Sunday Magazine – July 28, 2019

S MAGAZINE ★ 28 JULY 2019 31

INTERVIEW

School where we were being assessed for

our riding skills and fitness levels and now

we all keep in contact through WhatsApp.

Victoria Pendleton [Olympic gold-winning track

cyclist] is riding this year and is quite an

accomplished jockey, so it’ll be quite hard to

beat her – but I’d love to.”

Vogue may see Victoria as her main rival,

but another jockey with her eyes on the prize

is Khadijah Mellah, an 18 year old from

London who rides at the Ebony Horse Club,

a Brixton community centre that teaches riding

and equine care.

The club has 150 members, most of them

youngsters from some of south London’s

most disadvantaged communities. Through

its youth services the centre mentors children

and helps them develop new skills, build

confidence and open up new experiences

through contact with horses.

Khadijah, who has been a member of the

club for five years, has just finished her A-levels

but has been working hard with racehorse

trainers Chris Wall in Newmarket and Simon

Dow in Epsom. She is also having her progress

from inner-city student to racehorse jockey

filmed by a documentary team. The film is

jointly funded by the sport’s promotional body

Great British Racing, Goodwood Racecourse

and The Racing Foundation and aims to

broaden the appeal of racing and bring a new

audience to the sport.

So with the race just days away now, how is

the pressure starting to show?

“The pressure will definitely be on,” Vogue

confesses, “but I really won’t feel any pressure

from the crowd. I’m one of those people that

would rather sing in front of 40,000 people

than sing in front of 10 of my family members.

I’ll feel nervous excitement but I’ll just be

focused on getting a really good start.”

Khadija is also quietly confident and

determined to enjoy the race.

Whatever the outcome, these women are

uniting for an incredible charity and are proving

that racing is a sport for everyone.

For information and to buy tickets for the Qatar

Goodwood Festival, visit goodwood.com.

To make a donation to Wellbeing of Women, go

to wellbeing_of_women.charitycheckout.co.uk/

pf/the-magnolia-cup-2019. See ladbrokes.com.

“I jumped at the

chance... I thought

this would be the most

amazing experience”

CLIVE SHALICE

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