For those of you who might not know much
about me yet, my off the track Standardbred Leo (West Point) and I are based in
Alberta, Canada. While our focus is on eventing, we have been welcomed by the
harness racing community here to learn more about the ins and outs of their
sport. How they do things, why they do things, what works, what doesn’t,
along with a number of tips and tricks that have been passed down, sometimes,
through multiple generations of horsemen. Over the past year, I’ve come to
know a number of members of this community and found great joy in watching
their horses train and develop, talking to different trainers, drivers, and
owners, and occasionally tagging along to the races.
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| Charlene Barry & Have Not Read It |
This past weekend there was an accident
during one of the races on Sunday afternoon at the harness racing track here in
Alberta. A number of drivers were injured, and sadly one horse had to be
humanely euthanized. Anyone who’s been in the horse industry long enough
knows that being around horses can be quite dangerous given the wrong
situation. We see it in harness racing, and we see it in eventing.
They’re two very different sports, but both with their own sets of risks. While
these moments are frequently outweighed by the amazing, breathtaking moments
that everyone in the horse world strives and lives for, they still happen. And
they suck. There’s no way around it. Sometimes it’s just a terrible situation,
and you’re left wondering how exactly it happened, and what your next step
should be.
Of course the severity of these incidents can
be managed per se. Everyone goes through proper training - typically
under the guidance of someone experienced in the industry like a coach, a
parent, or a mentor of some sort. Drivers and riders are taught to pull up
rather than jeopardize the safety of themselves, their horses, and others.
There are rules and guidelines in place to try and prevent unfortunate things
from happening, and make sure that riders/drivers are not faced with situations
they can't handle. Steps you have to follow in order to be allowed to drive in
a race, or move up the levels in eventing. And there’s safety gear. Helmets are
mandatory. Other pieces of equipment, like safety vests to protect the user
from crush injuries, are being seen more and more regularly in harness racing,
and are required for cross country in eventing. Harnesses and tack are
checked before the horses go out to compete. During races or competitions,
officials and medical professionals are on site, ready to jump in and assist if
the need arises. All of these steps are implemented and reviewed regularly to
make sure each horse and rider/driver pair is entering that race, or heading
out for that round in their best case scenario. But sometimes, despite
this, accidents still happen. Riders, drivers, and/or horses go down, and
everyone’s left trying to sort out what went wrong and determine if everyone’s
okay. Unavoidable, awful, tragic, accidents.
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| (c) Flying K Photography |
Every
time I’ve seen this happen, both in eventing and harness racing, without fail,
the community has been there to help. It’s incredible the compassion
these athletes and their teams show for each other. Instantly, everyone
jumps in to help, in some cases dropping what they’re doing and sprinting from
the barns. Grooms, drivers, riders, coaches, trainers, parents, families.
They’re all there, ready to help best they can. Whether it’s untangling horses
from harness, dusting off a rider or driver, holding onto a horse, comforting a
significant other, helping an injured horse onto a trailer or offering to look
after someone’s entire string so that they can go get medical attention.
(Granted, true to form, horsemen never go anywhere until they know their horses
are looked after.)
Recently, in the harness racing world there
have been a number of online fundraiser pages set up to help support those who
can’t support themselves, and the response to those pages has been global.
When a fellow horseman is injured there is a lineup of people waiting to
jump in and assist. Owners and trainers will offer what services they
can, donate equipment or offer to house displaced horses. Drivers will donate
their cut of the purse to another horseman in need. People will jog
horses, ship horses, and racehorses for someone who can’t. Sunday was no
exception to this remarkable aspect of the harness racing community.
Despite all this, there was an accident. No one was at fault. It was
truly an accident. Sadly, this accident had an unfortunate outcome with
someone in the community losing their four-legged teammate, and three drivers
falling from their race bikes. But, even though they all compete against
each other, they were all there for each other as well. They were there to help
load the passed horse’s equipment into his owners trailer and offer
condolences. They were there to visit the drivers being treated in the
ambulance. And they were there to help those affected by the accident
race their remaining horses and finish the day together.
The support in this industry goes past the
formal, polite, obligatory handshakes seen in other sports at the end of game.
Usually accompanied by a rather reluctant murmur of ‘good game’.
Unfortunately, most people’s knowledge of the racehorse industry is only what
they can see on television. The horses come onto the track, run around as fast
as they can to make some money, and go back to the barns. Because of this the
race industry so often gets slammed with the stigma of being dog-eat-dog, and
drivers and trainers ruthlessly pushing their horses, and battling each other
just to take home a paycheque. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, and
those who would rather cheat the game than play fair. But by and large, it’s
not like that. Not at all.
What you’ll find is an astonishing community
of horsemen who care for each other and their horses. Being successful in the
harness horse industry often requires long, hard hours. It’s not an easy job,
and many of them wouldn’t even call it a job. It’s a lifestyle. But if there is
a member of the community in need, they’re happy to help. Even if it means an
18 hour day turns into a 20 hour one. If you ask them why they do it - the
extended hours and the tough and arduous work - many of the people in the
racing industry would tell you it’s because they couldn’t imagine doing
anything else, and they wouldn’t want to. This underlying care that
extends from the individual barns to the other people and their horses is one
of the gems of the harness racing world. Notwithstanding they are competitors,
they are a community first, and like in all communities there are good times,
and bad times, emotional joy and passing despair. All this only serves to
strengthen the bond within the community.
Does this mean we should just accept these
accidents as they are and not endeavor to decrease the frequency with which
they occur? No, of course not. One crash is too many. Can we continue to
improve safety measures for both horses and their handlers? Absolutely!
And we should.
As always, I’m
ever so impressed by the horsemen of this industry and how they choose to
respond to events such as this. I give my sincere condolences to all those
connected to Pass the Port following the accident at Century Downs. I wish all
the drivers and horses who were involved a swift and full recovery.
