Press Clips
Hundreds of articles about Wantha Davis appeared on the sports pages of newspapers across the country. Her smiling face in winners' circle photos was a novelty. She was the featured subject of four newsreels. The old-fashioned, pre-feminist commentary seems dated by today's standards.
One reporter described Wantha as “a beautiful girl with a sunshine personality, who insists thet she is an old fashioned girl who doesn’t drink, smoke, care for cosmetics, goes to Church, likes the comfort of trousers verses dresses, is happy and contented—a splendid specimen of an out-door girl.”
Praise came from one of the era’s most knowledgeable racing columnists, Oscar Otis. He opined that Davis was not only “the best girl rider in America” but “among the 10 most able riders in the nation” such as Eddie Arcaro and Johnny Longden.
After Wantha's 1949 victory over Johnny Longden, Nelson Fisher wrote in the San Diego Union, “By now even the most calloused skeptics over the idea of a girl competing against a boy are acknowledging she has what it takes.” In 1953, Fisher wrote that Wantha rode horses “like most male jockeys would like to.”
Her equestrian skills were well recognized but the phenomenon of a female jockey was often the focus of media attention, resulting in pejorative headlines like these:
“Comely Saddle Marvel Facing Double Trouble”
“Girl Jockeys Tangle Today at Border Oval”
“Horse Racing is Fun for Girl Jockey”
“Her Son Can Boast Mother’s a Jockey”
“Wonderful Wantha Faces Male Riders”
“Girl Shows Up as Star Rider: Petite Jockey Proves Real Skill on Local Track”
“Gal Jockey Longs to Boot 'Em Home”
“Housewife Beats Longden at Agua!”
“Longden Sad After Loss to Girl Jockey”
“Girl Exercise Boy Called One in Million”
“Feminine Jockey, Hit with Crowd”
Recent Press Clips
| Publication | Article | Author | Date | Vol | No | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington Herald-Leader | Wantha Davis Jockeyed for Spot in a Man's World | Maryjean Wall | Dec-02 |
1, A13
|
||
| Austin American- Statesman | Long Shot for the Hall of Fame | Kevin Robbins | Dec-02 |
1, A14
|
||
| Riders Up | Columbus—Wantha Davis | Louis Hildebrandt | 2003 |
74
|
||
| The Game | Railbird—A Look at Racing in British Columbia | Jim Reynolds | Mar-03 |
27
|
31
|
|
| The Blood-Horse | The Lady Who Beat Longden | Raymond V. Whelan | Apr-03 |
1914
|
||
| Texas Thoroughbred | Queen of Hearts | Kevin Robbins | May-03 |
28
|
4
|
68
|
| Star-Telegram | Cowgirl Hall Adds to Ranks | Richard Rodriquez | 2004 | |||
| The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Induction | Oct-04 | |||||
| Texas Highways | Looking Back at 2004—Ride 'Em | Jack Lowry | Dec-04 |
52
|
||
| The Liberal Light | Wantha Bangs Davis—A Brave Woman in the Racing Game | Lidia Gray | Dec-04 |
5
|
||
| Cowbows & Indians | Open Range—Inducted | Jan-05 |
13
|
1
|
48
|
|
| The Texas Thoroughbred | Wantha Davis, Queen of the Texas Bush Tracks, Inducted Into Cowgirl Hall of Fame | Shelby Downs | Mar-05 |
30
|
3
|
14
|
| Lone Star Horse Report | Belle of the Bush Track | Dan Talbot | Apr-05 |
23
|
4
|
1, 10, 41
|
| Thoroughbred Times | The Girl Can Ride | Bill Mooney | Nov-05 |
21
|
45
|
73-74
|
