Saskatoon's trailblazing jockey, Joan Phipps, honoured at Marquis Downs

Joan Phipps, a jockey who grew up near Marquis Downs in Saskatoon, and pushed past many barriers for women, was honoured this past weekend at the racetrack. 

Phipps, 60, was a girl when she first fell in love with horses. She grew up near the Exhibition Grounds in Saskatoon and learned how to ride horses and do rodeo skills with the 4-H club. At the age of 16, she decided to move east.

"I had friends that were going to the race track in Winnipeg to work and make money," said Phipps. "They asked me if I'd come along, quit school, Grade 10, and off I go."

'Darn, I don't like running second' 

Once she arrived at the track, she was allowed only to walk the horses because she was considered too small. She was frustrated but determined. 

"I went to the rail, and I studied all the riders, and I knew exactly what to do."

Eventually Phipps convinced one of the trainers, Carl Anderson, to put her on a horse and give her a few pointers, so she could ride in the Powder Puff Derby for women. With a couple of weeks before the race, he let her try out a horse, and taught her how to gallop.

At the finish line, her friend came in ahead of her, and her second place finish gave her motivation.

"I thought, 'Darn, I don't like running second, but I really like riding races.'"

'I knew I could do it'

From that point she found other trainers and owners who would let her ride. Her first official race against male jockeys was in 1972.

Phipps said she had a lot of support from some people, and not enough support from others. 

She recalled some people in the crowd yelling that she should get back in the kitchen.  

"But I didn't pay much attention," said Phipps. "I just knew what I wanted."

She said it was always up owners and trainers to decide who could ride their horses. 

"I had a lot of disappointments," she said. "But there were a number of people who would give me a shot."

Breakthrough in New Zealand

Phipps became part of New Zealand history after meeting another female rider at a women's competition in Brazil. At that moment, women were still fighting the courts for the right to ride against men in New Zealand.  

The rider encouraged Phipps to apply, and because she had already served an apprenticeship and was a journeyman rider, she was eventually accepted to race in 1977.  

Career cut short from injuries

Phipps has many broken bones from her time as a jockey, and her career came to an early end from injuries.

In 1978, a horse flipped in a gate and re-injured a knee that had already been badly hurt before. Despite treatment and attempted comebacks, she retired in 1982. 

"It was extremely devastating," said Phipps.

'It's a non issue today'

Women in Canada have been riding against men since the late 1960s, and Phipps said "it's a non issue today." 

She said that it comes down to how individuals approach their horses, not gender.

"I've learned from the top rider in the world," she said, "the most gentle hands on a horse I've ever seen."