A pony mad seven-year-old girl with an aggressive brain tumour has been granted a special wish — to meet a unicorn.
Laia Jenkins of North Lanarkshire, Scotland, spent the day with her very own unicorn, aka miniature Shetland pony Duchess, thanks to the Les Hoey MBE DreamMaker Foundation charity.
Duchess, of Healing Hooves Pony Therapy, was dressed in a unicorn horn and colourful shoes, with highlights in her mane, and delighted Laia with a ride around her neighbourhood.
“We heard so much about this wee superstar and that she loves unicorns and wanted to ride a pony,” said a spokesman for the DreamMaker charity.
“We contacted Healing Hooves Pony Therapy who were only too happy to take the fabulous Duchess along to make Laia’s dream come true.”
Laia “absolutely loved” her ride on Duchess.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
“We think the photos show Laia had a fabulous day,” added the spokesman.
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Laia has diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), and is due to start her first course of radiotherapy this week.
DIPG results in tumours on the brainstem, situated at the base of the brain, that are highly aggressive and extremely difficult to treat.
Laia’s family and friends are trying to ensure her time is filled with special experiences and have set up a Just Giving page to raise funds for Laia’s “bucket list”.
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(Image credit: Les Hoey MBE DreamMaker Foundation)
Now her dream of riding a pony has been fulfilled, Laia and her family hope to go on holiday to America, as well as visit Legoland and the zoo.
The page has raised more than £13,000 so far.
“We want to ensure that Laia has the most amazing few months while she can still be the happy, loving, amazing little girl that she is,” said her family.
“Thank you to everyone for their support and donations, it means the world to this family.”
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.
