News | 27 May 2025
Cleo’s Journey – Pony Racing Pathway
From a Taster Day at her London riding school in February 2023 to working in the Racing Industry in December 2024, Cleo’s journey shows that the pathway is working!
The photograph shows Cleo with her Academy Trainer and the riding school pony she rode before her Graduate Programme race at Ascot in April 2024
Cleo’s Pathway journey started by chance at a Taster Day at her riding school in London in February 2023. Her interest in racing was sparked and she joined us at the Taster Day at Ascot in April 2023 so that she could visit a racecourse and see pony racing in action. Cleo applied for a place on the Academy Scheme a few days after the Ascot Taster Day in April 2023 and started her course at the Academy Centre in Sussex in July 2023. Her first race was at Lingfield Park in October 2023 after which she knew that racing was her future. Cleo trained for and enjoyed her Graduate Programme race at Ascot in April 2024.
During this time, Cleo attended an Open Day at the British Racing School and patiently waited for her mother to agree that her future lay in the racing industry, as Cleo comes from a very academic family. Following Ascot, Cleo continued riding and maintaining fitness whilst working hard towards her GCSEs.
Early in September 2024, having achieved very good GCSE results, Cleo started the Foundation Course at the BRS. We caught up with Cleo at the Train the Trainers Day at the BRS at the end of November 2024 as she rode as one of our demo riders. Cleo graduated a few days later, on 2nd December 2024 and on 9th December started her apprenticeship with Sir Mark Prescott.
We will stay in touch with Cleo and follow her journey eagerly as well as offering ongoing support. We hope she will have time in the future to tell her story to other young people who don’t have a pony but do have a dream.
A message from Cleo’s mother on 10th December 2024
Cleo’s mother, who is a Paramedic in Central London, said ‘We travel out of London to the yard in Sussex for the training sessions. The Academy course requires commitment from the parents/carers and supporting team as well as from the jockeys.
After her first race at Lingfield, Cleo decided that racing is her future career, so she then applied to the British Racing School. Whilst she was at the BRS, her high standard of care towards horses stood out and she was put in charge of looking after the horses at the BHA Centre for Racehorse Studies, preparing their meals, and taking all the measurements needed for research.
Cleo was accepted straight away by Sir Mark Prescott at her interview last week and has now started her apprenticeship. She started it yesterday and was put on his winning 2 year old – Packet of Biscuits – to go a few times up the gallops and both Sir Prescott and his assistant trainer, William Butler, are very happy with Cleo’s riding
‘I cannot thank enough everyone who was involved and for the wonderful support that each and every person gave to Cleo along the way. The ponies that also contributed to her success will always be in her heart.’