Mane event for horse lover Holly (From Surrey Comet)

Mane event for horse lover Holly

10:53am Friday 28th October 2005 in News By Yvonne Gordon

A Kingston girl's love of horses was indulged to the maximum when performers agreed to put on a horse show especially for her.

Holly Loveless, seven, has leukaemia and her lowered immune system means she cannot sit in large crowds because of the risk of catching infection. Instead she was treated to a one-off performance of Spirit of the Horse at Ham Polo Club on October 14.

"It was great to see the horses," said Holly, who lives in Clifton Road and goes to St Paul's School in Princes Road. "I liked the naughty horse with the cowboy best."

She was with a group of children from Kingston charity, Momentum, which supports children with cancer and their families. The show features 30 horses plus acrobats, dancers and cowboys. Holly's father Andrew wrote to the company in September explaining that Holly really wanted to see the show but couldn't sit in large crowds.

Nikki Fossett, director of the show, said: "The Spirit of the Horse is very special to a lot of people. So I am glad we could give Holly the chance to see it."

Mother Fiona said: "The company did the whole first act, which was lovely for the children. Now she talks about it non-stop.

"Holly has always loved horses but had to stop riding lessons at Chessington Equestrian Centre when she became ill over the summer.

"She was diagnosed with cancer at the end of July, which was completely out of the blue. She was always a very active, healthy-looking child, so it was a tremendous shock and she immediately started a two-year course of chemotherapy."

Ms Loveless said Holly now gets very tired and the drugs can cause leg pain. She added: "She has regular blood transfusions and we need to be careful where we take her because her immune system is weak.

"If she gets a temperature, she has to have intravenous antibiotics and can be hospitalised for a week.

Holly's care is shared between Kingston Hospital, the Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton and the paediatric outreach team.

Ms Loveless said Momentum and the hospital had been fantastic and schoolfriends were very supportive.

She said: "Through Momentum we have met other children and parents, which is very reassuring.

"The show has given her something to look forward to when the company returns next year.

"We are determined to fight this illness, but have to accept it will be a long journey. But we will make it."

ygordon@london.newsquest.co.uk