White horses decorated with purple will carry Harrogate’s Sophie Lambert on her final journey this week.
Sophie, 22, was found dead last month after a five-day missing person search that touched the lives of thousands of people in Harrogate and beyond.
Animal lover Sophie was particularly fond of horses and her big brother Craig Robinson has chosen two to pull a carriage carrying her body to Harrogate’s Stonefall Crematorium on Friday.
Her pet chihuahuas Boston and Bentley will wear jumpers saying ‘my mummy is in heaven’.
Sophie loved animals and had two dogs.
A crowdfunding appeal set up by Craig to give Sophie “the best send-off ever” has raised more than £3,700 — well above the £3,000 target.
He wrote on social media:
“Well, Soph, these beautiful horses are the ones I’ve picked for you with purple on there as well as you loved bright colours, these horses will bring you home one last time my angel.
“I hope I’ve done you proud and done everything to be perfect for you.”
The 40-minute service at 11am, which will be live-streamed, will be followed by drinks celebrating Sophie’s life at the Malt Shovel in Brearton.
The purple and white horses will match Sophie’s favourite colours.
There is no dress code but Craig has requested everyone wears odd socks because, as Craig puts it, “Sophie never did believe in wearing the same coloured socks as she said life was to short to match them”.
He has been setting of bio-degradeable lanterns this week in memory of Sophie, and said:
“I thank you all once again for the support help and donations you guys have given us in order to give Sophie the spend off she has always deserved. Rest easy Sophie my little Angel night night.”
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12-foot horse sculpture to be installed at the Great Yorkshire Show
A large horse sculpture has been delivered to the Great Yorkshire Showground.
The art work is made out of more than 600 welded horseshoes, collected from across Yorkshire.
The 750-kilogram piece is named ‘Os II’ after the Yorkshire slang word for horse and was craned into position outside the Yorkshire Event Centre today.
Its creator, Ollie Holman is a thirty-one-year-old artist from North Yorkshire, who has been welding since he was a teenager.
‘Os II’ will be displayed next to the Yorkshire Show’s art show from Tuesday, July 11 to Friday, July 14 along with some of Ollie’s other sculptures.
The sculptor cannot wait to see his work displayed at the event and said:
“I hope it stops people in their tracks and creates a big crowd around it. It will be nice to see people’s reactions,”
“The driving force behind this one was to improve myself as an artist and really capture the raw physical power of the horse in more detail. I layered up the horseshoes to give it that sense of power.
Ollie has made many horse sculptures, including another 12-foot piece which was sold to Cheltenham Race Course, but he is especially proud of his latest creation, which took five years to make.
Charles Mills, Director of the Great Yorkshire Show added:
“Ollie’s sculpture is a true epic that I have no doubt will turn heads at the Great Yorkshire Show.
“We are proud of the high-quality equestrian classes we have at the Show each year, so this is a very fitting sculpture to have in such a prominent position on the Showground.”
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Harrogate school reaches national equestrian championships
Three equestrian teams from Harrogate Grammar School have reached the final of the national championships.
Two of the school’s dressage teams and one Jumping with Style team qualified for the final rounds of the event, and three students qualified individually.
They will now travel to the national championships at Addington Manor Equestrian Centre, Buckinghamshire, in October.
The event is run by the National Schools Equestrian Association.
Beth Harrison
Julie Curran, the biology teacher who runs the equestrian team, said:
“This is our best ever equestrian achievement as a school and I’m exceptionally proud.
“It’s a reflection of the dedication of our students, who ride every day in all weathers, and of their parents, who put in so much time and effort to support them.”
Headteacher Neil Renton added:
“Congratulations to our equestrian teams in qualifying to represent Harrogate Grammar School at a national level, and to Dr Curran for helping them fulfil their ambitions to achieve excellence.
“The school will be cheering them on as they compete at the national championships in October.”
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The dressage teams which qualified for the national championships are:
HGS Stripes — Sophie Harris (Year 9); Becky Weston (Year 10); Chloe Harris (Year 13)
HGS Red — Megan Harrison (Year 10); Becky Weston; Emily Gaskell (Year 11) and Beth Harrison (Year 11).
The 90/95cm Jumping with Style team is: Layla Brown (Year 9); Amelia Jesson (Year 10) and Becky Weston.
Emily Gaskell and Becky Weston also qualified as individual competitors in the dressage preliminary class, and Beth Harrison qualified as an individual competitor in the dressage novice class.
The successful dressage team of Emily Gaskell, Beth Harrison, Becky Weston and Megan Harrison
‘Thoughtless horse riders’ damage Bilton boardwalk
Bilton Conservation Group has criticised horse riders for damaging a boardwalk in Nidd Gorge.
The group, whose responsibilities include repairing footpaths and boardwalks, has urged dog walkers to avoid the area until repairs are complete.
George Moore, membership secretary of the group, said a witness saw horses crossing the boardwalk on the cross path intersection of Milne’s Lane. He added:
“This was thoughtless damage caused by unknown horse riders in the Nidd Gorge.“Bilton Conservation Group has a backlog of repairs to carry out in Nidd Gorge and this unwanted damage will cost us dearly in time, effort and cost.“Whilst the boardwalk is still passable with due care it is not recommended for folk with dogs to use at this present time.”
The group, which was set up in 1982 to protect the rural environment of Bilton, hopes to complete the repairs next week.
They are predicted to cost £50 and require 20 hours of work.
In the meantime the group has asked walkers to be wary in the vicinity.
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