The Apprentice: A Young Jockey Takes the Reins

Amelia Hauschild has ambition to ride in the Kentucky Derby one day, but she knows how tough it is to be a young woman in the sport of kings. In this short documentary, the 16-year-old has just gotten her apprentice jockey license, and competes in her first professional race at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz.

Hauschild is among the youngest jockeys in the west today. Her mother says her daughter always wanted to be a jockey — she never outgrew her childhood passion — and now she’s finishing high school through online courses so she can train daily. Hauschild, who recently celebrated her 17th birthday, says the discipline and strength required by the sport is intense but she likes to work hard.

Female jockeys are not as rare as they once were, but they only make up about 9% of the professional jockeys in the U.S. today, according to the Jockeys’ Guild, Inc of Lexington, Ky.