Kayla Stra (born 3 December 1984) is a jockey and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

who began racing in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, until coming to compete in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at racetracks in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. She currently rides once again in Southern California, after riding in the

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

circuit. This was after a 2-year riding stint in the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

area. Stra is also known for her appearances on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show ''

Jockeys A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...

'' on

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. Kayla Stra was born in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Australia, where she launched her career in horseracing prior to moving to California in late 2007. From a very young age, Stra was interested in horses, having talked her parents into buying her a pony when she was eight years old. During her late

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

and

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

, Stra worked at racing stables and eventually bought her first horse—a Thoroughbred named Gurtie, which she trained on her own for picnic races (unregistered race horses) before getting her certificate in racing. Stra acknowledges her first trainer, Ray Moore, as someone who has had a strong racing influence in her life. Moore taught Stra how to be a horseman—how to communicate with horses by reading their body language and having a keen feel for what they're thinking. Stra credits John Letts as one of her mentors for his outstanding jockey career, having won two

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

s and hundreds upon hundreds of stake races. As an apprentice, Stra was always in the top five riders and won all her premierships. During this time, she began traveling to different tracks to learn more from those experiences. Stra eventually racked up approximately 500 victories in her native country and became the "poster girl" for Australian horseracing. Now, she hopes to continue that success in the much larger US market. Racing in California, on 9 November 2007 Kayla Stra won her first American race aboard Flying Bearcat at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

. One notable victory was at Santa Anita on 49–1 longshot Paddin' Mud. In addition, Kayla scored an opening day victory at Del Mar with King Ledley, and then scored another victory aboard the same horse within three weeks. King Ledley is owned by Racing Capital Group, LLC, which is a race horse syndication company who primarily uses Kayla as their jockey. Racing Capital Group's web site is racingcapitalgroup.com., where she is their featured jockey. Stra's career goal to date is to hang in the game and not let the industry down. But here, she will face the toughest competitors in the world—serious professional athletes who are not likely to cut any slack for the new girl. Stra became a leading Adelaide apprentice jockey who posted 220 winners in Australia. Her biggest Australian win was in the 2005 City of Marion Stakes with gelding Navy Shaker. Stra was one of the jockeys featured in

's 2009

show, ''

''. It lasted for two seasons. Stra returned to professional horse racing in January 2013, after the birth of her son, Brys Headley, in November 2012. Soon after her return to racing, a steward banned her from the Betfair Hollywood Park jockeys' room for breastfeeding her son. One of the stewards had allegedly told Stra's agent that she needed to decide whether she was going to focus on caring for her child or her profession. California Horse Racing Board chairman David Israel overruled the steward, stating "Kayla Stra's baby can be in the jocks' room. Her nanny can be with the baby. And both the mother and the nanny can do all the things they need to do."

Notes

External links

* http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=People&searchType=J&eID=128037
Video profile of Kayla Stra at YouTube

Jockey Kayla Stra - Winning the Finale at Santa Anita aboard Paddlin Mud

Jockey Kayla Stra aboard Lucious Antonius, edging out Chantal Sutherland at Santa Anita
* http://www.drf.com/news/santa-anita-notes-stra-wins-first-race-comeback * http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/kayla-stra_n_3568079.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Stra, Kayla 1984 births American female jockeys Australian emigrants to the United States Australian female jockeys Living people Participants in American reality television series Sportspeople from Adelaide 21st-century American women Sportswomen from South Australia