Seventeen-year-old Ja’Danny Roldan, a senior from the St. Croix Educational Complex, is galloping toward his dream of becoming a professional jockey after a transformative college tour of Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Kentucky.
The journey began with a childhood accident that kept Roldan inside for nearly a year. Growing up in the Walter I.M. Hodge housing community, he recalled watching riders pass by his window and feeling drawn to the horses.
“When I was about 8 or 9, I cut my foot badly after sliding into a piece of glass from an abandoned car,” Roldan said. “I was stuck inside, just watching older folks ride and race horses outside. Ever since then, it stuck with me.”
Despite his family’s initial concerns, Roldan’s passion never wavered. His aunt, Bethzaida Berrios, recalled attending a bush race and being fearful after seeing a rider fall.
“I wasn’t too happy at first,” Berrios admitted. “But they’ve always loved horses—him and his siblings. I finally told him, ‘If this is what you want, let’s go for it.’”
Roldan began teaching himself to ride, first without a saddle, then with one. With guidance from his uncle and other experienced riders, he developed his skills and started competing. Soon, people began calling on him to ride their horses.
“That’s when I realized—if people are calling me, they must like what I do,” Roldan said. “I just won three races last Sunday.”
His ambitions caught the attention of Kimberly Walcott, a social worker who provides psychological counseling services across multiple schools. Assigned to support Roldan, she asked what he wanted to do after graduation.
“He told me he wanted to be a jockey,” Walcott said. “At first, I thought he meant radio! But then he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket with the name of a school he wanted to attend.”
Though the school listed turned out to be unofficial, further research led them to Bluegrass Community and Technical College, home to one of the top equine programs in the U.S. Roldan toured the school earlier this month.
“We made sure he met some of the professional jockeys there—he knew all of their names,” Walcott said. “He got to see the admissions office, financial aid, housing, and even the office for students with disabilities.”
Only four jockeys are selected each year from the program to train professionally—a statistic that doesn’t faze Roldan.
“The experience was great,” he said of the visit. “Except for the cold! But it inspired me to take this seriously and go professional.”
Walcott praised his determination. “When I work with seniors, my goal is to move them forward. Ja’Danny knew what he wanted—he just needed support to get there.”
Berrios also expressed gratitude to the educators who supported his journey. “We want to thank Ms. Walcott and Ms. Huertas for their encouragement,” she said.
As Roldan prepares for graduation, he offers a message to other young people with big dreams and may struggle in learning.
“You can’t let anything hold you back. Anything you put your mind to—you can do it. A lot of people told me I couldn’t. But I’m doing it,” he said.
