UK Charities Manager Penny Taylor wins Special Recognition Award
Penny Taylor, Godolphin's UK Charities Manager for the past 10 years, was honoured at the Newmarket Community Awards held at the historic Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket this week, as she received the Special Recognition Award.
The award recognises her outstanding contribution to the local community, with her most notable achievement to date being the establishment of Newmarket Pony Academy (NPA).
Opened in 2021, the NPA, based at The British Racing School, provides local schools with a range of programmes together with regular activities for students from Special Educational Needs centres to meet the differing needs of groups of young people.
Penny also played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project and is heavily involved in Godolphin Lifetime Care's promotion of the versatility of the thoroughbred once their racing days are over.
Speaking on the night, Robert Rous, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk said, "She has had a life surrounded by horses and ponies and after a brief foray into the world of showjumping has made horseracing her life's work. Having worked for John Gosden and at Newmarket Racecourse, she found her true vocation as Charities Manager for Godolphin, where she has been able to combine her true love of the thoroughbred and racing, with what she's best at - enhancing the lives of others.
"She was central to the creation and continued success of the Beacon Project here in Newmarket which has provided thousands of the town's young people with opportunities to experience the whole spectrum of the racing industry, from breeding to races, via catering and media work, she has worked tirelessly to get Godolphin's equine stars out into the community bringing joy to so many, young and old, and most notable of all she has created 'Penny's Ponies.
Penny's Ponies is officially known as the Newmarket Pony Academy and thanks to Penny the town now has a community project to provide a vital link between the racing and non-racing worlds, and through which inform and inspire the next generation.
"The Newmarket Pony Academy provides opportunities for local children to learn to care for ponies and to experience riding through a primary schools programme, after school and weekend clubs, holiday clubs and through hosting days for Autism in Racing and the East Anglian Children's Hospice. Starting with a pilot in 2020, the NPA has expanded and now provides opportunities for over 500 young people a year to experience the joy that comes from spending time with and riding ponies.
"Penny is a visionary, always working hard and trying to improve the world, always being kind and, perhaps best of all, always fun to be around - a truly wonderful human being."
Jane Buick, wife of Godolphin jockey William Buick, was presented with the Diversity Award in recognition of her work to further understanding of autism.
