HRT: As a child, you wanted to be a jockey, but you got a late jump starting your career as a jockey. Why did it take so long?
Aubrie Green: This is a question with a few variables. One of the big ones involves my high school English teacher, who I looked up to very much. When he pulled me into his office one day my sophomore year, he asked me what I wanted to do with my life. When I told him I wanted to be a professional jockey his response was, “Thats a dream.” I felt crushed. I regret that I listened to him.
Before high school ended, I got married and by the time I was 20 I was pregnant with my first child and within three years I had three babies. It wasn’t until I was divorced that I started to really pursue my dream. I was pretty lost for a little while after the separation, and I truly found myself when I landed in Louisiana.
Jockey Aubrie Green Painting:
Painting By: Lynn Ashby
Photo by: Coady Photography
HRT: Do you feel like it was your fate considering your childhood dream and then seemingly out of nowhere a trainer came to you and said you can get your license? How does it make you feel?
Aubrie Green: I truly believe in fate, or whatever you prefer to call it. Everything happens for a reason. I believe that the people we meet along our path all have a purpose. There is no way that I have ended up here by accident. My journey is not over. There’s much more to transpire. But yes, I was meant to make this leap when I was battling myself about whether to become a veterinary tech or chase my dream. I fought between settling for ordinary or doing something extraordinary.
HRT: At first, you said your parents weren’t too excited about you becoming a jockey. How much has that changed now?
Aubrie Green: Me being a jockey was a huge adjustment for my family. Especially considering once I had kids, they pushed me to get rid of my horses all together as they always pose a risk of injury.
When I started riding, no they were not supportive at all. But you would have to understand the whole situation at the time. I was recently divorced, struggling to make ends meet as a vet assistant working full time and sharing custody of the kids, smothered by my ex-husbands new little insta family… I sort of ran away to be a jockey to escape the hurt I had been through.
So, while I was trying to find myself, my family didn’t understand. But it didn’t take too long for my mom to come along and recognize what this was for me. Once she saw my potential and my passion for this sport, she became my biggest fan and the rest of the family followed suit over time as well.
HRT: You said you are a natural born rider. You jumped right into the deep end of the pool, won your fourth career start on a quarter horse, won the leading apprentice at Turf Paradise and Louisiana Downs. Where does that natural ability come from?
Aubrie Green: So, riding came naturally to me. I always had a good seat on a horse, and it has always felt like the most peaceful and fulfilling place for me to be. I had to learn a lot about race riding along the way. And I’m still learning. But yeah, I jumped into the deep end of the pool without a life jacket. I only broke from the gate once before going before the stewards for a license. I broke from the gate for them in a mock race or a schooling race. And the next weekend I was riding races on quarter horses.
Aubrie Green’s daughter fishing
HRT: You’re a mother of three, what was their reaction the first time they say you race in person and how cool was that experience for you?
Aubrie Green: I have two boys and a girl. Unfortunately, the boys are not super thrilled about racing. They have had their moments where they’ve gotten a little excited about it, or they’ve written about me for their homework assignments, but it’s not too much their cup of tea. My daughter, however, loves horses, loves racing, and always comes to the races when I have her. If she were small enough, she’d love to ride but she’s going to be too big to race ride.
HRT: A few years ago, you laid out some goals, one of which was to make your internal clock better. Jose Ortiz told us the internal clock is the most important skill. First, did you achieve your goal and, secondly, how does a jockey improve their sense of time?
Aubrie Green: I believe my clock has improved but I’m still not perfect. I want to have times down to a T. To help me improve I’ve actually put a drum click in my ear and used it to count while working horses. It’s a little unconventional, but it has helped me a lot.
HRT: In describing your riding style, you said you can get a horse out, get them to relax and then turn on the aggressiveness needed in the lane to win. How much of that is internal and to what degree did your ex-agent Ronald Ardoin influence your style?
Aubrie Green: A lot of getting them out of the gate came from my initial quarter horse experience. But I have learned so much from Ronald. He’s not my agent currently, but he still reams me when I make mistakes. He has been a great influence in my riding career, and he has taught me a lot. The fact that he was a speed rider like me I think makes me feel proud to be able to strive to be like more him.
HRT: You moved from Idaho to Louisiana, or the “swamp” as you put it, what sort of culture shock was that for you?
Aubrie Green: Initially I was truly scared to death. I moved across the country, alone, pursuing a dream that seemed somehow out of reach for me for so long, and I had made many sacrifices to be here. I questioned my own decisions a lot at first. But when I landed in Louisiana, the people here were so different from back west and I didn’t feel comfortable right away. It only took a short time to realize this is where I belong.
I found myself here after being horribly lost. I fell in love with the swamp and everything that it has bred. The culture, the food, the southern hospitality. I am in love with this place. Both on and off the racetrack. I’ve never felt at home anywhere but here.
HRT: Crawfish are big in New Orleans, does the “yellow stuff” still creep you out or are you over that?
Aubrie Green: I absolutely love crawfish and that yellow stuff doesn’t bother me a bit anymore. I eat everything Cajun now! Crawfish are one of my favorite things to eat.
HRT: Where does the nickname “Pink” come from?
Aubrie Green: When I first got divorced, I was working for a vet clinic in Rigby, ID. I had bright pink strips in my hair at the time and the vet I was working for started calling me Pink. The nickname has kinda stuck as I usually keep some pink in my hair and I’m always wearing pink on the track in the mornings.
Aubrie Green Fleur-de-lis tattoo
HRT: You have a few tattoos. Some get them for the artwork, others because the tattoo has some personal meaning. Tell us about your tattoos?
Aubrie Green: my first tattoo I got when I was 18. It is a bleeding heart and it’s on my back. I used to draw it as a sort of tribute to my sister who passed away when I was a kid. I also have a tattoo on my hip that is the name of my posse horse who was my gateway into race riding. His nickname was Thor.
I have a decaying ship on my left arm with a passage from the poem, the rhyme of the ancient mariner. It is my favorite poem about the relationship between man and nature. And most recently I got a tattoo of the fleur-de-lis with the words “the real Fred Aime” surrounding it. Fred was my agent here at the fairgrounds until his lung cancer became too debilitating. He passed away last year on December 30th, the day before my birthday. I can’t say how much the relationship with Fred means to me. He and his wife Laura are family to me. I think of him every single day.
