What a smile! Jac Boyle
If you’re ever feeling a little under the weather and a bit sorry for yourself, think about how you would feel if you were suddenly diagnosed with leukaemia.
This is exactly what happened to eventing rider, Jacqueline (Jac) Boyle. Whilst working as a groom for Will Enzinger, Jac was diagnosed with diabetes and therefore thought her tiredness was a side effect of this. She struggled on for a while but was eventually told after further tests that she had acute myeloma leukaemia. From there on in her life changed dramatically as she had to undergo intensive treatment and a bone marrow transplant. During her illness her own horse died and her eventing friends rallied round to help Jac through one of the hardest periods of her life but thankfully she is now in remission.
Jac and 'Titch' at Wandin Horse Trials
At Tonimbuk Horse Trials, I watched as Jac had her head shaved as part of The Great Shave which raises money for The Leukaemia Foundation and I made a mental note to try and catch up with her. At Wandin Horse Trials two weeks later I was watching a lovely chestnut thoroughbred do the Introductory test and approached the rider after to find out more about the horse. The rider turned out to be Jac, riding Glenrowen Out of the Blue, a horse owned loaned to Jac by Edith Kane while Jac’s other loan horse Tomahawk Tom, owned by Vaughan Ellis, is recuperating from a small injury.
We caught up with Jac for this interview and she told us how the support of her eventing friends, her desire to get back and ride and the offer of a retired 2* horse saw her through some very difficult times.
An inspirational story about a very brave young woman and her friends
