About the event

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Who: 5 Amazing Trailblazing Horsewomen from the horse racing world speaking with StreamHorseTV’s Director of Content Natalie Mayrath.   

◆ Donna Brothers — Former top jockey and NBC on-air racing analyst

From being a tough as nails jockey to one of the most respected voices in equine journalism, Donna Brothers has done it all! Following in her mother’s footsteps, Brothers became a jockey in ‘87. By the time she retired, Brothers was the second leading female jockey in the USA. Nowadays, she prefers to cover the races, often while on horseback. An award-winning journalist, Donna was named Sports Illustrated’s Best Sideline Reporter of the year in 2014. If you’re a fan of her reporting on NBC sports, make sure to read her book Inside Track: Inside Guide To Horse Racingfor an inside scoop on the racing world for even the most casual racegoer or fan.

◆ Diane Crump — Pioneering Female Jockey, First to ride in the Kentucky Derby

Diane Crump was instrumental in paving the way for women in racing. An avid lover of horses since she was a small child, Crump followed her passion straight to the racetrack. Although her peer group, “the Crop of 1969,” was met with much resistance by a sport long-dominated by men, they prevailed. Crump was the first female jockey in a recognized race, first to ride in a stakes race, first to win a stakes race, and the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970. After catastrophic accidents and injuries, Crump took to training, but eventually got back in the saddle for a comeback in her 50’s which nobody expected.

Crump now runs an equine sales business in her home state of Virginia.

◆ Janet Elliot — Hall of Fame trainer

A native of Ireland, and once a groom for the Irish Show Jumping Team, Elliot became only the second woman inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame and the first woman trainer enshrined in 2009. An assistant to Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard for 11 years, Elliot went out on her own in 1979 and has trained some of the top steeplechase horses in the game. She ended Sheppard's 18-year run as the leading money-earning steeplechase trainer in 1991 and led all steeplechase trainers in wins that year. Elliot has led the National Steeplechase Association's annual earnings list six times and saddled three Eclipse Award winners. She won the inaugural Breeders' Cup Steeplechase in 1986 with Census and won that race again with Flat Top in 2002. Elliot is recognizable for not only her win record, but her uncanny ability to bring horses along to their maximum potential, and her reputation for giving back to her sport and community. She ranks fourth all time in earnings among steeplechase trainers with more than $8.3 million.

◆ Julie Krone — Winningest Female Jockey of all-time and First Female in the HOF

There are elite athletes, and there is Julie Krone. Never one to take things slow, she rode her first horse at just three years old! The first woman inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000, Krone is the most successful woman jockey of all time with 3,704 wins (more than any woman, and most men) and purse earnings of more than $90 million. The native of Eau Claire, Mich., made her mark at the top of the racing game while

competing against such Hall of Fame contemporaries as Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Mike Smith,

and Angel Cordero, Jr. As a woman competing on equal terms with men, Krone led all riders at

such prestigious racetracks as Belmont Park, Monmouth Park, Gulfstream Park, and the

Meadowlands. She became the first woman to win a Triple Crown race when she piloted Colonial Affair to victory in the 1993 Belmont and the first to win a Breeders' Cup race when she rode Halfbridled to win the 2003 Juvenile Fillies. She was honored in 1993 by the Women’s Sports Foundation as the Individual Sportswoman of the Year. She also was chosen by the ESPN television network as 1993 Professional Female Athlete of the Year. In 1995, she penned her autobiography, Riding for My Life, where she described the trials and tribulations of her incredible career.

In 2001, Krone married the Eclipse Award-winning racing journalist Jay Hovdey, and in

2005 she gave birth to their daughter, Lorelei Judith Krone. 

In 2013, Krone was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls,

N.Y., home of America’s suffrage movement. Krone entered the Hall alongside Speaker of the

House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, as they joined an imposing array of historical figures

that includes Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Elanor Roosevelt, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosa Parks,

Emily Dickinson, and Amelia Earhart. Fittingly, in 2016 Krone also received the Amelia Earhart

Pioneering Achievement Award.

◆ Jo Motion — Steeplechase Veteran and Motion Family Matriarch

Josephine Wells Motion might be the only person who can claim association with “winning” both the biggest race in the US and UK. Raised in the United Kingdom, she got her start riding in Pony Club, where she competed in many gymkhanas (games on horseback) and became the amateur whipper-in for the Surrey Union Hunt by the age of 14. Soon afterward she began working as a ‘stable lad’ for steeplechase trainer Jack O’Donoghue, and in 1951 she became the first ‘stable lass’ to lead up the winner of the Grand National. That horse happened to be Nickel Coin, who remains the last mare to win it.

Motion first came to the US in the 1950s, working for the Adams family (parents of eventual Hall of Famer Dooley Adams) as an assistant trainer, one of few women working on the backstretch in the New York racing circuit in that day. She returned to England where she married Michael Motion, her Pony Club “sweetheart.” Michael’s job at Tattersalls brought them back to the US, and they eventually relocated to Middleburg, VA, where Motion owned and ran The Middleburg Tack Exchange from her 60’s to her 90’s.

These days, some might call Motion the matriarch of an equestrian dynasty, as the mother of Graham Motion, well-regarded horse trainer and 2022 Hall of Fame finalist, who has won the Kentucky Derby, Dubai World Cup, and multiple Breeders’ Cup events.
 

What: An interactive 90-minute livestream featuring conversations with extraordinary women in racing. The event is brought to you by Starlight/StarLadies Racing. 

Why:  Given their multiple decades of experience and exposure, there is sure to be much revelry, storytelling, and wisdom within this group, as they comment on the many achievements of women in the sport, and offer a look to the future as we salute the 2022 theme, #BreaktheBias, embracing the avenue to breakthroughs for the next generation of women to find opportunity across the industry.

This event marks the second edition of Trailblazing Horsewomen, a program launched by StreamHorseTV Director of Content Natalie Mayrath in 2021 as a celebratory gathering for horse-lovers to learn and be inspired by the groundbreaking women of the industry. Mayrath is a former digital producer on Women and Money for Yahoo Finance and series producer of “The Vanguard,” an Emmy-nominated documentary series about influential women in the media world.

"After the overwhelmingly positive response to the first Trailblazing Horsewomen event, we knew we had to continue these conversations, which strongly align with our mission to build an inclusive community across equine sports.  You’ll find that this group of exceptional ladies is bound by their ultimate passion for horses, and collectively they’ve spent decades on the front lines, literally blazing a path for others to follow, which is what this show is all about.”

Tune-in to hear about Crump’s historic first female ride in the Kentucky Derby, Elliot’s record-breaking run to surpass her former boss in wins, Krone’s unmatched competitive edge, Motion’s ascent from riding as a ‘stable lad’ in wartime England, to working alongside steeplechase’s notable names, and Brothers’ journey from jockey to TV analyst, the story behind StarLadies Racing, and why she wrote her book, Inside Track: An Insider’s Guide To Horse Racing.

Where: Also on StreamHorseTV’s Facebook page or YouTube Channel 

Who: 6 Amazing Trailblazing Horsewomen (see below) on The Trailblazing Horsewomen Livestream, speaking with award-winning writer L.A. Sokolowski and StreamHorseTV’s Director of Content Natalie Mayrath.    

◆ Patti Colbert — Creator of Extreme Mustang Makeover, Equine Industry Vision Award, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Sawyer Award recipient    

A “creative marketer” who has tried to blend equine tradition with innovative engagement, the Extreme Mustang Makeover, created and presented by the Mustang Heritage Foundation where she served as Executive Director, does exactly that while showcasing the beauty, versatility and trainability of wild horses. Approved trainers get 100-120 days to go ‘from wild to mild’ before returning to compete for cash and prizes, and the horses are available for adoption or purchase via public bid.   

◆Patricia E. Kelly — Founder, Ebony Horsewomen, Inc.    

Since 1984, EHI has provided culturally competent, EAGALA-style equine-assisted therapy and psychotherapy to veterans and urban families; a Junior Mounted Patrol Unit, Park Rangers and community ambassadors; and Saturday Saddle Club in partnership with the University of Connecticut. Pat is an inductee into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum and National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame, and CNN Top 10 Hero who has appeared on the Queen Latifah and Dr. Oz shows.   

◆ Anne Kursinski — Two-time Silver medalist/five-time Olympian, USOC Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year, two-time Pan Am Gold medalist, two-time AHSA Horsewoman of the Year, Show Jumping Hall of Fame inductee, 2018 Women in Sports Coach of the Year    

Yes, she has won nearly every major equestrian competition there is to win, and has shaped her sport behind the scenes as an author, chef d’equipe, clinician, telecast analyst, and Olympic/WEG teams selector. Yet the simple description under her name on AnneKursinski.com is ‘Riding and Jumping Mentor.’ Mentorship, not medal winning, found her at the forefront of the #metoo movement as a clear voice for equestrian athlete advocacy.   

◆ Debbie Roberts Loucks —  CEO, Monty & Pat Roberts Inc. (MPRI); The Movement and Horsemanship Radio podcast    

Home is where the horse is for the daughter of NYT best-selling author and world famous ‘horse whisperer’ Monty, and sculptress Pat Roberts; since 2002, her marketing and business acumen have grown her father’s brand into a global leadership organization while building a better horse world is clearly in her genes, too. She launched the first-of-its-kind Equus Online University and the international symposium on the transformative nature of horses known as The Movement; and now, the Monty Roberts Mustang & Transition Horse Program, identifying how horses have multiple careers over their lifetime, and reframing ‘rescue’ as ‘transition.’    

◆ Lynn Palm — Trainer of four AQHA Superhorses, AQHA Professional Horsewoman of the Year, Women’s Sports Foundation Equestrian of the Year    

The world fell in love with her bridleless exhibitions on the legendary Rugged Lark, including at the 1996 Olympics, and few can match her record as an all-around trainer, showman, exhibitor and entrepreneur.   

◆ Linda Tellington-Jones, Ph.D.(H) — Founder of Tellington TTouch Training®, Massage Therapy Hall of Fame inductee, Peace Run Torch-Bearer, ARIA Lifetime Achievement Award    

Her forward thinking approach, Change the Posture, Change the Behavior, has always been ahead of its time. She has written 23 books on TTouch, printed in 15 languages, and was recognized by The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run as a Torch-Bearer (a global relay since 1987 embodying a universal aspiration for peace) for her devotion to a heart-based method that nurtures a peaceful connection between animals and people, joining such prior recipients as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Billie Jean King.     

What: On an interactive livestream event produced by StreamHorseTV, in conjunction with Horse Illustrated

Why: A salute to female influencers of the horse industry was already on the Horse Illustrated docket when StreamHorseTV Director of Content Natalie Mayrath presented the idea for a livestream “sneak peek” and Q&A with some of the feature’s trailblazing women. Mayrath is a former digital producer on women and money at Yahoo Finance and series producer on “The Vanguard,” an Emmy-nominated documentary series about influential women in the media world.    

“Our mission is to build a community across equine sports, and getting this powerhouse group of women together in conversation embodies that spirit of breaking boundaries,” said Mayrath. “They represent so many different equine industry sectors, all joining in celebration of the woman, and ultimately the horse.”

Where: Also on StreamHorseTV’s Facebook page or YouTube Channel     

About StreamHorseTV

StreamHorseTV, where horse enthusiasts join to expand their horizons, is the premier centralized livestream, replay, entertainment and education community for all international equestrian disciplines, sports and breeds. Learn more at www.StreamHorse.TV and follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.     

About Horse Illustrated 

EG Media is a leading publisher whose titles include the award-winning magazine Horse Illustrated. Horse Illustrated won the 2019 American Horse Publications General Excellence award for Self-Supported Print Publication (circulation 15,000 and over). Learn more at www.horseillustrated.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.    

About International Women’s Day  

International Women’s Day has been observed since 1911 and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. The 2021 campaign theme is Choose To Challenge because a challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change. #ChooseToChallenge