Violet Virginia "Pinkie" Smith was the first licensed female jockey in the Pacific Northwest and the sixth woman to be licensed as a jockey in the United States.
Smith grew up in Auburn, Washington. [1] Smith rode horses from the time she was a child. According to her mother, Smith was elated when she learned that "Penny Ann Early was going to break into the previously all-male occupation of riding." [1] In 1969, Smith became the first female jockey to be licensed in the Northwest and the sixth woman in the country to obtain a jockey's license. [2] She obtained an apprentice license at the Portland Meadows race track on April 22, 1969. [3]
She was the "top girl rider" at the Pitt Park Meet in 1972. [4] In 1983, Smith won the Arizona Breeders' Derby riding Arizona Brave. [2] With over 6,000 starts and more than 600 wins, she last rode races in 1988. [5]