Riding A Dream Academy to launch course for those with little or no experience

Youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds with little or no riding experience are set to have the chance to gain some hands-on opportunities in racing following the launch of an initiative inspired by Khadijah Mellah.

The Peckham-born Mellah memorably won the charity race at Glorious Goodwood in 2019 having learned to ride at the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton.

The Riding A Dream Academy, which encourages 14- to 18-year-olds from diverse and underrepresented communities to break into the racing industry, was launched in 2021 and takes its name from a documentary that charted the progress of Mellah, a British Muslim.

The organisation is funded by the Racing Foundation, which oversees the distribution of funds to charitable causes in British racing, and will now host an introductory course alongside its year-long scholarship and residential week at the British Racing School.

Khadijah Mellah: 'We wanted to make sure that we were providing opportunities'

Mellah said: "After the success of our pilot year we wanted to make sure we were providing opportunities that would allow as wide a group of young people as possible to spend time learning how to look after racehorses and finding out more about horseracing.

"This is an amazing opportunity for young people who love animals and are wanting to try their hand at something new, while also finding out more about the opportunities for them within the sport.”

ITV Racing's Oli Bell helped found the academy with director Naomi Lawson, who added: “When we first launched the academy we had lots of applications from young people who had been inspired by Khadijah and wanted to get involved, but didn’t have the experience to join one of our riding-based courses.

"Thanks to the support of the Racing Foundation we are now able to offer these young people a specially tailored course which will introduce them to the world of horseracing, including how to care for our racehorses and all the different facets that make up the sport."

Applications close on Wednesday, September 21, and you can find out more by clicking .

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