• Contact us
  • About us
  • Digital edition
  • Online archive
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Long-awaited go-ahead for A66 dualling scheme

    Long-awaited go-ahead for A66 dualling scheme

    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

  • Sport
    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Long-awaited go-ahead for A66 dualling scheme

    Long-awaited go-ahead for A66 dualling scheme

    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

  • Sport
    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest

Woman says horse ‘saved her life’ following collision with car

by CWH
5 January 2021
in Latest, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Francesca Kennedy and Bart

A woman involved in a serious crash on the from Penrith has said her beloved horse Bart ‘saved her life’ following a collision with a car which resulted in the animal being put down.

Twenty-year-old Francesca Kennedy was on a hack with her friend and fellow rider, Hannah Farrell, when they were involved in a collision with a vehicle near Clifton last week.

Miss Kennedy said: “Bart meant everything to me, he really was my best friend. I could tell him anything and I called him my real-life unicorn.”

The avid rider, who is originally from Lancashire, said she knew instantly that her horse was injured.

Miss Kennedy said: “I had rolled over the bonnet and was on the floor and as I turned over, I could see he was bleeding.

“He was wailing and screaming and as I tried to stand up I realised my leg was numb, then the pain set in so I couldn’t get to him.”

Two years ago, Miss Kennedy acquired the 11-year-old Irish sports horse and since that day, the pair had been inseparable.

Miss Kennedy, who is a carer, said: “I moved to Cumbria to be beside Bart when I first got him, and I have seen him twice a day since. If we weren’t out riding, he was being pampered. He lived like royalty.

“When a rider chooses a horse, you build a bond like no other and it was almost like we had our own language.”

Within 20 minutes of the incident happening, both the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) and a specialist vet team were by the sides of the pair alongside ambulance service teams.

Miss Kennedy said: “The vets put Bart under heavy sedation and took him to a field nearby to give him the best chance.

“Everyone was there to make him comfortable, but he just couldn’t get back up, so the vet decided he had to be put down.

“As I was being airlifted, I actually flew over the field he was lying in and now I keep thinking if I had have been down there to comfort him things would have been different.”

While out on the hack on the day of the accident, Miss Kennedy and friend Hannah recall saying to one another that they would avoid the backroads and just walk their horses through the village instead.
She said: “We were passing the George and Dragon pub and I saw this look on Hannah’s face and she was screaming and shouting and then I was hit. It happened so fast.

“I remember the GNAAS doctor, Theo Weston, saying to me ‘it’s going to be very loud in the aircraft, but I will communicate with you using hand signals all the way’ and he did every two minutes. He was amazing.”

Miss Kennedy was flown to James Cook University Hospital as it was believed she could have a spinal injury. Luckily, she only suffered two torn ligaments, a torn tendon and nerve damage.

She added: “Bart saved my life – he was so special, and I am so glad I got to say goodnight to him the day after I was released from hospital.”

A Facebook fundraiser set up by Miss Kennedy to help GNAAS has raised £2,500 so far.

GNAAS relies on donations to survive.

Visit www.gnaas.com or call 01768 899 150 to support the charity, which operates from Langwathby, near Penrith.

To donate to Bart’s Legacy appeal, visit https://gofund.me/b4dc60d3

Related Posts

Long-awaited go-ahead for A66 dualling scheme
Latest

Long-awaited go-ahead for A66 dualling scheme

8 July 2025
Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers
Latest

Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

7 July 2025
Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone
Latest

Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

7 July 2025
Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre
Latest

Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

6 July 2025
Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?
Expert advice

Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

6 July 2025
Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park
News

Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

4 July 2025
No Result
View All Result

Stay connected

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Most popular

Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

4 July 2025
Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

4 July 2025
Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

4 July 2025
Memory lane – a look at the Herald’s archive photos

Memory lane – a look at the Herald’s archive photos

4 July 2025
Fun day in Penrith to celebrate community spirit

Fun day in Penrith to celebrate community spirit

3 July 2025
Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

4 July 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald Logo

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: news@cwherald.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • News
  • Sport
  • Farming
  • Property
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Your view

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Photosales
  • Online archive
  • Buy your paper
  • Digital edition
  • North Lakes Living
  • Advertise
  • About us

Follow us on

© Barrnon Media Limited 2025

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy

This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
Review Your Cart
0
Discount
Add Coupon Code
Subtotal
Total Installment Payments
Bundle Discount
Checkout

 
0
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • more
    • North Lakes Living
    • Buy Photos
    • Buy your paper
    • About us
    • Contact us

© 2020 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald