Racing presenter and eventer opens up on living with vitiligo ‘in hope it might help others’
Presenter and rider Leonna Mayor has opened up about living with vitiligo to raise awareness of the skin condition and help support others.
Leonna, a familiar figure on ITV and Sky Sports Racing, spoke to H&H after sharing a post on her social media channels about her own experience.
“So many people have sent me positive messages,” Leonna told H&H, adding that she was prepared for some negativity, but it has been “amazing” to see the vastly positive responses.
“Social media is a big part of my job and life, and I have very good followers, they are a good bunch of people.”
Leonna spoke to the Vitiligo Society, a charity that supports, inspires and educates about vitiligo, before posting. She said she wanted to share her story for herself, to raise awareness and to help others as she would “never want anyone to feel insecure” about it.
Vitiligo is a long-term condition, where pale white patches appear on the skin. Leonna first noticed a tiny patch on her skin when she was 18. She knew what it was, as one of her close family also has the condition.
Leonna’s condition has progressed, which led to her decision to post her message as she wanted it to come from her first, before anyone might ask about seeing it in photos or on camera.
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She said she was incredibly nervous before the post went out – and is very glad she did.
“So many times I’ve started to type this post and then deleted it because I’ve never really known where to start or even how to start,” she said in her post.
“However I’ve reached a point where I’m more comfortable in my own skin and want to share a message that I hope might help others. Even if it’s just one person who can relate.
“Since I was a teen, I’ve lived with vitiligo, which as you know is an auto-immune condition which causes patches of my skin to lose its pigment. My auntie has vitiligo, so it’s something I have grown up seeing, but in all honesty being familiar with it didn’t mean I wasn’t scared or embarrassed when I discovered patches on my own skin.”
She added: “My skin changes have rapidly worsened over the last two years, and now I have a lot of patches under my arms, on my thighs and my face. I used to always cover them up by wearing camouflage make-up and avoided pictures or wearing clothes that would reveal my skin.
“I know by sharing my story on social media I may receive some negative comments, but I’m finally learning to love my skin and feel happy being me regardless of what anyone else may say or think.
“I hope that this will not only be able to help those with a skin condition, but also help anyone who hasn’t got a skin condition to learn and understand how nervous and uncomfortable a visible skin condition can make someone feel.
“We all have our imperfections that make us who we are. Let’s embrace them, appreciate them, and always be kind to others.”
Leonna, a former Flat jockey who now events at novice level, told H&H that while she hoped sharing would help other people, hearing those individual stories has meant a lot.
She’s received messages from those whose loved ones have the condition, and several people have also come up to her while she has been at work on course to thank her for speaking about it.
“If it helps somebody, if it makes them feel happy in their skin, that makes it worthwhile 10 times over,” she said.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.