MORETON-in-Marsh breeder Peter Pritchard is putting up a racehorse for syndication in order to raise funds and awareness for cervical cancer following the death of his daughter earlier this year.
South Warwickshire-based racehorse ownership platform, Old Gold Racing, has announced that it is putting up a horse - Katie Sunny Dancer - for syndication (a group of people who can together purchase ownership in a horse for a professional event rider).
The initiative, announced by popular racehorse breeder and trainer Pritchard, comes after the Pritchard family tragically lost their daughter Katie to cervical cancer earlier this summer.
Having spotted a lump in January 2022, 37-year old Katie was told it may be a result of the Covid-19 vaccine, or an undiagnosed STI by her local GP.
But she self-referred herself to a gynaecologist for a second opinion, where she discovered that the lump was a symptom of cervical cancer.
Following a three-month wait post diagnosis, Katie began her radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy treatment in the spring and, initially, the cancer responded positively to the treatment.
However, in December 2022, after further scans, Katie was told the cancer had returned and that she only had a few months left to live. Katie passed away six months later in June 2023.
In a drive to honour his daughter’s memory, and raise much-needed funds to further research into cervical cancer, Peter Pritchard announced Old Gold Racing will be donating a horse for syndication with the value of the horse going to charity.
Those interested in helping the Pritchards raise funds for the cause can do so by committing to a one-off £60 fee for the first syndicate term of Katie Sunny Dancer.
By putting up the mare for syndication, Old Gold Racing hopes to raise £40,000 for charity, of which half of the sum will be donated to the Lady Garden Foundation.
The gynaecological cancer charity is on a mission to dismantle taboos, raise awareness about the five silent killers and gather funds for much-needed research.
The remaining £20,000 funds will be directed to Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, a charity focused on raising awareness about cervical screenings, the HPV vaccine, cell changes and cervical cancer – and on providing support services to people, like the Pritchard family, affected by cervical cancer.
In addition to that, Old Gold Racing will also be committing a further £9,000 of its fee towards The Myton Hospice, where Katie was looked after in her final days.
Peter Pritchard, Father of Katie and racehorse breeder at Old Gold Racing, said: "While nothing can replace the void Katie’s passing has left behind, we want to honour her life and her story by spreading awareness about this deadly disease, which so many disregard the early signs of. ]
"By combining Katie’s love of horses with our ambition to make a difference, we hope ‘Katie’s Sunny Dancer’ will contribute to the advancement of research into cervical cancer, so others do not have to go through Katie’s ordeal."
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