 From a very young age, Stra was interested in horses, having talked her parents into buying her a pony when she was eight years old.During her late childhood and adolescence, Stra worked at racing stables and eventually bought her first horse—a Thoroughbred named Gurtie, which she trained on her own for picnic races (unregistered race horses) before getting her certificate in racing.Stra acknowledges her first trainer, Ray Moore, as someone who has had a strong racing influence in her life.