Horse racing is one of the only sports in the world where female athletes compete alongside male athletes at the highest level of competition.
No biological strength advantage is necessary to be successful in piloting a race horse to victory.
Decision making under extreme pressure, riding technique, and probably most importantly, courage to put yourself in dangerous positions at crucial stages of a race, are some of the key attributes to being a successful jockey.
And in recent times, women have been dominant.
Michelle Payne’s name will always come to mind when thinking about the trailblazers of women in racing after she became the first female to win the Melbourne Cup but the list of incredible female jockeys is now too long to narrow down to only a few.
Racing media and television coverage is well represented by incredibly insightful women who offer expertise right across the industry, and in my opinion, the greatest ambassador for our great sport is this woman.
And it’s thanks to these pioneering women that the tide is changing.
In one apprentice program in South Australia in 2024, 21 new potential hoops signed up and just one was male. In Victoria there were 12 females and one male.
And in Queensland we are about to witness the first ever female metropolitan jockey premiership winner.
24 year old Emily Lang has had an incredible season and leads the premiership with 57 winners at time of publish.
Her nearest rival? Another rising superstar of the turf in Angela Jones, who has steered home 50 winners.
Emily’s story of getting into racing is not uncommon among young women in this country and her love for the industry started with the animal.
She started riding ponies and show jumping, and in decades past this, along with working in the stables, may have been her only dream.
But because of the shifting tide in Australian racing and the trailblazing women before her, she is not on the precipice of history.
And she’s still an apprentice!
So will she be looking over her shoulder at her mate Angela Jones, who is still in the hunt to beat her?
If she didn’t have that competitive spirit, she wouldn’t be riding at the top of a sport that requires a strong dose of that very attribute.
She’ll be incredibly proud whichever way the premiership goes, as will the entire racing public.
And I dare say there are plenty more successful years ahead, regardless.