Mary Bacon

Mary Steedman Bacon Anderson (January 1, 1948 – June 8, 1991) was an American Thoroughbred jockey and model. Early life She was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Toledo, Ohio, by her father, a one-time big band pianist later involved in construction, and her mother who was a stay at home mother. She had one sister and brother. Early career While having no horses of her own as a child, she interacted with them at a neighboring farm. In high school, Steedman found work as an outrider, helping in morning workouts and accompanying horses to the starting gate at Toledo's Raceway Park. Steedman saved her money and after graduation went to school in England, where she earned an instructor's degree from a riding academy. When she returned to the United States, she taught riding at a hunt club outside of Detroit. She galloped horses on mornings at Detroit Race Course.