Willberry Wonder Pony
Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony is an official charity set up by the late Hannah Francis. The successful young event rider was diagnosed with bone cancer in May 2015 and died, aged 18, on 1 August 2016.
The organisation was approved as a registered charity on 2 May 2016 and all funds raised by the charity go towards bone cancer research and granting horsey wishes to those with serious illnesses.
Hannah said at the time: “I am so proud to announce that finally Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony is an official charity.”
To date, Hannah’s charity has raised more than £100,000 through fundraising events and Willberry merchandise.
Among the current campaigns being run to raise funds for the charity is Wobbleberries – a challenge to encourage “middle-aged wimpy riders” to train to compete in a BE80 competition in memory of Hannah in late 2017. Andrew Hoy is among the top riders who have donated training to those taking part.
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Willberry Wonder Pony backs new Happiness Horsebox to help disabled and the seriously ill enjoy the ‘magic’ of horses
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Laura Collett cuts rider’s hair with horse clippers for Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony
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Hannah’s legacy: Willberry charity funds sixth bone cancer research project
“Hannah would be amazed to see that her charity is already funding six projects and we’re so proud of her and her continuing legacy”
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6 times top dressage riders have done things you might not expect
The sport of dressage often comes with certain stereotypes, but outside the pristine white boards of the arena, there are plenty of dressage riders getting up to antics you might not expect...
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‘Wobbling for Willberry’: new challenge for riders of all levels to run in 2020
The new initiative will run alongside the existing Wobblerry Challenge in 2020
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‘I’m still here, doing this’: rider gets placed in event three days after chemotherapy
‘I’m not going to stop doing what I want to do, stop living my life, just because I’ve got cancer’
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‘I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or pee myself!’ Rider beats the odds to event on horse who cheated death
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‘This can’t be the end for me’: rider defies cancer and life-changing surgery to take on eventing challenge
‘As soon as my bottom hit that saddle, I cried, because I felt like me again. I’d been in a lot of dark places, and I felt like I was home’
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Hannah Francis’ legacy: charity funds new research into rare bone cancer
‘We know Hannah would have been proud that her charity has enabled further research into this devastating disease’
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Rider who underwent cancer surgery aged 13 aims to raise £10,000
‘Horses were what kept her going through the worst times of her illness’
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Vet team to attempt 18,000-mile ‘around the world’ challenge for Willberry
The team is aiming to walk, run and cycle 18,000 miles to raise money for Vetlife and Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony
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Runners and riders gear up to tackle London Marathon for good causes
A world record 414,168 people applied for places in this year’s 26.2-mile challenge, on 28 April
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Five-foot pandas to ‘spook horses across the country’ in aid of Willberry Wonder Pony
The pandas are going to do a range of different jobs
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Inspiring young eventer wins 2019 Hannah Francis Award
‘The support Claire has shown to people surrounding her is inspiring to see’
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‘My horse saved my life, the charity saved my sanity’: Inspirational rider achieves Wobbleberry dream
Clare Reeves raised close to £15,000 for charity by undertaking the Wobbleberry challenge while undergoing chemotherapy and surgery
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Rider tackles Wobbleberry challenge ‘for Hannah' after breast cancer diagnosis
‘He’s the most loving and forgiving horse but he’s been for sale countless times – he’s not for sale now’
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Journalist to jockey blog: I will cherish this forever
Find out how race day at Epsom panned out for Gemma after months of preparation, blood, sweat and tears
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From journalist to jockey: this is it — suddenly everything feels very real...
There’s a little over 48 hours to go until the big race
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From journalist to jockey: a panic search comes good
There’s just five days to go until the big race...
