News | 10 September 2025

Pony Club Supports National Racehorse Week to connect communities to horses

The Pony Club was delighted to collaborate with Great British Racing on a series of events to celebrate the fifth National Racehorse Week (23rd to 31st August 2025) as part of the initiative’s community programme, aimed at connecting communities to horses and showcasing the lives they lead.

The British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre (BTRC)

The first event took place on Monday 25th August and  gave young people from Madni Dawah Academy, a Madrassah in Nelson, Lancashire, an opportunity to visit the nearby  British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre, where they met the former racehorses now retraining for second careers. They also toured the state-of-the-art facilities, before getting hands on grooming and mucking out residents Walshbear and Tutu, mascot ponies who also live at BTRC.

The group previously received a Pony Club education session to learn about how horses think and what they need, and so this visit allowed them to build on their knowledge and gain practical experience of being around horses.

Dan Skelton Racing

Thanks to connections at Great British Racing, a Birmingham based community group, Crescent Archers, were given exclusive access toDan Skelton’s prestigious jump racing training facility in Warwickshire.As part of the experience, the group saw the inner-workings of a busy racing yard and met superstars of the yard including Cheltenham-festival winner Protektorat.

We were delighted that Khadijah Mellah, the first British Muslim female jockey, could join the trip to share her experiences of the racing world and her journey from inner-city riding school to obtaining an amateur jockey’s license and now competing in the sport.

Jamila, the Crescent Archers Club Leader and part time Pony Club Outreach Officer said “We had the unforgettable opportunity to offer a number of young people a behind-the-scenes experience. A huge heartfelt thank you to National Racehorse Week for making this happen, and to Dan Skelton and his team for the tour and for letting us meet so many incredible racehorses. We were also joined by the inspirational Khadijah Mellah, who shared her journey and inspired everyone with her story. Within the group of young people we had Eissa Ahmed who has been inspired by Khadijah and has already started his journey with British Racing School as part of the riding a dream academy. I feel truly privileged to be part of the Pony Club team, helping create experiences that inspire the next generation. I can’t wait to see where this experience takes them”

This group of young people have enrolled on The Pony Club’s EquiYouth programme, supported by British Equestrian through Sport England funding, which enables young people from underserved and culturally diverse communities to access equestrian sport and learn to ride.

This trip complimented the young people’s regular riding lessons, which are taking place at Pony Club Linked Centre, Rockstar Equine. The group were given a tour of the yard, able to watch some horses being exercised and had a lesson on racing positions using the Equiciser.

Witton Country Park Community Afternoon

To round off the celebrations, a free experiential event was organised for the public at Witton Country Park in Blackburn.

As part of The Pony Club’s ongoing partnership with Together an Active Future (TaAF) in collaboration with Active Madrassah groups, local young people and their families from the Muslim community, as well as park visitors, were invited to meet legendary Grand National 2012 winner Neptune Collognes.

Neptune Collognes, stable name ‘Nipper’, spent the afternoon in the park and patiently allowed over 100 young people and their families to stroke him, take photos and ask his handler questions, many of which were meeting a horse for the first time.

Young people joining in the event were also able to take part in Pony Club learning activities and test their skills against  professional jockey Charlotte Jones in the ‘Jockey Gym’. This included racehorse simulators, giving young people a real idea of how to mount and ride the racing position, and the strength and fitness needed to ride a race!

Summary of National Racehorse Week: This year’s National Racehorse Week (NRW) took place 23-31st August 2025 and saw 54 bespoke community events taking place to engage with younger audiences, charities and local communities, alongside 94public open days across the week offering nearly 15,000 free places to the wider public.

Since its inception in 2021, NRW has delivered nearly 200 community events alongside 65,000 free places for the public to come behind the scenes of the sport.