Go Racing in Yorkshire's Charlotte Russell is saddling up for Macmillan Charity Race at York in June

Charlotte Russell, general manager of Go Racing in Yorkshire (GRY), is one of 12 riders selected for the nine furlong race on June 15, which is a key part of the 53rd Macmillan Charity Raceday, which has raised a staggering £10m since its inception in 1971.

The race was not run in 2023 and Russell was determined not to miss out riding at a course where she used to work, saying: “When I saw the race was going to be run again this year I got this overwhelming feeling that I wanted to ride in it which was quite alien to me.

“I had lost my godmother, Sheena Harris, to cancer last year and thought I’d really like to do this.

“I’ve seen the race before and though ‘that would be good to do’, but I always just dismissed it as ‘I’m too heavy, not fit enough, can’t fit in riding out and this year’ and then I thought, ‘the only thing that is stopping me, is me’.”

Each rider has to have their suitability approved by a trainer and also agree to raise funds and Russell has called on a few friends in the industry to help her out.

She is getting her ‘work experience’ in with childhood friend, Mark Walford, the dual purpose Sheriff Hutton handler, as well as at the neighbouring stables of Paul Midgley and Tony Coyle.

“I’ve been going into Mark’s on a Saturday to try out and so he could see if I’d make the grade or not, since September,” she said.

“He has been brilliant. I’ve grown up with Mark and our families are great friends. I’m riding the horses his 14-year-old daughter rides so I knew if he was putting me on those I’d be okay!

“Once I got accepted into the race, I was also able to ride out at Paul’s and my husband has been scouting for a horse for me. Tony said he might have one, so I have been riding and getting used to him.”

In addition, former jockey Russ Garrity, the father of current riders Jack and Billy, has been coaching her and other Macmillan riders on the Equicizers [mechanical horses] at Jack Berry House in Malton.

In addition, Sky Bet have helped her out with some equipment and funding to help her reach her fundraising goal.

She said: “I have got my branded breeches and there is a jacket and a couple of other bits, so I am honoured for a very short time to be in the same stable as Daryl Jacob and Joanna Mason!

“There’s a superstition about new stuff that if you put new things on you fall off the horse, so you are supposed to stand on it. So far I have got a new hat, back protractor and breeches so I keep standing on everything.

“I’m not a superstitious person as I just think it is a waste of time, but anything that will help me stay on a horse, I am willing to do.”

Russell, a busy mum-of-two who lives in Thixendale, is the daughter of Charles and Gilder Brader and grew up on a farm.

“I was lucky enough to grow up with ponies and my family has always bred point-to-pointers, so I have always been round the thoroughbreds but I have never ridden in a race.

“I certainly wasn't brave enough to ride in the point to point but I really enjoyed getting involved with the horses at home and the training of them.

“This is very different although still it's fun and exciting riding as part of a string on the gallops and I’m learning all the time.”

Russell is well on her way to meeting her target and had staged a Film Night in the village and is planning a Party in the Barn in May and also has a Just Giving account, too.

https://justgiving.com/page/charlotte-russell-brader-150624

The Macmillan meeting is one of 182 which are covered by GRY’s annual season ticket which are on sale until the end of this month and cover admission at the county’s nine tracks, costing £432 for a single and £725 for a couple.