The Jockey & Her Horse: Inspired by the True Story of the First Black Female Jockey, Cheryl White

The second book in the Once Upon a Horse series, inspired by the true story of the first Black female jockey, Cheryl White, and her horse, Jetolara, by New York Times reporter, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir and Cheryl White’s brother, Raymond White Jr.

Cheryl loves horses. She’s been studying thoroughbreds at her family’s horse racing stables since she was old enough to ride on the shoulders of her father, a famous horse trainer. Cheryl wants to be a jockey. One problem—she is a girl, and there has never been a Black female jockey in history! Jetolara is a young thoroughbred finding his place in the herd. When Cheryl literally falls onto his back, and Jeto sprints off across the pasture, Cheryl discovers that she doesn’t just want to be a jockey, she is a jockey—and she and Jeto were born to race.

Together girl and horse make history and show everyone that once you learn to love yourself, the world is yours.

“Sarah Maslin Nir has drawn on a life in love with horses to craft this wonderful novel based on the girlhood of the first Black woman jockey, Cheryl White. Like White, Nir knows the exhilaration of pounding hooves, as well as the profound connection that can form between a horse and rider. This is the kind of history we all should know: a moving story of courage and resilience.”—Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse and winner of the Pulitzer Prize