Phi Alpha Theta Colloquium
Breaking Down Barriers in the Sport of Kings: Women as Jockeys
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
History
Minor
Photography
Presentation Format
Event
Abstract/Description
While horse racing has existed in the United States for hundreds of years, until around fifty years ago, women had been excluded from the narrative. Seen as unequal to men and unfit to do any jobs at the racetrack, women were unable to play a large role in the sport, and were especially not allowed to become jockeys. This would begin to change in the late 1960s and early 1970s when women such as Kathy Kusner, Cheryl White, and Diane Crump were able to bring great change to the sport and to many racetracks across the United States in becoming some of the first female jockeys. Through their fight for acceptance in a sport that was reluctant to change, we can see how women fought discrimination, a battle that still exists in horse racing today, to become jockeys in the industry often referred to as “the sport of kings.”
Spring Scholars Week 2022 Event
Phi Alpha Theta Colloquium
Breaking Down Barriers in the Sport of Kings: Women as Jockeys
While horse racing has existed in the United States for hundreds of years, until around fifty years ago, women had been excluded from the narrative. Seen as unequal to men and unfit to do any jobs at the racetrack, women were unable to play a large role in the sport, and were especially not allowed to become jockeys. This would begin to change in the late 1960s and early 1970s when women such as Kathy Kusner, Cheryl White, and Diane Crump were able to bring great change to the sport and to many racetracks across the United States in becoming some of the first female jockeys. Through their fight for acceptance in a sport that was reluctant to change, we can see how women fought discrimination, a battle that still exists in horse racing today, to become jockeys in the industry often referred to as “the sport of kings.”