Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

'Talented', 'Courageous', 'Inspirational' are just a few of the well deserved verbs you will often read when following the story of Hannah Francis, founder of the charity Willberry The Wonder Pony.

Unfortunately, these are not words you will ever hear used in the same sentence as 'Valda and Scooby'! If pushed, we may be able to muster a sympathetic 'good effort' or 'at least you turned up and that counts for something'!!!

We are without doubt, by definition, true "Wobbleberries". Am I fit enough to get around a XC course? Probably not! Am I brave enough? Absolutely not! Am I stupid enough to give it a go? It seems the answer to that one is yes...... because at the tender combined age of 50, Scooby and I are going to attempt our first BE80. To the uninitiated this entails doing some 'dancing' in the middle of a field, followed by attempting to jump a course of show-jumps in the right order and more importantly without making any unplanned exits from the arena and, subject to surviving both of those huge challenges, we then get to go around another set of far more substantial jumps, the Cross Country phase, at hopefully less than 100mph. This may all sound very straightforward, but let me be honest with you - Scooby will hate the first element, attempt his own route in the second element and the third element....... well frankly at the moment I'm too terrified to even consider the possible outcomes.

So 'WHY' I hear you ask!! Why would a fully grown (and some would say sensible) woman of my age attempt something so utterly foolhardy? the answer is easy: Two words.... Hannah Francis. I urge you all to read about her battle, her incredible courage, her strength, her determination and above all, the legacy that she leaves behind.

This challenge is not just about fulfilling a personal dream but raising as much money as possible to help fight a disease which has had such a devastating effect on not just my own family but those of my friends and loved ones. I will be proud if I can show a fraction of the courage and determination that Hannah displayed and my tribute to her is to raise as much money as possible to prevent other lives being destroyed by this indiscriminate disease.

This page and your donations WILL make a difference - please support me in whatever way you can.

Thanks

Valda & Scooby