Hannah Francis’ legacy lives on “stronger than ever” thanks to the charity she founded, which has now raised over £1 million.
The teenage event rider was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, osteosarcoma, in May 2015, at the age of 17.
She continued riding despite her deteriorating health and founded Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity in 2016.
Hannah died on 1 August last year, but support for the charity has continued to grow in her memory.
Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity raises funds towards bone cancer research and granting horsey wishes to those with serious illnesses.
Yesterday her charity’s Facebook page announced that it had reached an important milestone:
“We’ve raised a million! From the bottom of the our heart (and of course, Willberry’s) we cannot thank you enough for being right next to us every step of the way. We are blown away by your support, allowing Hannah’s legacy to live on stronger than ever.
“We really could do none of this without you, so thank you for letting us keep #kickingcancersbutt on our mission to prevent people going through the horror Hannah did. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
There has been an outpouring of support for the charity following the good news and the Facebook announcement has reached more than 60,000 people. BBC Radio Bristol has produced a video to mark the achievement.
This is the incredible story of Willberry Wonder Pony's first million – inspired by Hannah Francis ❤️
Posted by BBC Radio Bristol on Thursday, November 23, 2017
The fundraising has been boosted by the Wobbleberry challenge, which has raised £250,000 for Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity.
The riders signing up for the challenge set themselves the target of competing at their first British Eventing entry-level event while raising funds for Hannah’s charity.
More than 1,200 riders have signed up to join the Wobbleberries and the challenge is now an annual one, to allow even more to take part.
Andrew Hoy, the Wobbleberries’ patron, has created a series of training videos which will be released from January, to help the riders succeed in their eventing challenge.
