I always get a tickle when I see equestrianism promoted on “mainstream” pages. Of course, I always wish we’d see other disciplines of horse sports represented, but I can still appreciate the effort. And thanks to Nike’s recent feature of Khadijah Mellah and her recent visit to the UK’s Ebony Horse Club, I found a new person to stalk on Instagram rabbit hole to dive down. Khadijah was named the Sunday Times Young Sportswoman of the Year in 2019, a milestone in a racing career that first originated at the Ebony Horse Club. She would eventually go on to become the first Muslim jockey in the UK and the first woman to race in a hijab, winning the all-women charity Magnolia Cup and besting the odds while she was at it as the youngest and most inexperienced rider in the field. You can read more about the resulting documentary, Riding A Dream, that was created around Khadijah’s journey here.
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Full Gallop Farm Jingle Bells H.T. (Aiken, Sc.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]
Wednesday News & Notes
Full Gallop Farm has announced that this weekend’s event would be held as a one-day on Sunday, December 12. The event will also be dedicated to Jessica Halliday, who passed away after valiantly battling cancer last month, and the team at Full Gallop hopes to make this dedication an annual event. “She was the kind of person we should all aspire to be,” Lara Anderson wrote on the Full Gallop Farm website. “We are donating part of the proceeds from this event to Jessica’s charity “Buck Off Cancer”. Please come out and join us as a competitor, volunteer or spectator and celebrate Jessica Halliday’s Legacy.”
The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention kicks off today and will run all through this weekend. I will be there for a short period of time over the weekend, so I’ll plan to bring you some reports from sessions. If you’d like to see the full schedule to earmark what you want to attend, click here.
Meet the Young Event Horse class of 2015 — where are they now? Several horses from the 2015 class went on to the top levels of the sport. Catch up with them here.
Sign-ups are now available for the annual Galway Downs Fundraiser Clinic. The event will be held in Temecula, Ca. January 21-23, 2022 and features opportunities to ride with professionals such as Ian Stark, Emilee Libby, Erin Kellerhouse, Hawley Bennett-Awad, Barb Crabo, Olivia Loiacono, Tamie Smith, Kaylawna Cook-Smith, and many more. CLick here to reserve your spot — all proceeds are used to help Galway Downs fund its ongoing improvements and competition opportunities.
Aiken-area readers! If you’re looking for a way to get involved in the community, you might check out donating or volunteering with Stable View’s Brave Today program. The program offers at-risk youth the opportunity to learn horsemanship and find their passions in life. Click here to learn more about Brave Today.
Don’t forget to submit your entry for our Fairfax & Favor wardrobe malfunction photo contest! You have until Friday, December 10 to submit your funniest wardrobe or equipment fail photo. Click here for more info.
Watch This:
Free on Horse & Country: follow along with two British Paralympic superstars, Georgia Wilson and Sophie Wells MBE, in this documentary:
