Kusner, "Kathy" (Kathryn H.)
Equestrian Sports, Horse Racing
b. March 21, 1940, Gainesville, FL
A world-class dressage rider, Kusner was also the first woman ever given a jockey license. She began riding when she was ten years old. A member of the gold medal three-day event teams at the 1963 Pan-American Games and the 1964 Olympics, Kusner won the 1966 International Grand Prix aboard Untouchable. The following year, she became the first rider ever to win the event two years in a row on the same horse.
In November of 1967, Kusner applied for a jockey license in Maryland and was turned down. She told reporters, "Horse riding is more a game of technique and skill than strength. It's the same as playing chess with men, so I don't intend to give up the fight." A year later, a judge ruled that she'd been denied a license because of sex discrimination and ordered the Maryland Racing Commission to license her.
A broken leg delayed her debut as a jockey, but she began racing in 1969 and rode her first winner at Pocono Downs that September. Her career as a jockey was rather brief because she began to have problems making the weight. However, Kusner continued riding as an amateur equestrian and was a member of the U. S. team that won a silver medal in the 1972 Olympics. She is a member of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.
Kusner's accomplishment have gone well beyond riding. She was the first woman to work as a Jet Lear pilot, and she holds commercial, multi-engine, instrument, seaplane, and aerobatics ratings.
She has been scuba diving all over the world, including the Red Sea, Great Barrier Reef, and South China Sea. Kusner has also been division champion as a 10,000-meter and marathon runner.