Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

Danielle Hodsdon Blends The Best Of Both Worlds

When Danielle Hodsdon moved from New Hampshire to Virginia to study athletic training at Shenandoah University, she'd never even dreamt that she might ride in a race. She showed up in Winchester, Va., with her event horse and worked as a waitress to pay his board. But between working and school, she had so little time to spend with her horse, who she'd evented through preliminary, that she decided to sell him.

"I just happened to meet someone who knew Jimmy Day and [knew] that he was looking for another rider," said Hodsdon.

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When Danielle Hodsdon moved from New Hampshire to Virginia to study athletic training at Shenandoah University, she’d never even dreamt that she might ride in a race. She showed up in Winchester, Va., with her event horse and worked as a waitress to pay his board. But between working and school, she had so little time to spend with her horse, who she’d evented through preliminary, that she decided to sell him.

“I just happened to meet someone who knew Jimmy Day and [knew] that he was looking for another rider,” said Hodsdon.

So Hodsdon started riding for Day, a steeplechase trainer based in Millwood, Va., and rode in a handful of races while she worked for him for 2 1/2 years. “I liked riding and galloping, but I didn’t see doing it full time,” said Hodsdon, who did complete an internship in athletic training after she graduated. “But I never ended up doing the athletic training.”

She then worked for Tom Voss in Maryland for two years, riding second or third call for races, before landing a job with legendary steeplechase and flat track trainer Jonathan Sheppard, for whom she’d ridden a race at Saratoga (N.Y.).

Since Voss’ barn slowed down in the winter, Hodsdon hoped to spend the winter riding flat horses for Sheppard at Gulfstream Park (Fla.), but when that stint ended, she went to Camden, S.C., to work with his steeplechasers. That was three years ago, before she’d ever imagined she might be the National Steeplechase Association’s rider of the year.

“I didn’t hardly know her,” recalled Sheppard. “But she started galloping for us, and then when a girl in Camden broke her leg, I was short a rider there. She was in the right place at the right time.”

Hodsdon, who is based in Kennett Square, Pa., but spends half the year with the horses in Camden or Saratoga (N.Y.), added, “It just kind of went from there. When things worked out, I became the regular stable jockey. He’s been very good to me.”

Hodsdon, 30, credited her relationship with Sheppard as the crucial element in her title-winning year. But she enjoyed more than just winning the races for him.

“I enjoy the training the most,” she said. “I ride the same horses all the time, and I enjoy getting them ready, knowing where they’re at—it’s very rewarding. There’s the thrill of winning a race, but doing it on a horse for Jonathan is even more meaningful because I’ve seen them come along.”

The spring went especially well for Hodsdon and Sheppard, who were leading their respective NSA divisions at the end of that season. “Jonathan wrote me a nice note at the end of the spring, saying thanks for the hard work and that it was nice to be on the top at the end of the spring,” recalled Hodsdon. “When it carried through to the rest of the year, it was pretty exciting. I thought I might [finish the year] second or third [in the NSA standings], but by the end of the fall, [winning the title] seemed like it might be a reality.”

For Sheppard, winning the year-end title wasn’t a new experience. “I still wanted to win, but I was almost as concerned to help her be the leading rider,” he said. “It’s a feather in anyone’s cap, particularly if you’re female, so my strategy was devoted to helping her as much as I could so long as it didn’t hurt my chances. I’m very happy for her; she deserved it.”

A Tough Career
As only the second female to win the national title, Hodsdon’s victory had special meaning, especially since she’d always admired Blythe Miller, who won the title in 1994 and 1995.

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“It’s a pretty big deal—every jockey would like to be champion,” said Hodsdon. “I’ve watched Blythe ride, and she’s inspiring. She’s gritty and tough, and it’s neat to be the next girl who’s champion after her.”

But Hodsdon refuses to see herself as an underdog in what has always been a male-dominated sport. “Like any horse sport, some horses go better for girls, and some go better for guys,” she said. “There’s a number of horses in our barn that I just don’t have the strength to ride, but there’s a number of horses we have who respond better to women.”

If she rode freelance, said Hodsdon, her work would be harder, but she said she benefits from knowing the horses in Sheppard’s barns. “I can figure out what I get along with and what I don’t,” she said. “Some trainers might be prejudiced, but I’ve been lucky with Jonathan—he’s very open to female riders.”

Hodsdon said females have as many opportunities in racing if they’re drawn to it. “With eventing, I wasn’t stellar in the dressage and show jumping—I’m more into moving and action, which more males tend to be into,” she said. “But when working with horses, there’s really not such an advantage to being male. We’re pretty equal once we’re out there. There’s just as many opportunities if girls want to do it and work hard.”

Sheppard said Hodsdon isn’t afraid to work extra hard. “By her work ethic, she’s definitely a great example to everyone who works for me,” he said. “She’s extremely focused, and she never complains.”

Hodsdon considers herself lucky to have avoided many serious falls. A bad concussion at Radnor (Pa.) one year is one of her worst, but she’s also dislocated a hip and had several broken collarbones. “I don’t worry about it while I’m doing it, but as far as head injuries, you have to keep tabs on it, because that can end a career,” she said. “But it’s not something I stress about.”

A Good Rapport
Hodsdon works until about 2 p.m. for Sheppard, seven days a week, then she works with a horse she’s training herself. Honor Emblem is a 5-year-old that Hodsdon found as a 3-year-old for owner Peter Levendis at Delaware Park. “He’s run over fences and on the flat and hasn’t broken his maiden yet, but he will,” she insisted.

“I love to train. I don’t know how much of a reality that is [for a career], because it’s tough to get into without a lot of financial backing,” she said. “But I’ve had a lot of fun with this horse, and I do everything with him.”

Sheppard said Hodsdon has all the ingredients to be a top trainer. “Her focus and dedication around the barn and her attention to detail should stand her in good stead if and when she starts to train,” he said. “Unlike most jockeys, she takes on responsibilities more than her job would require–she helps with feeding, bandaging their legs, deciding what kind of equipment they should have, and we talk about that. Part of our success is because we talk about the horses and what they’re doing. You’re not going to do well if you’re not on the same wavelength, and I’ve nearly always had a good rapport with [my riders] in the years I’ve been leading trainer.”

Hodsdon noted there are aspects of her eventing career that she still utilizes in her new profession. “I have a good eye for a fence; I just had to learn racing technique,” she said. “I had to break the habit of trying to find a spot all the time.”

She recalled Day putting her on older horses and telling her to just sit still, not to ride to a spot. “It was hard to let my control go, but I still use it if the horse needs help,” she said. “I have it instinctually there.”

Sheppard agreed: “If I had my choice of rider between a [flat track] jockey who didn’t have any show experience or a show rider who didn’t have any racing experience, I would always pick the one with a show ring background,” he said. “She’s always been a very pretty rider. She may have erred on the side of being too particular about how her horse is going and how he’s going to meet the fence. You have to throw a little of that to the wind. But now she’s arrived at a state where she’s taken the best of both worlds. Very seldom do I see a horse have a bad fence with her.”

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Sheppard also appreciates Hodsdon’s relationship with his horses. “She gets to know the horses, and she’s made a project of the ones who need a little extra,” he said. “If a horse is racing soon, we always make a point of having her give it its last school.”

Not surprisingly, Hodsdon names stakes winner Mixed Up as her favorite. The pair won stakes races at Iroquois (Tenn.), Philadelphia Park (Pa.) and the prestigious New York Turf Writers Cup Grade I at Saratoga. “I’ve had the most success with him, but he was a difficult horse in the beginning,” she said. “It took a long time to get on the same page, so it’s very rewarding when he does well. He’s really intense and high-strung.”

She also enjoys Three Carrot, despite the fact that he fell the first time she rode him. “He’s the nicest horse,” she said. “He’s not overly blessed with speed or talent, but he has a ton of heart and puts it all out there when he runs.”

Hodsdon’s boyfriend, Matt McCarron, finished the year ranked second in the NSA standings, with 18 wins to Hodsdon’s 21. Hodsdon said they help each other out as much as possible. “We try and keep the competitiveness out of our home,” she said. “He’s been extremely good, even when I beat him. I can tell it bothers him, but he’s good about it. I’m the one who makes myself stand back and not take it from a competitive level to a personal level.”

Whenever they can, Hodsdon and McCarron will get each other rides. “It’s fun to have someone to bounce ideas off of and critique your riding,” she said.

Sheppard said Hodsdon and McCarron have both benefited from the relationship. “They talk about different styles of riding, and he’s much more experienced as a jockey and has probably helped her,” Sheppard said. “And she’s helped him because she’s so good over fences.”

In addition to having good hands, and always keeping her horses balanced, Sheppard said Hodsdon always saves something for the latter part of the race. “She comes to the last fence with a little bit of horse left,” he said. “And she does well under pressure.”

But Hodsdon was modest about her reasons for winning so much this year. “I just had a lot of really nice horses, and Jonathan had a good year overall,” she said. “I think being the NSA president has made him take more of a look at his jumpers. He’s been really focused on his jumpers and gone to a lot of the hunt meets. He’s had some nice maidens, and we got a lot of numbers that way. I think he and I are in a niche together.”

Hodsdon used to write out three goals every year—to win a stakes race, or to win at Saratoga. “I’ve built on it each year,” she said. “I’m not sure how I’m going to top what I did, but I’d like to be up there in the top three, and win some stakes, and win at Saratoga.”

Sheppard said Miller sent him a Christmas card congratulating their record last year. “She was very generous in her praise of Danni, and she said she hopes Danni will end up breaking her record,” said Sheppard. “It depends on how long she keeps at it; you never know. She’s got a ways to go, but it could happen.”

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