Jockey

With Justify winning the Triple Crown it is a good time to write about those who ride the horses.

Transgender jockey inspired by Caitlyn Jenner switches from Vince to Victoria
CNN Sports
By Matt Majendie
June 8, 2018

(CNN) Victoria Smith has lost count of the number of times she sat in the weighing room, her stomach aflutter with pre-race nerves and anticipation.

But last month, the return to familiar ground for the 52-year-old was the first as a woman, competing in a charity race at British racecourse Warwick.

As Vince Smith, she boasted 250 races as a jockey before hanging up the whip but has made a return to the saddle as she transitions to becoming a woman making her the first jockey to ride as both a male and female.

"The reaction of the racing community has been fabulous," said Smith, who finished second on her return on board the gelding Roy Rocket.

Good for her and it is fabulous that she has the support of the other jockeys.

Yet in the often macho world of horse racing, she felt too nervous to make her secret public until last year.

Partially inspired by Caitlyn Jenner and Kellie Maloney, who both transitioned from the "male-dominated sports worlds" of the decathlon and boxing respectively, helped instil a bit more confidence in Smith.

As more of us are in the public spotlight more of us are emboldened to come out of the shadows.