On 9th August, more than 40 members and guests of WiR had the incredible opportunity to spend half a day at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, the headquarters of Godolphin’s global breeding operation.

The day began with a warm welcome from WiR committee member Cheryl Caves, who provided a brief overview of WiR’s ethos and the benefits of membership. Dawn Laidlaw, Head of Nominations, then greeted the group and shared a history of the stud, outlining what they could expect during the visit.

In the beautiful summer sunshine, attendees took a short walk from the stud offices to the stallion paddocks, where they had the chance to see the true stars of the day up close. The legendary DUBAWI was naturally the main attraction, but his remarkable son TOO DARN HOT also proved to be a crowd favourite, with plenty of selfies taken with him.

The tour continued with a visit to the stallion yard and covering shed, followed by a delicious lunch kindly provided by Godolphin.

After lunch, everyone gathered for a panel discussion featuring Dido Harding, Dawn Laidlaw, Rachel Flynn, Sarah Guest, Naomi Mellor, and Simone Sear. Chaired by Cheryl Caves, the panellists introduced themselves and shared their journeys into the world of racing.

The ensuing discussion was both wide-ranging and informative, covering topics including the benefits of mentoring and what advice the panellists would give to a woman starting out in the industry.

A video of the panel discussion and Q&A is be available on the WiR YouTube feed.

If you are interested in finding out more about the mentoring programme, visit our website our email mentoring@womeninracing.co.uk.