FEEL THE SPEED
Fashion, fundraising and five furlongs: Kim Parker saddles up for the ride of a lifetime
As you read this, I am likely to be crouching low in my stirrups, legs burning, urging a thoroughbred across the Epsom Downs at 40 miles an hour, on one of my final practice runs before the Markel Magnolia Cup, a fiveand-a-half-furlong charity horse race at Goodwood. It’s a far cry from my day job as a fashion journalist but, since turning 40 at the end of last year and embarking on a freelance career, I’ve felt a need to take on a challenge to boost my fitness levels and confidence at the same time. You could call it a mid-life crisis, I suppose – but where others would don Lycra leggings and attempt a triathlon, for me, it had to be something to do with horses.
So it is that I find myself taking part in this thrilling annual event, which sees 12 women from all walks of life train to become amateur jockeys and race the course on Glorious Goodwood’s Ladies’ Day in July. This year, the funds raised will go to the jeweller Annoushka Ducas’ initiative the Brilliant Breakfast, which helps disadvantaged women and girls aged between 11 and 30 access vital education and employment – and it is this knowledge that has spurred me on through every pre-dawn wake-up call, weighted wallsquat, four-minute plank and white-knuckle training session on the gallops.
I have loved riding since the age of six, when I had my very first lesson on the back of Parsley, an ageing Icelandic pony. Since then, I have cantered across the deserts of Arizona, crossed the Mongolian Steppes on horseback and been welcomed into a kind and adventurous community of fellow riders along the way. I have endured many bruises, injuries and concussions, but I have also made lifelong friends, recovered from (several) broken hearts and found solace from workinduced anxiety.
While winning would be nice – and wearing jockey silks by Roksanda Ilincic will be a dream – I’m more excited about completing the race safely with a happy horse who has enjoyed our 60-second trip to the finish line. As for me, I’m hoping to emerge a better and braver equestrian, with a new-found resilience and thighs of steel. Whatever happens, it’s going to be one hell of a ride. The Markel Magnolia Cup is on 28 July at Goodwood Festival (www.goodwood.com). Donate at www.justgiving.com/campaign/MagnoliaCup2022.