Bubby, who is now riding again, and has had a world eventing ranking as high as 12, hopes her story will encourage more people to donate to East Anglian Air Ambulance as it urgently tries to fund its relocation and the construction of a new air base near to the Suffolk / Cambridgeshire border. The charity has now raised £5.1 million thanks to the generosity of supporters across the region – leaving it with £3.1 million left to raise.
In August 2023, Bubby’s equestrian ambitions were thrown into question when she suffered a serious injury while training near her Newmarket home. Bubby, now 27, was a rising star on the equestrian circuit, regularly competing for Great Britain since her debut at the 2014 pony European Championships.
On the afternoon of 18 August 2023, while out training, Bubby’s horse reared up, causing her to fall off backwards. The full weight of her horse landed on top of her and she sustained multiple injuries. East Anglian Air Ambulance’s Anglia Two (Cambridge) crew were tasked by helicopter to bring advanced skills, equipment and medicine directly to Bubby’s side, in the fastest time possible, as she lay injured in the field.
The equipment carried by the charity’s helicopters and critical care cars enables enhanced care at the incident scene – when the patient needs it most. This includes blood transfusions, advanced pain relief, sedation and anaesthesia, and even surgical interventions.
The flight time from Cambridge to the scene of Bubby’s incident was just 16 minutes. The helicopter landed safely in a nearby field and the East Anglian Air Ambulance doctor crew were at Bubby’s side just two minutes later, working with the ambulance service to provide her with critical care.
The crew completed a primary survey before administering advanced pain relief to help make Bubby as comfortable as possible. The full severity of Bubby’s injuries was not yet known so the medical team fitted her with a binder to keep her pelvis still and placed her in c-spine blocks to keep her neck stable to minimise the risk of further injuries on the journey to hospital.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance crew accompanied Bubby to Addenbrooke’s Hospital by land ambulance. At Addenbrooke’s, she learned she had a complete burst fracture of L3, fractures to L2 and L4 and underwent seven hours of surgery. There was a long road ahead but, with the support of the Injured Jockey Fund, Bubby tackled her recovery and rehabilitation with incredible determination. Incredibly, she was able to compete again at the Badminton Horse Trials in May 2024, has secured two consecutive wins at the Bramham Horse Trials in 2025 and 2026, and was selected as a reserve for the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024. Bubby also made her senior championship debut for Great Britain in the summer of 2025.
“The expertise of the medical team that attended me was everything,” Bubby says. “I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I wouldn’t be doing what I am today if it wasn’t for East Anglian Air Ambulance. Supporting them and their appeal for a new base is a no-brainer for me.”
Stuart Wyle, Director of Fundraising and Supporters at East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: “We are incredibly grateful to our patients and their families – like Bubby – who choose to share their experiences with us. We know that revisiting what can often have been an incredibly difficult and frightening time isn’t always easy, but their stories have such a powerful impact. They help give our appeals real meaning, helping people understand the difference East Anglian Air Ambulance can make when someone is seriously ill or injured, and why continued support for our lifesaving service is so important. We are grateful to Bubby, her family and all those who have so far backed the Cambridge Air Base Appeal. We have made huge progress in a very short space of time with our fundraising campaign and are thankful for every donation received.”
From road traffic collisions to cardiac arrests to medical emergencies, East Anglian Air Ambulance’s specialist doctors, critical care paramedics and pilots bring advanced skills, equipment and medicine – normally only found in a specialist emergency department – directly to the patient’s side. This, combined with quick onward transfer to the most appropriate hospital, gives every patient treated, like Bubby, the best possible chance of surviving and recovering a life-threatening medical or trauma emergency.
East Anglian Air Ambulance currently operates two bases; one in Norfolk and one in Cambridge, at Cambridge Airport. To maintain the 24/7 lifesaving critical care service it currently offers to people across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Norfolk, East Anglian Air Ambulance needs to relocate and build a new air base. Cambridge Airport, the current home of its Anglia Two operations, is due to close in mid 2029. The charity has received planning permission to build a new base on the outskirts of Fulbourn and is working to raise £8.2 million to enable the build.
To give to the Cambridge Air Base Appeal, visit: https://www.eaaa.org.uk/cambridge-air-base-appeal
