JANE Hancock answers the phone for this interview with the warmest welcome, she radiates goodwill and kindness. Jane is driving back to Carlow after spending Christmas and the New Year in West Cork with her family, husband Frank and daughters Eliza and Lucy.

The purpose of our interview is to talk about Tiggy’s Trust, set up by the Hancock family after they tragically lost their youngest daughter and sister, Tiggy, in a riding accident three and a half years ago at the age of 15.

The Trust, set up as an idea from Tiggy’s sisters to raise money for things she loved, has turned into an incredible success in a short space of time, helping children and young adults from all walks of life.

In times of desperate sadness, it has given Jane something to enjoy and, as she says a number of times, a ‘warm feeling’. Perhaps she is unaware of what a warm feeling she gives to others.

I ask her how she is and she answers honestly. “It’s the same, but different. It doesn’t change. When I see the things that Tiggy loved; when I see kids traveling and getting such a joy out of it; when I see 16-year-olds being a group and being inclusive… When we [Tiggy’s Trust] take them to Blair and the eventers are supporting the games kids... Those things are really special, and they’re very Tiggy, that always gives me a warm feeling. But you know, it’s hard.

“I like the things that I do, and getting my head into it, and meeting the kids, and I’m just happy that they’re all moving forward. It’s so heartwarming when suddenly, out of the blue, somebody who I didn’t know pops up or sends me a message to say ‘how are you doing?’ Or, ‘I remember Tiggy and you doing this’. They still send messages. It’s very heartwarming, but I miss her the whole time, it structures your life.”

Yellow for Tiggy

The first big event and official launch for Tiggy’s Trust was turning Cheltenham Racecourse yellow in December 2021. After asking her friends to wear yellow, Tiggy’s favourite colour, to her funeral, the theme of ‘Yellow for Tiggy’ took off and even made it to the Tokyo Olympic Games that summer, where Irish athletes had a special dispensation to wear a yellow ribbon in her memory.

One poignant moment was when event rider Austin O’Connor touched the ribbon on his jacket after jumping a clear round at the Games, while Tiggy’s hero, German rider Marcus Ehning, also wore a yellow armband in competition. She touched many lives.

Jane explains where the idea came from. “It all started with the two girls, Eliza and Lucy. People were so generous with flowers and everything, and they said we should make Tiggy’s Trust and then say to people they can give money and we can give it to things that Tiggy loved.

“Then turning Cheltenham yellow, that just came out of a friend’s idea. It was really special because it gave people a chance to get behind us, because people just wanted to do something at home. The honest truth was, I wasn’t really ready for it. But, my God, everybody worked so hard, they were just my friends and all of a sudden, they were travel experts, media, marketing. It was extraordinary,” Jane said.

British event rider Laura Collett, jockey Rachael Blackmore and Irish event rider Sam Watson at the Tiggy's Trust event at Cheltenham Racecourse

“So that went from a small thing to a big thing. We gave half of the money raised to the Pony Racing Authority because they were very helpful in setting up. What a magical day. Ryanair got behind us, they even changed the time of a flight for us so people could get there in time.

“So, suddenly we had a pool of money and the responsibility of spending it wisely. I suppose it was quite big; you don’t think about it. We became more formal and all the people who run the trust – a solicitor, accountant, secretary – they are all friends, they just do it for Tiggy.”

That first event raised almost €400,000 in total, €200,000 of which went into Tiggy’s Trust, and that is what continues to fund the trust today, as well as about €100,000 in other fundraising efforts from individuals, including an incredible €30,000 from the University College Dublin AgSoc who chose Tiggy’s Trust as one of its charities.

“I find it amazing because we’ve never really promoted it,” said Jane.

The family then came up with the themes for the Trust – mental health, cross-country safety, young lives lost. “I felt very strongly to give really good friends of Tiggy’s a chance to choose a charity and give some money from the trust to that charity.”

Cross-country safety

French FEI course designer and builder Alain Ponsot has been instrumental in getting multiple useful safety videos on the Tiggy’s Trust YouTube channel. “He has done a lot of research into horse vision and I saw him at an Eventing Ireland seminar. That set us up on the tangent of cross-country safety.

“He wanted to help, so he came over and gave some talks, which were so well attended, and that got us really talking to the Pony Club, because I was very keen on cross-country safety. Tiggy’s accident was so simple, it could have happened to any child on a jump at home, so it was to make people more aware at home. We started the set of videos on YouTube and there are loads up there now,” Jane explained.

Those videos include really useful tips like how to build a safe fence, how horses see a fence, how to anchor a fence, as well as the journey around the cross-country track, warming up, cooling down and tack check.

They are available for anyone to watch and, encouragingly, the building a safe fence video has 1,400 views. “Our idea was we educate from the bottom,” Jane said.

Mental health

Mental health is an important strand of Tiggy’s Trust and it officially launched its mental health initiative in early 2023 following 12 months of development.

The Trust developed the course primarily for coaches and parents; it centres on providing strategies for learning in a positive atmosphere and an understanding of mental health issues in young riders. The aim is to help those providing lessons and care to assist young equestrians to develop resilience and a sense of well-being.

The course was beautifully constructed and presented by Dr Susan Gibney of Nurturing Schools Ireland and educational psychologist Lucy Mannion. Jane explained that while her daughter was emotionally strong and she was confident on her ponies, not every child is the same.

“When instructors are taught how to instruct riding, they’re never taught about the emotions of the child. We started working with somebody who has a project with primary schools and we launched it at the beginning of 2024. That was amazing.

“Then I realised what caring people instructors are. They are so caring and so invested, but we had slightly gone beyond our remit. We have still got to tailor that course so it will slightly vary.”

Cherry Orchard partnership

The Trust has taken great joy from their partnership with Cherry Orchard Pony Club who Jane first came into contact with in 2022 after meeting Fiona Cloke, DC of the Pony Club, and since then, a strong collaboration has been formed.

The Pony Club operates every Friday out of the Cherry Orchard Equine Centre in Dublin 10. Established in 2003, the centre supports the needs of the local and wider community. The busy yard is managed by Michele Leonard and the trustees were deeply impressed with its achievements and commitment to the community.

Jane Hancock, Adrienne Daly, David O’Brien at Cherry Orchard where they rebuilt the cross-country course

“We are involved in sponsoring Cherry Orchard for things they need, even equipment like back protectors and hats, they need a source of finance for that. We went in there towards the end of last year with Alain and rebuilt their cross-country course, and we painted it, and all the children came and helped. They were amazing. They were so focused.

“These are kids who never get the chance to go and ride their ponies outside in Cherry Orchard. It’s a whole new world for them. So that’s our next series of videos which we will start putting out in February.”

Inclusivity

Among the highlights of the Trust is the annual trip to the Blair Castle International Horse Trials which began in 2022, under the Rider Development programme.

Travelling abroad to compete at international shows was a passion for Tiggy and the skills learned both as a rider and caring for her ponies were crucial to her competitive career.

Under the programme, the Trust offers a golden opportunity to other young riders who have not had the chance to be on teams or travel with their ponies. As well as receiving coaching, the travelling kids also have access to educational modules such as personal development, first aid, horse welfare and team building.

The Irish orange team of (l-r) Rosie Coad, Becky Cullen, Kitty Cullen, Jane Hancock and Eliza Kavanagh (missing from the picture is Connie Cullen) at Blair Castle

“The trip intends to foster Tiggy’s values of inclusivity, kindness and sportsmanship,” her mother tells me. “It has been amazing. We all drive over in our lorries. We wanted it to be inclusive, so we include the Pony Club kids and they do the Games, and the eventers do their eventing.

“Blair just took us in with open arms. It went from taking 16 kids and the next year, they put on a special competition for us so we could compete against their British peers. It really took off. It was really wonderful.

“And that was about friendship, it wasn’t about doing an expensive, glamorous trip on a European team. It was about inclusivity, doing it yourself, and giving them confidence so that they could go somewhere again on their own.”

The 2024 running of Blair Castle was the last, but a replacement event will be held at Scone Palace in Perthshire, just over 35 miles away from Blair. Gladly, they will continue to host the ‘Tiggy’s Trust gang’.

Jane said she is very proud of her friends who always rally around to make her “wacky ideas” happen. “Last year, we had 100 people in Blair, and they cook and look after the kids. And it’s amazing… you can have a wacky idea, and everybody’s behind it, which is just wonderful.

“The Trust gives me a sort of contentment. To be able to help others along those threads of inclusivity and just to see how Tiggy’s friends say they are doing it for Tiggy, they are just so wonderful, it is really heartwarming how much people get behind you.”