Interview with Mimi Porter, February 15, 2021

Interview Summary

Mimi Porter was one of the first certified women's athletic trainers in the USA. In this interview she discusses her family background and the lack of sports available for girls during her childhood. She discusses women's sports at the University of Kentucky before Title IX. She compares the mentality of male athletes versus female athletes at the time, especially in regard to injuries. Porter talks about being hired by Sue Feamster as the first certified women's athletics trainer at the University of Kentucky. She talks about getting her certification under men's trainer Roy Don Wilson. She talks about practicing training techniques on UK football players. She talks about the training facilities and equipment for female athletes at the University of Kentucky when she first became a trainer. Porter discusses the common types of injuries she saw when she first became a trainer, comparing them to common injuries today. She talks about the concerns people had about women playing sports, especially in regard to pregnancy and menstrual cycles. Porter talks about training techniques and philosophies when she first became a trainer and how the field of sports medicine developed and changed over time. Porter talks about her decision to leave UK to enter the horse industry. She compares working on human athletes versus equine athletes. She talks about being a pioneer in the horse therapy field and the work and relationships she had to cultivate in order to gain acceptance in the horse industry. She talks about techniques that were used in the horse industry to treat injuries and why she disagreed with them and worked to get them changed. She names some of the famous horses and horse owners she has worked with throughout her career.

Interview Keyword

First female certified athletic trainer UK athletics Lexington, Kentucky Equine therapists Equine sports therapy Title IX Physical therapy Health Horses Equine Therapy, Inc Strength and conditioning Weight training Sex discrimination Gender discrimination Gender Equity in athletics Equality of opportunity Equality Equal treatment standards Horse therapy Horse therapists

Interview LC Subject

Basketball Basketball players Basketball teams Athletic trainers Women athletic trainers Sports medicine. Equine sports medicine. Sports injuries. College athletes College sports. Discrimination in sports Sexism. Women basketball players Women in higher education. Women--Education (Higher) Horse industry--Kentucky Horses--Care Race horses

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.