Wednesday, January 16, 2013 -

Emma Jane Brown took on her toughest sporting challenge to date when she made the ascent on Mount Kilimanjaro in October last year. The equestrian, who was forced to retire from sport because of acute asthma, took on the arduous 6,000 metre climb in aid of the Joseph Foote Foundation which is now part of Brain Tumour UK.

Emma, a highly-regarded ambassador for her country and now charity ambassador, has been supporting the charity for years. Dedicated to raising money for children suffering from brain tumours – the biggest cancer killer of children in the UK, funds raised from the climb will support further research into the many aspects of brain tumours and also go towards building public awareness of the condition.

For Emma this was a very personal challenge as she knew Joseph Foote and his family personally. She shared in the pain of his diagnosis in 2000 and the operations that he endured until the tragic end of his young life aged just 8.

In spite of training for the gruelling 9 day climb, which involved 7 hours’ of climbing a day carrying 18kg on her back, Emma Jane found the conditions particularly testing as the dust, damp and altitude in the final stages of the climb made it difficult for her to breathe. Never one to give up, she made it to the summit and helped to raise £25,000 for the charity. She said, “This was a very personal challenge for me inspired by a truly courageous young boy who touched my heart. It is was really tough getting to the summit and roughing it on the way to the top. In fact it was more physically and psychologically demanding than anything I have ever done as a show jumper. When I got to the top I had a very private moment with Joseph.”