CRY supporter Janine Patchcott has been raising awareness of CRY in her bid to take part in a charity amateur horserace – ‘The People’s Race’ – at Aintree on the same weekend as the world famous Grand National.

Janine was one of 3500 people who applied through the Daily Mirror for a chance to take part in the world’s most famous horseracing meeting, in a competition sponsored by John Smiths. These applications were whittled down to a shortlist of 30 people, who were then assessed on their fitness and riding skills.

From this group of 30 people, 16 were then chosen to receive expert training to prepare them for the challenges of the Aintree course – and Janine was amongst them. From the 16 people who received training, 10 were then selected to enter ‘The People’s Race’ itself.

Each amateur rider was supporting a different charity. Janine chose CRY as her charity, following the sudden death of her nephew Paul Hindmarch in 1999. Paul was just 14 when he had a heart attack whilst attending a Newcastle United football match.

Janine said, “I am so excited about how far I’ve got in this competition. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I’d have the chance to ride at Aintree. Over the last few days I have witnessed every possible emotion; excitement, anxiety, apprehension. To have an opportunity to be coached by such well renowned trainers is a real privilege.”

Janine unfortunately missed out on one of the 10 places in ‘The People’s Race’, but her involvement in this competition has brought awareness of CRY to a whole new audience, and John Smiths have made a donation of £1000 to CRY.

CRY would like to congratulate Janine on making it so far in the competition, and thank her for all her hard work