible young girl with the heart of a lion, and we have been so happy to be able to do this for her at such a tough time.

Our thanks are multiple.... to Miss Nile and all the staff at St Martin’s CE Primary School – you were incredible!  To Niki Lowe – nothing was too much trouble, you were very generous and supportive of our charity, and you made the most beautiful cake that made a little girl very happy..

And finally our huge and heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to the kindness and generosity of Rachel,  Mandy, Jess, Jezzie, Dolcie and Lola from Little Margate Equestrian.  Your unequivocal and immediate support at our request has touched us greatly, and we cannot thank you enough for your time and commitment to make this a most special wish for us all.

                            

And finally to Ellie.... dream big, fight hard and never give up 

Kathryn got in touch with Willberry back in 2020 to ask for his help to make a wish come true for her.  She was undergoing treatment for triple negative breast cancer but had also been battling debilitating health issues since the age of 9.  This had not stopped her from pursuing a life with horses, and in recent years she had been working with horse healing and therapy.  Willberry arranged for her to have some natural horsemanship sessions with Ben Hart and her young mustang, but the cancer treatment took its toll on Kathryn, and plans were put on hold until she felt well enough to enjoy her wish.

Willberry was delighted when Kathryn got back in touch with him again.   Unfortunately, she had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.  She was no longer riding, but said she had always wanted to learn to drive a horse and carriage, if that was something Willberry could help her with?  Well, you can imagine how excited Willberry was at this request – this was a new challenge for him! 

As luck would have it he found the perfect set up less than half an hour from where she lived – the wonderful Fenix Carriages and Driving Centre at Clayhidon, owned by Mark and Joanna Broadbent.

Mark started his driving career at the age of 8, and is a well-known carriage driving competitor, competing and judging internationally.  He was delighted to be able to offer Kathryn some driving instruction, and to Kathryn’s great delight a date was set for her first session!  She had an amazing time and although she was nervous at first, she soon became confident with the reins under Mark’s calm and relaxed tutoring. 

At her next session Willberry went down to meet her and see how she was getting on – they were astounded at how confident and capable she was already, taking the horse and trap off down the lanes like an old pro! 

Mark is also passionate about the restoration and conservation of old carriages, and Joanna took everyone around the fantastic museum they have there, full of the most wonderful carriages you could imagine which have all been painstakingly restored to their former glory by Mark.  What a memorable experience it was!

To top off the day completely, Mark then took them all for a drive in a carriage and pair all around the fields and arena, which was an unexpected and exhilarating treat.  What a day!  Kathryn had a smile from ear to ear and you can see she has definitely got the driving bug – keep going Kathryn we can’t wait to see you in action again 😊

Our thanks go to Mark and Joanna Broadbent, we really appreciate the extra time and effort you put into Kathryn’s lessons with you, and we hope to work with you again in the future.

Siobhan got in touch to tell us about this amazing little girl called Esmae, who has had a very tough time with treatment for a brain tumour.  Devastatingly, Esmae has lost her sight due to the location of the tumour.  Willberry immediately got his thinking cap on.  What could he do for Esmae?  He was told she wanted to meet a pony and, as Esmae has an older sister, Darcy, and brother, Kaedon, Willberry was extra keen to see multiple smiles on this ‘Willberry’s Wish’.

Of course, Doris, Hannah’s miniature Shetland, was a must, just the right height for Esmae to have special pony cuddles and feel her silky mane.  Mmm, but who else could come to the party?!  Vicki kindly offered Bilbo, their beloved pony whom Hannah used to teach at Pony Club, PERFECT, though Willberry wasn’t sure how Bilbo would feel about coming out of retirement!

Everything was planned and Kelly (Esmae’s mum) thought it may be easier for Esmae if we went to their house in Langford………. but then the rain came, the forecast was dismal, and Esmae really doesn’t like rainy days anymore, so we had to work fast and find a solution because Willberry simply couldn’t have Esmae, Darcy and Kaedon disappointed.  He had promised.  All the equine centres were booked in the region, so Willberry put his hoof senses to good use and did a recce of Langford to find a school at the University of Bristol, Langford Vets.  They very kindly let us use their indoor school which saved the day – thank you to Steph and all at University of Bristol for being so kind and generous.

The rain was pouring as Esmae arrived with her family, but everyone perked up when we went into the school.  Doris and Bilbo waited excitedly to meet everyone.  Esmae was so brave – the sand in the school was a little uneven but nothing was going to stop her from touching the ponies.  What an amazing little girl – her senses so in tune, her hands touching Doris, she felt her mane and then wanted to feel Bilbo.  Darcy was very nervous of the ponies, but Kaedon wasn’t.  He was full of energy and then decided he liked running, so began to run around and around the school.  Soon he thought it would be more fun to race a pony!!  Now Doris loves a race ...

                                      

 And Esmae didn’t want to miss out either!

Willberry brought a lovely picnic, so after a number of snack breaks it was always quickly back to the ponies.  After a while, Esmae thought she would like to sit on the ponies, first Doris and then Bilbo.  Doris’s walk was a bit forward going and she preferred Bilbo’s laid-back attitude. 

She enjoyed every minute with the ponies, going from one to another, feeling, touching, smelling, and then riding.

Esmae is an amazing, unstoppable, courageous little girl; we are so pleased to have been able to bring lots of smiles for you and your family 💓

Thank you to Victoria Clare Photography for generously joining us and taking such beautiful photographs, and to Vicki and Jayne for giving up their day and allowing Bilbo to join the party! 💓💓

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 💓💓💓