Destined to be a jockey: Justine Klaiber finds success in quarter horse racing
RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO — Growing up in Arizona and Colorado, Justine Klaiber was destined to be a jockey.
Her mother Leslie Peterson is a former trainer and now an outrider at Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma and Klaiber took to the sport early and would gallop horses. Klaiber, 26, is beginning to make a name for herself, most notably in the world of quarter horse racing.
This summer she is riding full-time at Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino, where the top quarter horses come to chase the glory of the sports biggest races, including the All American Futurity on Labor Day.
"I really love the quarter horses," Klaiber said. "You can feel the energy of the horse, the intensity of the race with the horse going a short distance and them giving everything they have for whatever the distance is. It's a great feeling to be out there."
For the most part, Klaiber has been the lone woman riding at Ruidoso Downs this summer and she's one of a handful of women who ride in New Mexico.
"I go out and work hard every day," Klaiber said. "That's all I can do and be the best I can be. If I show I can get the job done, the respect comes, the ability to get mounts in races comes. I am doing what I love and every day is important to me."
Klaiber has proven she can ride at a high level. In 2020, Klaiber won atop Apollitical Gold in the Grade 1, Golden State Million Futurity at Los Alamitos Race Course in California. She was the first woman to win a million dollar race at Los Alamitos.
"Winning that race was an amazing feeling and it was a such a big race against great horses," she said. "It's a feeling I'll never forget."
Klaiber has ridden at tracks in Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa and Oklahoma.
One of the female riders she has always looked up to was the famed Tami Purcell Burkland, who won every major Quarter Horse race and is the only woman to have won the All American Futurity. Burkland rode a filly named Corona Cash in 1997 at the All American, and at the Champion of Champions in 1996 was aboard Dashing Folly. When Burkland retired from racing in 2000, she was Quarter Horse racing's all-time leading female rider of money earners. She rode in 9,475 horse races, winning 2,142, including 87 stakes wins.
"Tami was a great rider and someone who set a high standard of riding," Klaiber said. "I learn a lot from watching others and see what might work for me and what might not work for me. I just want to be the best I can be every day."
Veteran horse racing analyst Tom Dawson has watched Klaiber race many times and has been impressed with the young jockey.
"Justine is talented, she is steady and she doesn't get rattled on a horse," Dawson said. "She's certainly improved through the years and has accomplished some great things."
This past weekend in Ruidoso, Klaiber qualified Hooked N Gone for the 400-yard Rainbow Invitational for horses who just missed qualifying for the Rainbow Futurity. The horse is trained by Eddie D. Willis.
"I'm always grateful for the opportunities I've been given in this sport," Klaiber said. "There are so many great horses, jockeys and trainers. The ultimate goal is to win an All American Futurity and Ruidoso is the place to be challenged at a high level. I know I have to work hard every day and be ready when I get my chance."
More: Horse racing continues in Ruidosohttps://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/2022/07/11/rainbow-futurity-oaks-and-derby-at-ruidoso-downs/65370117007/
Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Justine Klaiber finding success in quarter horse racing
