2011 Celebrity Ladies Race

The Glorious Goodwood Festival will kick off on 26 July 2011 and run through to 30 July 2011, drawing some of the best horses in the industry to its starting gates. There is, however, one race that stands out amongst the rest and that is the 2011 Celebrity Ladies Race. This event will take place on Thursday, 28 July 2011. Audi has kindly sponsored the race, which will generate funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital. It has been a huge effort from both the celebrities participating, as well as trainers, jockeys and behind-the-scenes staff to ensure that the race goes off smoothly.

Behind-the-scenes special silks are being designed and made for the lady jockeys by designers such as Issa (designer to the Duchess of Cambridge), Jasmine Guinness and Amanda Wakeley. To assist the ladies team of jockeys, other celebrities have also donated their time to this charity race, including Caroline Daniel (Editor for Financial Times Weekend), Elizabeth Hurley (model and actress), Alice Plunkett (Presenter for Channel 4), and Madeleine Lloyd Webber (Race Horse Owner), as well as Natalie Pinkham and Kate Silverton. Garrard, the well-known jewelers, will be creating the Magnolia Cup that will be presented to the winning jockey. Everyone, from the designers to the jockeys, is donating their time to this worthy cause.

The race will take place over a distance of six furlongs and ten celebrity jockeys will be participating, taking them from their comfort zones and placing them in an event that is filled with thrill, excitement and speed. Sara Cox, better known as a television personality and a presenter for Radio One, commented that the first three times she went out on her horse, What’s The Point, she was basically only concentrating on staying on and surviving the experience, but is now working on trying to control her speed, and said that doing something that scares you, is sometimes a wonderful challenge to overcome.

All the celebrity jockeys have had some interaction with horses before, but racing is most definitely a whole new ball game, and all the ladies are putting in the utmost effort to learn how to race safely and to enhance their riding skills. Some of the other jockeys to look forward to will include Laura Bechtolsheimer (Dressage Rider for Britain), Edie Campbell (Supermodel), Clare Milford Haven (Polo Player), Emma Spencer (Presenter for Channel 4), Annette Mason (Wife of Pink Floyd’s drummer and racing car driver) and Kate Reardon (Editor for Tatler).