Page 77 - Speedhorse June 2020

Cody McDaniel with
Kevin Comeaux,
to whom she attributes much of her motivation. Sadly, he passed in March of 2020.
CODY MCDANIEL
“Let your haters be your motivators.”
Cody McDaniel can trace the two significant turns of her professional path through the same person: Kevin Comeaux.
“When I first started riding, he gave me a chance and I won some races for him,” recalled McDaniel, who spent 20 years as a jockey before hanging up her silks in 2013.
Comeaux got out of the horse business for a while, then decided to partner up on some new horses with Shane Winfrey—and asked McDaniel to help.
“He’s the one who pushed me and motivated me to get my trainer’s license,” said McDaniel, who made her training debut in late 2019.
Comeaux passed away earlier this year, following a massive heart attack.
“I think in this business it’s really hard to find loyal people,” she said. “He was one of the only truly loyal people I met and continued to be friends with over the 20-something years I was involved with horses.”
When McDaniel began training, she had one horse: Witchers Cartel. Two months later, she had 26. “I still work some of my own horses,” she
said. “The riders, they’ll get a kick out of it and joke and laugh. If I have a bad horse or really want to feel and see how he’s improved, I’ll gallop myself to try and get a feel for them—to see if their attitude or aggressiveness has changed.
“I like training because I can see some of the differences in the horses that I’ve gotten,” McDaniel continued. “You figured their problems out and their quirks out. I think it’s kind of more rewarding.”
Like Purcell, McDaniel noted that breaking in as a jockey was not easy.
“I remember starting out in match races,
with no helmet and in socks. You learn to be more aggressive ... because you have people
who really can ride teaching you,” she recalled. “Back in those days, you had some of the best riders that ever lived. Nowadays, it’s a little more competitive. Riders, they’re more for themselves.”
McDaniel wrapped her racing career
with more than $1 million in total earnings. Looking back, she reflected on that part of her professional life.
“I got a lot of respect from the guys. Not trying to say I wasn’t a good girl rider, but I didn’t ride like a girl. I was aggressive. I wasn’t scared. I would ride horses the boys would send back, and I’d win on them,” she said. “I would always admit when I was wrong and want to be better, be a better rider.”
Like Purcell, McDaniel offered some advice to any aspiring female jockeys today.
“If you think you’re going to go in there and be some great rider, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication. I had to put my family on the back burner—going out, having fun. If you’re not ready to put in that kind of
effort, don’t start. You’re going to miss
a lot of family functions and going on
vacation like a lot of normal people
would. You’ve got to be 101 percent
dedicated.
“If they try to tell you that you can’t do it, let your haters be your motivators. That’s what I did. My dreams came true because I never quit. All riders have ups and downs. If you can’t take all that, don’t start.”
“One day I was in the barn and kinda down. I literally heard Kevin talk to me and say pick your head up. You got this... When I stood up a red cardinal was sitting in the window and it stayed there until I was done.” - Cody McDaniel
Cody can still be found galloping some of the horses she trains from time to time.
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