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Khadijah Mellah
I began riding about six years ago at Ebony Horse Club in Brixton and instantly loved it. I enjoyed the challenge of riding and learning to care for the horses, and it was also a great place to spend the weekends socially. When I was offered the chance to take part in the Magnolia Cup charity race at the prestigious QATAR Goodwood Festival it felt like a dream. I didn’t see this as an opportunity purely for myself, but also as a chance to represent my community as the first British female Muslim to ride in a horserace in a hijab. I wanted my story to be inspiration for other young women like me and I wanted to prove that ambitious women can make it.
I set out to ride in the Magnolia Cup at ‘Glorious Goodwood’ having never sat on a racehorse before. I knew that it would be a huge challenge but an exciting and life changing opportunity. I had been riding for a number of years but had just three months to learn a new riding technique required for racing. I had to dedicate time to my fitness and riding whilst I was studying for my A Levels, and the physical training was tough – jockeys have an extremely high level of fitness. Ultimately, I really wanted to make my friends and family proud and inspire other women with my story.
The first time I went to the races it really dawned on me that riding in the Magnolia Cup was really going to happen and I began to take my training even more seriously. After my A Levels I moved to Newmarket to ride out everyday and focus on my fitness and riding assessments that were required to take part in the race. The training was hard, but it gave me more motivation to want to pass the assessments to be able to ride in the race.
After a whirlwind three months of training for the race I couldn’t quite believe it when the day arrived. The atmosphere was so exciting, I remember being at the start thinking “is this really happening?” There were twelve women in the race including Victoria Pendleton. My wonderful horse, Haverland really gave it everything and we managed to break away from the group and before I knew it, we were crossing the finish line.
It was an incredible moment when the realisation kicked in that I had won the race. Seeing my family, friends and everyone who had supported my journey in the Winners Enclosure is something that I will never forget. The whole experience was a pivotal moment for me as I want to represent women and inspire them to be ambitious. I think my story of coming from South East London to end up winning the Magnolia Cup shows you can achieve anything if you are ambitious.
Tagged in Women's Sport