A mother is to walk from Wales to Birmingham with a life-size resin horse in memory of her equestrian-loving daughter who died from suicide.
Emma Webb, 49, will trek 140 miles from her home in Newport to the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in September for her daughter Brodie, who died in March 2020 at the age of 16.
Ms Webb is to take on the challenge with Miles, a resin horse on wheels weighing more than 80kg which she will pull, and which previously joined her when she walked from Chepstow to London for the International Horse Show in 19 days last year.
“We decided to keep the equestrian theme going because of Brodie’s love of horses (and) talent around horses,” Ms Webb, who works in hospitality, told the PA news agency.
“(Miles) got a couple of little limp hairline fractures on his body because he is made of resin so I’m hoping somebody else can take a look at them for me, and then he can also go in for a bit of an MOT to make sure that none of the other parts are wearing, to check that he is fit enough to be able to go out.
“But apart from that he’s absolutely fine. He’s been in the living room all winter until now in the summer, so he lives with us in the living room.”
She said when she has last brought Miles along with her on a challenge, he helped generate conversations about mental health, and she hopes his presence has the same effect this time around.
“I wanted to break down the barriers and stigma around mental health,” she said.
“I think it was a bit of an ice breaker for people to get talking about their mental health.”
In her upcoming challenge, she is looking forward to meeting new people and raising awareness.
One of the people who discussed mental health with her on her last walk was the Prince of Wales, who listened to stories about Brodie and mentioned his own charity, Shout.
Ms Webb said: “It was just amazing. I’d been told that Prince William had seen what I was doing and he wanted to support in some way, but never in a million years did I think that he would pop up and surprise me en route.
“I didn’t quite know what to say when he appeared and shouted ‘boo’!
“He stayed with us, probably for about 25 minutes pulling Miles with me along shoulder to shoulder.”
Ms Webb has raised nearly £60,000 for charities including Papyrus and Riders Minds over the years and aims to bring this total to £100,000 and attend HOYS to remember Brodie’s equestrian ties.
She also has a campaign running called DoItForBrodie, where she has decorated horseshoes with items including charms and poems, as well as QR codes to the DoItForBrodie website which provides links to charities including Papyrus and Samaritans.
“I tend to put them in hotspots where people have taken their own lives in the hope that somebody might take a second look and scan the code,” she said.
Ms Webb’s fundraising and campaigning efforts have secured her a finalist spot in the creative fundraiser of the year category for the GoCardless JustGiving Awards 2024 on September 18.
“I feel really overwhelmed by being nominated,” she said. “It’d be amazing to pick up the award and dedicate it to Brodie.”
Pascale Harvie, president and general manager at JustGiving said: “Emma’s loss is utterly unimaginable and something that no parent should have to go through.
“Since losing her daughter Brodie, Emma, has tirelessly fundraised in honour of her life and we are proud to shine a light on all of her important work at our awards ceremony in September.”
Members of the public can vote for the fundraisers they want to see crowned for their efforts by visiting: https://page.justgiving.com/justgiving-awards-vote
Ms Webb’s fundraising page can be accessed here: https://www.justgiving.com/team/doitforbrodie
