I am Jane's sister and together with her friend Joanne we are fundraising in memory of our beloved Jane.  Our aim is to raise enough money to sponsor a horse at the Racehorse Sanctuary with a stable plaque in Jane's memory.

On Saturday 1 June we plan to tackle the Color Obstacle Rush in Milton Keynes, where Jane and I grew up. We will be running the 5k with Katie and Lara.

https://www.colorobstaclerush.co.uk/about-the-event.html

Why the Sanctuary in Jane's memory?  Because all her life Jane loved horses and later worked with racehorses in Italy, where she met Joanne.  Jane would have loved the charity's mission of thoroughbred welfare for life.

Jane started riding when she was four years old and despite the falls and accidents she soon had her own pony Misty and was spending as much time as possible at the stables, mucking out and grooming - loving it all.  Leaving school she qualified as a riding instructor before she spread her wings and with a thirst for adventure went to Italy to work in trotting horses as a groom.  Jane spoke no Italian at this point and her new boss spoke no English, but this did not deter her: she worked at the language and an initial 6-month stint turned into 26 years in the country she had come to love so much.  She met and married Luca through her work and they went on to settle down in Turin together.

Jane met Joanne at Bologna Racecourse.  They became lifelong friends and partners in fun.  With three boys between them they shared many adventures and happy memories, supporting each other through good times and tough times.  Moving to Tuscany with Luca and their son Oliver - always surrounded by horses and dogs, Jane gained further qualifications in horse well-being, at the same time developing a passion and talent for interior design, often taking old pieces of furniture and turning them into something amazing, creating a unique and stylish home in a restored farmhouse.  Jane's other passions outside of animals and family were flowers, shoes, clothes, motorbikes, shoes, butterflies, Galaxy chocolate and did I mention shoes?

Teaching English made Jane even more friends and brought her together with Fabio, who became a very important part of her life with  Oliver and her animals.  Jane loved baking and creating delicious flavoured oils and liqueurs and with her friend Fransesca most recently launched a new business venture: Epicurious in Tuscany, offering visitors a quality experience.  Jane loved Tuscany and everything about it: the grapevines, the olive and cypress trees on the rolling hills around her, especially when riding her horse!

Jane had many friends and was loved for her dazzling smile, her laugh and sparkling eyes, as well as her wit and quirky sense of humour.  Colourful, enthusiastic and sometimes frustrating, caring, determined, gutsy and driven - all used to describe her by those who miss her so much.  One summed it up by saying "Jane always marched to the beat of her own drum, had many adventures and was fearless in pursuit of trying something new; the world will be a more boring place without her".