The family of a 71-year-old woman who died in an incident in Clydach on Tuesday, August 23, have said they're "broken" by their loss. Police are investigating after Wendy Buckney was found dead at a property in Tanycoed Road.
A 55-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody and the residential street has been cordoned off as South Wales Police officers continue their examinations at the scene.
Now, Ms Buckney's family have shared a tribute message and said they will miss her "forever". They said: "As a family we are devastated that our much loved sister, aunt and friend has been taken away so tragically. Our family are broken and we will miss her forever. Please respect our privacy and our wishes to grieve privately at this devastating time." You can get more Clydach and Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
The tribute comes hours after a former student of Ms Buckney, who was highly regarded across Swansea as a kind and supportive horse-riding teacher, reflected on the "beautiful" stables she kept and how she treated her students like family.
Zana Gergin, 22, said: "I started riding with Wendy at her stables in Pen-y-Fedw, probably back in 2011. I was 11 years old at the time. I was really interested in learning how to ride and becoming a competition rider and she was the only riding school that was around at the time that was affordable and I come from a background where I didn't have a lot of money so when I found Wendy's place it was like a dream come true.
"Pen-y-Fedw riding stables was beautiful. It was makeshift, she lived in an old cottage. She had like 16 dogs, she had so many dogs and she was such a good parent to them. She loved them so much. She ran a riding school so she had upwards of 25 horses. When I went there it was really surreal to see how it worked. There were a lot of young girls there, many who I formed relationships for life with. Younger girls worked there over the summer.
"The community up there because of Wendy was amazing and it's an experience that I don't think a lot of people will have ever again. To have the opportunity to have a place where you can not only learn but form relationships for life with people. That's what Wendy's stables was to me. It was my second home, I had a terrible childhood and Wendy has been like an auntie for me for over a decade. She was like that to a lot of people, it wasn't just me. She was a mother to all her students.
"She didn't have any birth kids, she didn't have any children of her own, which was what was even more touching. She had stepkids, she was married. She got divorced quite a long time ago. She had two step-sons. She treated us all like family, she was so kind."
Miss Gergin explained how she maintained a relationship with her, despite moving on and buying her own horse. She said Ms Buckney had also since left the riding stables.
"I still have four horses to this day who I ride regularly and that wouldn't be without her," she said. "It wasn't just long ago that Wendy helped me transport one of my horses back from a breeder in Bristol and on that trip, probably one of the last times I spoke to her, she told me all about her life story and her childhood.
"Nobody saw this coming, I haven't had time to process it fully. I'm struggling to sit down and mourn properly because I'm starting to imagine it."
South Wales Police detective chief inspector Matt Davies said: “Detectives are continuing to question a 55-year-old man following the discovery of the body of a 71-year-old woman in a property in Tanycoed Road, Clydach, yesterday morning. We are progressing our examination of the scene and grateful for the help of the local community in developing our understanding of the circumstances that led to her death. Formal identification has not yet taken place, however next of kin have been informed.”
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