Moms In Racing: Shaping the Sport On and Off the Track

In a sport built on speed and stamina, the people behind the scenes rarely stop moving. And for the horsewomen who are also mothers, the pace is even demanding—but so is the purpose.

They're used to remarks like, “I don't know how you do it all,” “Do you ever sleep?” and “You're like superwoman!”

“I'm definitely not superwoman,” Tessa Walden responded when that last one was posed to her. “Being a stay-at-home mom is probably even harder than being a working mom. But I do think moms are kind of unsung heroes. I have a new respect for mine while I'm doing this, let's put it that way.”

By “doing this,” Walden means raising a 2-year-old son and a 6-month-old daughter with her husband, trainer Will Walden, while also working as an assistant for Brad Cox Racing Stable. She oversees tasks like nominations and payroll and helps out during morning training. Walden also runs her own digital consignment business, Evergreen Equine.

A younger version of herself never would have imagined being where she is now.

“I did not want to be a mom at all,” Walden admitted. “All I wanted to do was ride horses. I felt like I wouldn't be able to do my job with kids. It's a struggle enough without kids, so I really didn't think it would be possible to have a family and do the job at the level I was doing it. Work has just always been really important to me.”

Walden knows the reality that oftentimes the racing industry is less than accommodating for new moms, but looking back now, she considers herself lucky to have had a positive experience.

“I thought that if I had a child, I would be fired, literally,” she said. “But that couldn't have been further from the truth.”

Still, the transition came with challenges. Walden was back at the barn about a week after having her first child and she stayed in her full-time assistant role until the birth of her daughter last year. Her role has since shifted more toward the office, but she is still on the backside at Keeneland or Turfway Park most mornings, legging up a rider or watching breezes with her daughter Hailey tucked snug in her carrier.

Walden doesn't consider herself a role model, but she hopes that her story, along with others like hers, can serve as a source of inspiration.

“Being a mom in racing to me means creating an example for other women that they can do it,” she said. “They can have a family and still be involved in the industry in whatever way they want.”

Sophie Doyle had always assumed that motherhood would mark the end of her career as a jockey. She found out she was pregnant just two weeks after riding in the Breeders' Cup and struggled with the thought of stepping away at the peak of her career. But a few months after having her daughter Emilie, Doyle felt the pull of being back in the saddle and she started exercise riding for her husband Chris Davis. Together, they managed to work out a schedule for Emilie's feeding and naps around morning sets.

Last year, Doyle had the chance to return to race riding.

“It was nice to be able to come back and just enjoy it and have fun and have your daughter there on the sidelines cheering for you,” explained Doyle. “It was something that I can't believe that I ever said I would never do. I don't know why I ever doubted myself.”

Just this week, Doyle rode Chambourcin (Copper Bullet) to a maiden win at Churchill Downs for John Ennis, one of the trainers who encouraged her return to the saddle.

Oftentimes, Doyle and her daughter hang out in between races in the women's jock's room. Since Doyle usually has the space to herself, crayons and stuffed animals are scattered amongst jockey silks and riding crops.

Mare and foal at Mill Ridge Farm | Katie Petrunyak

While Emilie enjoys the racing scene now, Doyle admitted that there was an adjustment period for both mother and daughter when she picked up her tack again.

“With most jockeys being males, kids usually want their mom the majority of the time so it's okay when they take them away from their dad so they can go and take care of their job,” said Doyle. “When you've got a daughter wanting her mom who has to go into their profession, I can tell you there were a few hairy moments in the Belterra paddock. It took a few months for her to understand that her mom needs to go and do her job right now, but she got into enjoying watching me go out and ride and cheering for me on the sideline. I remember one day I was in the starting gate at Belterra and I could hear Emilie saying, 'Go Mommy! Come on Mommy! You gotta win this!' I started getting teary-eyed and said to myself, 'Alright, you've gotta be a jockey now Mom.'”

Jordan Hattaway is the owner of Hattaway Farms, a full-service boarding facility that offers foaling, breaking, prepping and rehabbing, and she is also an exercise rider for Eddie Kenneally. Two years ago, she had her son Jude.

“At first my husband and I were like, 'How are we going to do all of this and have a baby?'” she recalled. “But honestly, he kind of just fit into our lives. I'm not going to say it was seamless–there has been a lot of trial and error and a lot of having to get creative– but I'm still able to do all the same things I was doing before, just with a little bundle of joy running around with me.”

While Hattaway meets with the vet and checks on mares, Jude plays with his baby chicks. When she oversees an afternoon breaking session, her son hangs out with his pony Pongo or zooms around the indoor riding arena between sets.

“Ultimately I think that it's really fun to be able to bring your child around with you,” she said. “I think watching a little boy love animals, love the farm and love the track and watching him have such a happy, fun childhood is really rewarding. Being able to be there with him for most of it is really cool.”

Walden and Doyle often visit Hattaway at her farm, hanging out together as their children play in the green grass and open air. They say it's all part of the community that makes it work. Around every mother in racing is a web of support—fellow moms and horsewomen, barn friends, partners, mentors—who help make the impossible feel manageable.

“Yes, it's challenging,” reflected Hattaway. “But it is so rewarding at the same time.”