Anna Lee Aldred

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Anna Lee Aldred (April 19, 1921 – June 12, 2006) was the first woman in the United States to receive a jockey's license.

She was born Anna Lee Mills in Montrose, Colorado in 1921. After officials at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Mexico were unable to find a rule that would bar women jockeys, she was given a license in 1939. She lost her first professional race by a nose, but went on to win many races in state and country fairs. Six years later, having grown too tall at 5'5" and weighing in at 118 pounds, she retired from horse-racing and began a second career as a trick rider in rodeos. She married cattleman Wayne Aldred; that marriage later ended in divorce. Aldred was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas in 1983. She continued riding until breaking her hip in 2001 and died in June 2006 in Montrose at the age of 85. - Aldred galloped into history as first female jockey in U.S., Denver Post]