Jockey Rides to Victory in Bipolar Disorder Stakes

So she saved money for a riding helmet and vest. In 2001, a kindly, elderly horse-farm owner, who turned out to be one of the pioneers in the Florida horse-racing industry, began training her to become a jockey. "He inspired and motivated me to search for something higher than myself," she recalled.

In 2004, she moved to Chicago and managed to ride in her first professional race, and then another—which qualified her for a jockey's license. She was now, at age 37, an official player in a physically brutal sport where, as she noted, women, African Americans, and mentally ill individuals are generally shunned.

"Countless times I have seen jockeys launched from their thousand-pound steeds, then trampled by oncoming horses, [but] I had done what I wanted to do!" she exclaimed. "If it was the last moment of my life, I knew that I would be able to pass away with a smile on my face."

But more achievements were to come—her first win in Chicago in December 2007, when she was 40 years old and with her family present and cheering her on. And 15 more wins since then "in spite of a terrible riding accident in May 2009, where I broke my neck in four places and crushed part of my skull."

As for her bipolar disorder, it has been both a blessing and a curse for her work as a jockey. For example, she has sometimes been in a manic phase while riding, and it was a "definite advantage because you feel as if you can overcome anything and accomplish anything." But she also has to be careful not to ride when her manic phases take her "over the top" and rob her of good judgment. Fortunately she is now more adept at sensing when she is heading in that direction than when she was younger, she said. And as far as her depressive episodes are concerned, they are a drawback in her work; she can't ride at all until they lift.

Today Harris works as a jockey at Delaware Park in Wilmington. Her three children are in college, and her father is still living. "I want to make sure that they have what they need to be as secure as they can be," she said, adding that although jockey pay isn't great, the money isn't bad either.

As for the future, she contemplates getting certified to do equine-assisted therapy with inner-city children or people with mental disabilities. "Sure, I would love to race in the Kentucky Derby, but the therapeutic aspects of horses and helping other people are even more important to me."

Her advice to other people, especially those with bipolar disorder? "We all have setbacks and obstacles. But don't give up on your dreams and goals. Maybe you can't accomplish all that you would like to, but you can surely accomplish some of it. And that will put a smile not just on your face, but in your heart and soul!"