Wales chief vet’s daredevil feat
Wales chief vet Christianne Glossop has completed a tandem parachute jump to raise cash for farming charities.
She completed the 12,000ft jump from Swansea Airfield to support the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and Farm Crisis Network.
The daredevil feat saw Christianne, who was strapped to an instructor, reach speeds of 100mph-plus as she free-fell for nearly a minute before floating down to the ground for another five minutes.
“It was amazing – I just loved every second of it,” says Christianne, who was joint winner of the Farmers Weekly Farming Champion of the Year Award in 2009 for her approach to tackling bovine TB. “It was an amazing experience.
“I thought I’d be terrified, and there was a moment on the plane when my legs started to shake. Then it was all system go, so I wasn’t scared.”
Messages of support – many of them lighthearted – had flooded in before she boarded the small plane and climbed to two-and-a-half miles up in the air.
“Brave lady – enjoy the countryside and have fun,” one said. Others said: “Badgers, take cover, we’re coming from above now – good luck and enjoy… No doubt you’ll be checking out the biosecurity arrangements before you make your landing… Enjoy the experience and I hope you reach your target (and land on it too!).”
The experience marked, Christianne explains, the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition. Indeed, when asked by a Farmers Weekly journalist a while back about what her non-work ambition, she was told: “I don’t say things unless I mean them.”
“It was unforgettable. I could see the coast and lots of scenery on the way down – we even went through a cloud.”
So far, she’s raised more than £2200 as a result of the jump with Skydive Swansea.
“I respect and admire RABI and FCN. They’re both They’re both amazing organisations. and deal with the situations that the rest of the world doesn’t see – providing practical, financial, emotional and spiritual support to those who do not seek glory but simply work long and hard to support their families and put food on our tables.
“They are working with those who face their daily graft with commitment and determination and dedication – checking their stock on cold dark mornings as well as in the height of summer, toiling through the day and rushing home with the last load of cut grass for silage before the rain comes.”