The Wobbleberries Challenge, launched on 12 August, to encourage “middle aged wimpy riders” to challenge themselves to compete in a British Eventing (BE) 80cm event in the Autumn of 2017 attracted 1,200 entries and has raised £7,500 even as the deadline closed at midnight on Friday.

The purpose of the Challenge is to raise money for Willberry Wonder Pony, the charity set up by 18 year old eventer Hannah Francis before she died of cancer on 1 August.  On entry prospective Wobbleberries have to set a realistic sponsorship target and if all of those accepted on the Challenge raise the money they have pledged it will bring in a whopping £250,000 for www.willberrywonderpony.org  

Three years ago I had a bad fall and ended up in A & E awaiting x-rays for a suspected broken back. I was one of the lucky ones and I walked out of hospital with a wedge fracture to my lower vertebrae which healed within a year. The damage to my confidence was somewhat longer lasting and after more falls I seriously contemplated giving up riding. My confidence has been gradually re-built but I still struggle with jumping bigger fences especially solid cross country jumps. Riding in a BE80 event will be a big ask for me and I hope people will sponsor me to tackle this challenge. 

I will hopefully be riding my partner in crime, Ride Around Sally - the piebald super cob owned by Michael Grange. Sally can take most of the credit for boosting my confidence. We have been hunting eight times since we first paired up on Christmas Eve 2015. Her first competitive outing was at the Belvoir Team Chase in 2015 where she finished a good few minutes after the other three teammates. She hasn't been invited to compete anywhere since....

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.