Horse riders to complete fundraising hack for £100,000 cancer appeal

Susannah Baughan, 23, of Oakhurst Drive,Wickford, is calling on fellow riders to join her in her bid to help friend Karen Lane.

Karen, who lives in London, is raising £100,000 for Cancer Research UK, have fought bowel, liver and lung cancer.

She has already gathered an impressive £53,000.

In a bid to boost the fund, riders are encouraged to sign up to the hack and get on their horses between Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21.

Susannah, who rides at Castledon Farm, in Wickford, said the hack is open to “everyone and anyone”, with riders from Norfolk, Shropshire and even Aberdeen already signed up.

She said: “The idea is to open it up to everyone, so we are not holding one event in one place. Anyone can do it anywhere.

“It’s all for a really important cause, I am setting this event to help Karen who has had a really tough journey fighting cancer, and has set an amazing target for Cancer Research UK, and is already over half way there.

“Cancer has also affected my family directly, sadly taking my grandad in 2000 and my nan and aunt have both amazingly fought breast cancer in recent years. So we are trying to do something we all enjoy and ride for a cure.”

Despite the seriousness of the cause, Susannah added that she is also aiming for a world record – to complete the largest organised hack.

She said: “It’s quite ambitious as we’ll need 974 to beat the previous record, but we thought why not have a go at breaking it. The more people who sign up, means we’ll get more people donating.

“The ride can be as long or short a ride, people can track it using the Map My Run app. They can then upload it to the Facebook page I set up.

“There will be a few competitions running too, the best fancy dressed rider and horse. There’s also prizes for the biggest group and the longest ride completed.”

For more information, visit facebook.com/rideforresearch16 or justgiving.com/fundraising/rideforresearch16.