Newmarket Pony Academy
Giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills
A local opportunity
The Newmarket Pony Academy, at the British Racing School, is a community project using horses and ponies to positively effect mental health and wellbeing for the children in Newmarket.
Newmarket, despite being the headquarters of racing, does not offer affordable access to children to learn, ride or look after these animals. These children see horses around Newmarket town and surrounding areas every day and the Newmarket Pony Academy gives them that chance.
The Newmarket Pony Academy has been designed to give young people the opportunity learn new skills such as team work, confidence and resilience. They have the chance to learn about the animal and also the hard work and dedication it takes to look after them. They benefit enormously from developing life skills from this unique experience.
The Newmarket Pony Academy is host to a five day primary school program, designed to mix equine care with core subjects and team building activities embedded into this diverse learning experience. The courses build on the curriculum and work on key skills, such as confidence, resilience and overall engagement in learning, through delivering practical and theory lessons to the students.
Further to this, the NPA runs afterschool, weekend and holiday clubs for local young people who have been referred to the project by teachers and social workers. It is hoped that ongoing engagement with the NPA will give these young people a positive constant. We really believe in the social and mental health benefits from this type of learning, and are incredibly excited to empower these young people.
The NPA works in the community alongside other local charities such as the East Anglian Children’s Hospice and offers alternative provisions for children struggling with mainstream education, currently working with 19 local schools.
The NPA works closely with the Riding A Dream Academy, an organisation which is passionate about supporting talented young riders from diverse communities, underprivileged backgrounds and urban equestrian centres, to open opportunities for them to get involved in
British horseracing.
Inspired by the incredible achievements of Khadijah Mellah, the first British Muslim woman to ride in and win a UK horse race, the Riding A Dream Academy run a range of programmes for riders aged 14-18, funded by The Racing Foundation. Many of these racing experiences and residential weeks are hosted by the NPA onsite at the British Racing School.
During the visit of HM Queen Camilla in June ’23, members of the Riding A Dream Academy were able to meet with Her Majesty and share their Academy experiences.
Passion: To promote positivity and working with others to improve key skills such as confidence, resilience and enthusiasm in young people.
Respect: Everyone deserves equal respect and to be treated fairly and justly. This includes young people, staff, volunteers and the horses and ponies.
Promoting diversity: To respect the differences in people and acknowledge how those differences improves society. We can all learn from each other and work together to achieve our common goals.
Honesty: To promote honesty and integrity in all members of the NPA.
Welfare comes first: Emotional and physical wellbeing is our priority here at the NPA. This includes staff, volunteers, children or young people and the horses.
Cultivate a love for education: The NPA strives to encourage learning and positivity for young people.
Promote core values: Democracy, individual liberty mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We promote these values through all NPA activities.
Volunteers play a crucial role in helping achieve our mission and we could not meet our aims without their hard work. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our volunteers and want to make sure all parties have a safe, rewarding and enjoyable experience. The Volunteer Policy recognises the significant and valuable roles volunteers play in supporting these young people throughout their time at the Newmarket Pony Academy.
We are hugely fortunate in our fantastic team of reliable volunteers who all have a passion for helping young people learn and develop as individuals. We are always open to hearing from other people who are willing to join this team, so please do get in touch if you are interested.
Volunteers must have:
- A positive attitude
- Work well within a team
- Interact confidently with people from a wide range of backgrounds
- Previous experience with horses is important for the role
- Experience with young people is desirable
We are so grateful to those who are willing to give up their own time to this project. Training can be given to an individual with the right attitude as well as help to develop their own personal skills.
All volunteers will receive a full induction and will need to be DBS checked due to the nature of the role. For more information please see the video of our pilot week
If you are interested please get in touch Anna.Sylvester@brs.org.uk or fill out the volunteers application form below:
We are thrilled that seven time Champion Jockey, John Francome, came in to meet all the children and has agreed to be an ambassador for the project.
He said: “This is a great initiative and they should have done it years ago. I’ve seen this in the past with Riding For The Disabled where people suddenly understand what confidence a horse can give them. These children here today, many of whom have come from underprivileged backgrounds, have finally found something that is not going to keep asking them questions or demanding anything of them”
Testimonials from teachers
“Thank you for the incredible opportunity that you provided the children with this week. I was somewhat surprised to receive a group of sobbing children back this afternoon. They told me that they were sad to end the ‘Best week of their lives- ever.’ Over the week we’ve witnessed them growing in confidence and becoming more independent and determined. It is a privilege to be part of this amazing project that I am sure will become nationally recognised as an exemplar going forward.”
“Fantastic week. It’s been great to see the children’s confidence grow.”
“Thank you for the most amazing day. Staff so friendly and attentive to our group. Feel privileged to have been part of such an amazing experience.”
Partners & Funding
Newmarket Pony Academy is extremely grateful to our initial funders.
The Sir Peter O’Sullevan CT, Godolphin, Mrs J Budd, Cheveley Park, West Suffolk Council, The Jockey Club Estates, Tattersalls, Orbit Housing and Lettergold Plastics.
Your financial support is instrumental and we cannot thank you enough for your generosity.