Mother of 16 year old who took her own life taking on 140 mile walk for suicide charities
Emma Webb from Newport is aiming to raise £100,000 for PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide and Riders Minds.
A mother who lost her teenage daughter to suicide is about to begin another extraordinary challenge in her memory.
Emma Webb will pull a life-sized model horse 140 miles from Newport in South Wales to Birmingham, hoping to smash a new target to raise £100,000 for her chosen charities.
It will be the third time Emma has taken to the road to remember her daughter Brodie, a talented equestrian who tragically took her own life in 2020, aged 16.
“She was my purpose for living. As a mum of an only child, we were so close. I have all this love inside of me but nowhere for it to go.
“When you lose the most important thing in your life you can either give up or go on. This is a positive way for me to channel that love and make a difference. It means the world to me to raise as much awareness as I can,” she said.
Emma has already raised more than £60,000 for the national charities PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide and Riders Minds.
In 2021, shocked by the statistics for suicides in Wales the previous year, Emma decided to walk 285 miles, with each mile representing a life lost - including that of her own daughter.
Last year she revealed an unlikely fundraising partner in the shape of a resin horse-on-wheels which she named Miles. Emma went on to attract national media attention as she pulled her 80kg pal from the David Broome Event Centre in Chepstow to the ExCeL London, the site of the London International Horse Show.
Her 160-mile challenge took 15 days and included a surprise visit from Prince William who had been keen to offer his support.
“I still can’t believe that really happened. I looked up and there he was with a big smile on his face. I shouted ‘oh my gosh’ before he hugged me. He was really chatty and so lovely,” said Emma.
Earlier this month she picked up a coveted JustGiving Award, winning the category of Creative Fundraiser of the Year. The award was timely as the next few months will be especially poignant for her family. Brodie would have been celebrating her 21st birthday in December.
“I wasn’t even planning on another walk to be honest, but all that changed. In March I was at the National Equine Show at the NEC in Birmingham and people started asking me when would I be walking again?
“I didn’t need to be asked twice. Since then Miles has had a new coat of paint and an MOT and here we are, ready to go again,” added Emma.
The challenge begins on Saturday 28 September following a route from Newport which will take Emma and Miles through Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Evesham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Coventry before they finish at the Birmingham NEC on Tuesday 8 October, the day before the Horse of the Year Show starts.
“Miles is a real conversation starter. People come up and touch him and want to chat about their own experiences. Sometimes they’ll be talking to me but looking at Miles and that’s fine, it helps to take the pressure off,” said Emma.
“Although it’ll be a little bit more hilly this time, our route will be mainly roads and we’ll be more visible. The rural paths caused a few problems last time and we’ve learned from that.
“Suicide is the biggest killer of young people under the age of 35 in the UK and every year around 200 teenagers take their own lives. It isn’t easy to start a conversation about suicide but we must talk openly with our children and young people and reassure them that they are not alone and that help and support is available.”
Emma also wants to highlight the reality of mental health problems within sport, including the equestrian sector.
Along the way she will leaving Horseshoes of Hope in various places to help those who may be struggling with low mental wellbeing or having thoughts of suicide.
The decorative ornaments are printed with a QR code to scan, linked to the website DoItForBrodie, where relevant help can be accessed. Emma has made hundreds of the horseshoes to date.
She will also be wearing a tracker linked to the same website, so people can follow her progress.
For more details and to donate to PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide or Riders Minds visit: justgiving.com/team/doitforbrodie