DECEMBER 2017 THE RIDER /7


250th Anniversary of Horse Racing in Canada celebrated at Royal Horse Show


This past Friday


evening, the 250th Anniver- sary of Horse Racing was showcased as part of the 95th Annual Royal Agricul- tural Winter Fair in Toronto. Under the lights and


glamour of the Royal Horse Show, an exhibition cele- brating the racing industry’s milestone anniversary in- cluded a combination of video, current and retired race horses, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mem- bers and a special presenta- tion to the president of the RAWF. Three thoroughbreds


CALAMAR AND DEBI O’BRIEN-MORAN


Calamar, an 18 year old standardbred gelding, ridden by owner Debbie O’Brien-Moran. Following his six-year racing career,Calamar continues to thrive! He and Debbie work as a


team...as outrider and lead pony… leading post parades at vari- ous tracks throughout Ontario.


and four Standardbreds completed an eight-lap com- memorative mile while iconic race caller Dan Loiselle provided biogra- phies about each horse’s race and post-race career, highlighting the versatility of the breeds and the impor- tance of re-purposing once race careers conclude. Post-race


activities


ranged from show horse ca- reers, including the 2017 Royal, for thoroughbreds, Highland Bay, Man Cave and Maple Tints competing in Thoroughbred confirma- tion and under saddle classes; and current road


horse competitor Standard- bred Rachel Lauren; pacer Spago Hall currently en- gaged with OHHA’s Hands On Horses/Wanna Drive program, providing oppor- tunities for race track pa- trons to experience what it is like to ride behind a race horse; Calamar and Debi O’Brien-Moran, both famil- iar faces at tracks leading post parades; and trotter Lets Leavem who is still an active racing participant in both RUS and in harness for owner Sarah Town, includ- ing a win and new season mark at Flamboro the night following his trip to the Royal. Riders and drivers pre-


senting the horses included Sheena Ryan, 2014 Sover- eign Award winner as Ap- prentice Jockey, and Ron Waples, member of both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the US Harness Racing Hall of Fame. The performance con-


cluded with introductions of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame members highlighting all aspects of the racing industry: harness driver Bill O’Donnell, jockey Sandy Hawley,


HALL OF FAMERS: Left to right: CHRHF


members, communicator Bill Galvin; jockey Sandy Hawley; John Stapleton, President CHRHF, Andrew


McKee, President, Royal Agri- cultural Winter Fair; Lou Cauz, CHRHF Director


Emeritus; communicator Jim Bannon; harness driver Bill O’Donnell; Mrs. Lenore Armstrong, representing Armstrong Brothers and


Mark Samuel, representing Sam-Son Farm.


DAN LOISELLE


Iconic race caller Dan Loiselle hosted the 250th Anniversary of Horse Racing festivities


during the Friday evening per- formance at the 2017 Royal Horse Show.


SPAGO HALL


13 year old standardbred pacer Spago Hall recently concluded a successful racing career, earning over $300,000 and now,


thanks to owners Don and Anita Leischied of Belle River, On- tario is a harness racing ambassador for the Ontario Harness


Horse Association Hands on Horses “Wanna Drive” program, providing the opportunity for patrons at track to experience


JOHN STAPLETON & ANDREW MCKEE


John Stapleton, President of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame presents certificate to Andrew McKee, President of the


what it is like to sit behind a race horse. Pictured is Sam Sover- eign riding along with Brian Tropea, General Manager of On- tario Harness Horse Association.


HIGHLAND BAY


Thoroughbred gelding Highland Bay, sired by Adena Springs owned stallion Sligo bay concluded his racing career in 2015 with 2 wins in 19 career starts and earned over $100,000 life-


time. He is now under the care of Natalie Roth and they com- pete in horse shows throughout southern Ontario, including the 2017 royal.


builder Lou Cauz, commu- nicators Bill Galvin and Jim Bannon, Mrs. Lenore Arm- strong, wife of the late H. Charles Armstrong, repre- senting Armstrong Brothers and Mark Samuel, repre- senting Sam-Son Farms. CHRHF president John Sta- pleton, presented a certifi- cate acknowledging the Royal’s participation in the 250th celebrations along with a special limited edi- tion copy of the history paper on pre-confederation horse racing in Canada, commissioned as a 250th anniversary initiative by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, to Royal Agricultural Winter Fair president Andrew McKee. Spearheaded by the


RACHEL LAUREN & LETS LEAVEM MAPLE TINTS


Maple Tints for owner Betsy Sinclair. Maple Tints, a 12 year old thoroughbred gelding, who earned over $200 thousand


while racing is a graduate of the Longrun Thoroughbred Retire- ment Society and competed in the thoroughbred classes at the 2017 Royal


Hall of Fame harness driver Ron Waples with Rachel Lauren, owned by Sébastien Hébert of St Cyrille, Quebec, currently competes in the Road Horse division at the Royal. Behind Ron


is Sarah Town and Let's Leavem who competes in both harness racing and Trot Monte/Racing Under Saddle. After spending


Friday night at the Royal, Let's Leavem won his race Saturday evening at Flamboro Downs trotting his fastest mile in 2017.


MAN CAVE: Man Cave, a 6-year old thoroughbred gelding


who earned over $175,000 thousand in 15 starts during his race career, has gone on to compete in confirmation and undersaddle classes in the show ring and was the winner of the thoroughbred confirmation class at the 2016 Royal. Riding Man Cave is Sheena Ryan, originally from Kindersley, Saskatchewan. Sheena was among the top 10 jockeys at Woodbine last year


and in 2014, she won the Sovereign Award, as Canada’s Out- standing Apprentice Jockey


Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, funding for the 250th Anniversary of Horse Racing in Canada ini- tiatives has been provided by: Standardbred Canada, Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, HBPA Ontario, Central On- tario Standardbred Associa- tion, Ontario Harness Horse Association, Ontario Rac- ing, OLG, Alberta Standard- bred Horse Association, Harness Racing BC, The Jockey Club as well as indi- vidual donations.


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