Anna Lee Aldred (April 19, 1921 – June 12, 2006) was an American

jockey 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 ...

and

trick rider Trick riding refers to the act of performing stunts while horseback riding, such as the rider standing upright on the back of a galloping horse, using a specially designed saddle with a reinforced steel horn, and specialized kossak loops for h ...

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaq ...

s. She was the first woman in the United States to receive a jockey's license. She pursued her professional

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

career from 1939 to 1945, winning many races at state and county fairs. She then pursued a second career as a trick rider from 1945 to 1950. She was inducted into the

National Cowgirl Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an educ ...

in 1983 and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.

Early life

Anna Lee Mills was born in

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The m ...

, on April 19, 1921. Her father, Tom P. Mills, was a horse trainer and racer, and raised horses together with her mother, Dottie (nee Marlow) Mills. She had two brothers who became rodeo champions, and two sisters who also performed in the rodeo. Anna Lee began riding at a young age. She won her first pony race at age 6 in an amateur competition in Montrose, and was participating in flat and relay races by age 12. She raced at amateur tracks in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

. In 1939, at age 18, she received her professional license from the Agua Caliente Racetrack in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, becoming the first U.S. woman to receive a jockey's license. Aldred said in a 2003 interview that the racetrack officials had tried to deny her application, but could not find a written rule that only men could race horses.

Career

She lost her first professional race by a nose, but went on to win "scores" of other races at state and county fairs. During her racing career, she weighed . But by 1945, having grown too tall at 5' 5" and weighing in at , she retired from horse racing. She opened a riding school in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and then embarked on a five-year career as a

s. She taught herself trick-riding skills at night in empty arenas. Among her tricks were "standing atop the saddle of a horse bolting down the arena" and "hanging by her foot from the side of a running horse". She quit her professional career upon marrying in 1950, but continued riding until she was 80. She served as a "pony boy", leading the racehorses out to the track of the Montrose Fairgrounds before races, and also appeared in rodeo ceremonies. After breaking her hip at age 80, she entered a nursing home in Montrose. There she slept under a

horse blanket A horse blanket or rug is a blanket or animal ''coat'' intended for keeping a horse or other equine warm or otherwise protected from wind or other elements. They are tailored to fit around a horse's body from chest to rump, with straps crossin ...

Awards and honors

Aldred was inducted into the

in 1983 and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004. She was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Plateau Horseman's Hall of Fame in 2018.

Personal life

In 1950, she married Wayne Aldred, a cattleman, in Raton, New Mexico. The couple adopted a son and a daughter; their daughter was killed in a motorcycle accident while in her early teens. She and her husband divorced after 35 years of marriage. Aldred died in a Montrose nursing home on June 12, 2006 at the age of 85. Her 1939 racing license, in the form of a small wooden badge, and her blue and white racing silks, are exhibited at the

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an edu ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

References

Sources

External links

Photo of Aldred performing the Cossack Drag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldred, Anna Lee 1921 births 2006 deaths American female jockeys Trick riding Women stunt performers Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees People from Montrose, Colorado