Racing Foundation-Funded Riding A Dream Academy co-founder Naomi Lawson talks about inspiring inclusion on International Women’s Day

8 Mar 2024

‘The notion that we’ve kind of reached equality is just obviously completely ridiculous.’

Naomi Lawson, Riding A Dream Academy co-founder

Racing Foundation-Funded Riding A Dream Academy co-founder Naomi Lawson talks about inspiring inclusion on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. 

Each year, the day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality and highlights the work that still needs to be done.

The 2024 campaign theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’ emphasises the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society.

To mark IWD the Racing Foundation (RF) sat down to talk with Naomi Lawson, the co-founder and director of the Racing Foundation-funded Riding A Dream Academy. 

Naomi discusses being a woman in the horseracing industry, driving change, and how the Riding A Dream Academy is inspiring inclusion.

RF: Please, can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

NL: I grew up on a racing yard and my dad and uncle trained Dancing Brave back in the 80s. I then had a teenage rebellion and moved completely away from horseracing. I went on to study German at Oxford University and worked in legal publishing and then children’s social care. That was quite full-on and quite depressing in some ways so I came back to racing. I’ve been working back in the industry for several years, first at Great British Racing and now at the Riding A Dream Academy.

RF: Why do you think it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day?

NL: There are still such discrepancies between men and women; the notion that we’ve kind of reached equality is just obviously completely ridiculous. I think that there’s still just so much more work to be done, and it’s really important to highlight that and to still be striving for better and for equality. You only need to look at the stats in terms of female homicides, domestic violence, street harassment, gender pay gap, and the time it’s going to take for the gender pay gap to be brought down.

RF: International Women’s Day 2024 campaign theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. What does this mean to you?

NL: Particularly at the Riding A Dream Academy, it’s about having people who can connect with others who don’t necessarily see themselves in the sport. So it is really important to have role models that connect with people, and Khadijah is a really good example of that, and with the Academy students inspiring each other too. It’s about making sure that everyone feels that there’s a space in which they can thrive, operate, and grow. Even in horseracing, where they might initially look at it and think it’s not for them, hopefully, we’re creating a community of people who are inspired by others to go on and achieve and thrive in an industry that perhaps hasn’t always been for them. 

RF: Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

NL: It’s still common to go into spaces that are quite male-dominated. I think people still defer to men in conversations, which is obviously really, really frustrating and the clubability of racing – the golf days etc – can sometimes be a problem as it can be quite male-dominated. Sometimes it can be hard as a woman, but you have to push through, get out of your comfort zone, lean into a bit of discomfort, and kind of make yourself bigger, more persistent, and more tenacious than you might naturally want to be. 

RF: Inspire Inclusion emphasises the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society; why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?

NL: It’s really important that organisations are inclusive and representative of society, not just because it’s the right thing to do but it’s also incredibly boring if they’re not. If you’ve got diversity within the workplace, it’s more likely to be a creative workplace. It’s much more likely to be an inquisitive workplace where differences are seen as something that is really interesting and inspires curiosity. Particularly in a sport such as racing, where it has always traditionally been the same people, having that diversity of thought is really, really important. 

To look at it in cold numbers, so much of the UK population is much more diverse and inclusive than racing. If we aren’t able to bring those people into the fold, we’re missing out on a vast population that could be fans, owners, or racegoers, and we just can’t afford to do that.

18% of the population, according to the recent Census, are from diverse ethnic communities. That’s not represented on our boards, in our workplaces, or in our jockeys. Improving that will help the economics of the sport and will actually make us a more interesting, diverse, and inclusive workplace.

RF: What is your proudest achievement with the Riding A Dream Academy?

NL: I think when the first-year scholarship students graduated. That was a proof of concept. We always have amazing students on all of our programs, but to see the first group graduate having completed the year-long programme, thanks to the Racing Foundation, and to now see some of those people in racing yards thriving was amazing. 

But you have micro-proud moments every time we come up to the Academy where students have breakthrough moments where they’re like, ‘Actually, I can do this!’ Last month, during the Scholarship weekend, we had a young person go into the outdoor arena for the first time who didn’t believe that they would ever do that and has come on such a journey. It’s about seeing everyone’s journey and seeing them achieve those things, even though they didn’t believe that they could. That makes me feel very proud. 

RF: Which women inspire you the most?

NL: People like Michelle Obama are obviously great, but for me, it’s more about everyday acts of heroism by women. 

For example, I’ve got a friend who has been through some significant tragedy in her life, but she’s just kept going. I have another friend who has a really high-up job but also managed childcare for three children during the pandemic. And also our instructors at the Riding A Dream Academy, who go out of their way to really make the students feel valued and make them understand the huge breadth of their potential. Those micro-moments of heroism are more inspiring to me because I think it’s about women showing up every day and making a difference. 

RF: What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?

NL: There was a time in my career when I was not particularly enjoying what I was doing, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what my purpose was. I learnt that if you focus on doing what you love, eventually you will plot a pathway, subconsciously, not necessarily knowing where you’re going, to where you need to be.

I knew that I loved spending time with horses, and I was passionate about trying to make racing more inclusive. So I started volunteering at Ebony Horse Club, then the concept of Khadijah riding in the Magnolia Cup came about, then I led the PR for that and went on to create the Riding A Dream Academy. Knowing that I wanted to work directly with horses has led me to where I am now. If you just keep doing what you love and showing up in that space, then you’ll get to where you need to be.

Learn more about the Riding a Dream Academy at https://www.ridingadreamacademy.com/