Competition fires were still burned for Andrea Seefeldt Knight when her professional jockey career ended in the fall of 1994 after 14 years in irons, many have spent things not – or at least very little – women never rider.
There was the brief thought of a return in 2010 after Seefeldt Knight participated in the inaugural Legends for the Cure, a historic bet-mutual race on its home track of the Pimlico race course featuring many pioneering sports jockeys in the fight against cancer.
A full -time return has never materialized – two last mounts occurred in the 2011 and 2014 Lady Legends, winning the latter in his last year – and Seefeldt Knight ended up by approaching 50 with the journey of his days as a very lively professional adhesive and, for the moment, dissatisfied.
It didn't last long. Seefeldt Knight, now 58 years old, has gone from the hippodrome to the range and has become the most accomplished sports clay shooters in the country. Her list of distinctions reflects the success she has led that brought it to some of the largest sports races, including Preakness Stakes (G1), which celebrates its 150th Run on May 17 in Pimlico.
“When you break a target, you get such a rush to adrenaline. When you miss a target, you become crazy enough and you just want to shoot again, and when you hit it, you want to shoot again,” said Seefeldt Knight. “It really fills the void, the competition. Just like the race, you get the same adrenaline. ”
Seefeldt Knight was only the second woman Jockey to ride in the Preakness, nine years after Patty 'Pj' Cooksey crossed in 1985. Almost two decades happened before the next woman, Rosie Napravnik, followed Seefeldt Knight in 2013. Father, British coach Jamie Osborne, in the average jewel of this year.
“It is 19 years after I can be mounted there that Rosie went up there. It is quite difficult to believe,” said Seefeldt Knight. “When I retired, I really thought that women jockeys were going to dominate in five or 10 years because at that time (Julie) Krone led the rider everywhere, Diane Nelson did in New York. Let's go back.
Seefeldt Knight's driving career started in 1981, and she reached heights in a single season of 81 victories in 1990 and $ 1,352,651 in scholarship gains in 1993, one of the five times that she reached seven figures. Winner of 605 races and more than three dozen participations, she was appointed Jockey of the year of Maryland in 1991 when she became the third woman to go up in Kentucky Derby (G1) and first to go up – and always the only one to win – Le Pennsylvania Derby.
Then, by working like his own agent, Seefeldt Knight received the call at forty years for the derby when Mark Johnston, a leading rider from Maryland who had just lost his apprentice, removed the horse to ride the full day of the derby Card in Pimlico. She called the coach, Reggie Vardon, who put her in touch with the owner Sam Morrell. After being refused by their first replacement choice, the future temple of Krone renown, Seefeldt Knight, was only reserved for 48 hours of the time of the post.
“This is the only thing I beat it, it is to ride in the derby before it does it, only because she refused the horse. Mr. Morrell reminded me at 10 am Thursday evening and said:” Pack your bags, you go there. “It was just an incredible feeling,” said Seefeldt Knight.
“It was really fun to go around the next day by telling the people I had to take off their horses because I go to the derby,” she added. “They said,” Oh yeah? ” Have fun there “and I say to myself,” No, I'm going at the derby. He never crossed the mind of anyone I could ride in the derby. »»
When his turn arrived at Preakness, Seefeldt Knight found himself aboard Bob Meyerhoff Homebred huge, formed by Dickie Small. She survived four consecutive victories to start her 3 -year season, including three issues capped by the private terms of Pimlico. They crossed the second thread by a nose in a three -photo photo finish in the Federico Tesio, their Preakness preparation, but were disqualified to last interference.
“The most exciting victory I had was not Le Pennsylvania Derby, he was imminent in private terms,” said Seefeldt Knight. “(Track advertiser) Dave Johnson called him 15 (lengths) at the three eighth and 12 pole and 12 pole pole and he got up and won the race. It was the most exciting thing. Mr. Meyerhoff in the winner's circle, it was the most animated than I had seen. He was more animated than when we won the Pennsylvania Derby.”
The race as a concern with concern, which would deprive an upheaval in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) for Meyerhoff and Small, the two committees followed the Preakness field at the start before the concern made a late third race while taking advantage of seventh in the 10th.
“The Preakness for me was a home game,” said Seefeldt Knight. “I have led every big day there before. I rolled the day of Preakness, I rolled in the special pimlico three times, which is very similar to the preakness. The jockeys descend the steps, cross the track with all the cameras, have nailed to the inner field.
“(Imminent) was a longhot. It was simply not this horse caliber,” she added. “With him and the concerns at the same time in the same race, they both had the same style of racing, which was to follow the field. When they are there, they relax more and they breathe and they just have a bigger kick. We were the head and the head with most of the race, so I think it took a little more of us.”
When his driving career ended, Seefeldt Knight, who moved to Maryland in Florida at the age of 8, turned to show horses and fox hunt. Being included with the Lady Legends has rekindled a smoked flame since retirement.
“I was removed for 16 years,” said Seefeldt Knight. “At that time, the fox hunt was several times a week, (and) he filled my rush to adrenaline and wanted to train for something. After the first lady's legends race in 2010, (coach) Mike Trombetta put me on a very beautiful chic horse in a race (allowance). He came by running and finished second.
“After the race, being in good shape and training every day and being back at the racetrack, it was so fun that I decided that I wanted to become Jockey again. I was 48,” she added. “Trombetta said he was going to make the horse back to Monmouth (Park), a few other people said they put me on horses and I really considered it. The wiser person in me has won because I should start again, and I should still lose 10 additional pounds. ”
Although The Lady Legends did not lead to a renewed driving career, she led Seefeldt Knight to found comfort and satisfaction in sports clays. With the same zeal as she approached her jockey career, she transformed curiosity into passion and, in doing so, has not only become a decorated world class shooter, but is much sought after as an instructor.
“I really loved training and running, so I thought,” What can I do else? ” I need another sport. “I had shot the previous year a bit. A bunch of women with whom I chased, we would meet once a week (and) a guy had a trap machine and clay pigeons. I was wondering if there were competitions for this and it turns out that there are. I became addicted.
“I went to Anthony Matarese. He is one of the best shooters in the world and he is a better teacher. I was lucky. I had the best lessons. I fully lying down because I trained, I know how to train and work towards something. This is how I embarked on sports clays, because of the breed of legends. In search of another dependence, ”she added. “It is dedication, training. I know how to train. I did research, I read, I wanted to learn. I read as much as possible on this subject, I watched all the videos I could find. When I started to teach, I audit, I would adapt Anthony's lessons and when my students had a lesson with him, I looked. I was simply learning. I really like to learn things. ”
Seefeldt Knight participated in clay shooting tournaments across the country and around the world, returning from Ireland in 2019 as the English world championship Ictsf, Lady Silver Medal Winner. She is a classmaker, an All-American National Clay Association of the National Clays and a fifteenth-fifty champion of Maryland State.
In addition, Seefeldt Knight is an NSCA certified instructor, with more than 2,600 hours of coaching and clay and wing teaching. Product of the Aim shooting school in Matarese, where she is also a member of the shooting team, she is a resident instructor in First Mine Run, a private club from Baltimore, and has sat on the board of directors of Loch Raven Skeet & Trap where she redesigned and managed the 5 sports loops of 5 stands and always helps targets on the two courses.
“I'm all,” she said. “As a jockey, I was not at the top. I was doing really well but I don't consider myself at the top. I was on average, maybe a little better and the same thing in this game. I had good days, a bit like old ounce or an ounce and an eighth shell, which is like three to four hundred pastilles.
Seefeldt Knight will be at the Pimlico Preakness Weekend, meeting old friends and making new ones in the unique point of view as a spectator who really knows what it takes to succeed.
“The conduct was not difficult to be tall (because) I folded very well on a horse. It was the weight. The weight was a problem,” she said. “There were so many women who have proven that they could (ride). It's just difficult. It's really difficult. To be a jockey, a man or a woman, it is a very difficult profession. ”
