'We're incredibly proud' - Riding A Dream Academy reveals huge increase in people it works with

The Riding A Dream Academy, which encourages riders from underrepresented communities to break into racing, has seen a huge increase in people it has worked with after revealing positive numbers in its second year review.

The academy says it has seen a 281 per cent increase in its 2022-23 annual review in young people it has engaged with, and is 66 per cent ahead of its expected target for the year.

Across its whole programme, which aims to work with young people usually aged between 13 and 16, 71 per cent of its students came from diverse ethnic backgrounds. On its scholarship named after Khadijah Mellah, its co-founder who became the first Muslim woman to win a race in Britain in the 2019 Magnolia Cup, 88 per cent of its students came from diverse ethnic communities.

That figure is up ten per cent from its pilot year, while 64 per cent of scholarship students from the pilot and second year have either completed the foundation course, or had work experience in racing.

Mellah said: "We're incredibly proud of everything that the academy has achieved to date. The academy has a unique role to play in supporting young people who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to get involved in racing and, in doing so, help make the sport more diverse and inclusive."

The academy will aim to have more taster days during its third year, having had 50 students from schools in deprived areas of London who had no experience of the sport or riding take part in them at the British Racing School this year. They both also offer residential weeks and regional weeks within local communities.

Naomi Lawson, its other co-founder and director, said: "As we head into our third year we are even more determined to help change British racing for the better, support an ever-increasing group of young people from under-served communities to access these life changing opportunities and demonstrate that racing truly is a sport for all."

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