MISSISSAUGA, ON — Last week 12 children who dreamed of feeling the wind in their helmet had their wish come true as part of the second annual Harness Horse Youth Foundation (HHYF) Camp at Mohawk and Woodbine Racetracks. The aspiring horse people, aged 11 to 13, spent the week learning the ins and outs of the harness racing industry before making their driving debut on Woodbine’s Thursday evening program.
“It was a very good camp. The kids were really into it and we had an awful lot of support from the backstretch,” says camp organiser Ellen Taylor, Executive Director of the HHYF. “That’s the thing that always impresses me about going to Canada, the support. The horsemen make sure the kids have a good time, they keep the races competitive and they really teach the kids something.”
This year’s lucky campers, selected on the merits of a 250-word essay they submitted entitled “The wind in my helmet — why I want to feel the thrill of driving a horse,” were:
Laura Baker, 12, Midland, ON
Devi Bains, 12, Malton, ON
Angie Gubbels, 12, Delaware, ON
Catherine Harding, 12, Green Valley, ON
Brianna Kerr, 13, Orton, ON
Heather Klinard, 12, Pain Court, ON
Dayna Noltie, 12, Campbellville, ON
Shea O’Neill, Kleinburg, ON
Jasmine Radway, 13, Toronto, ON
Logan Taylor, 13, Monkton, ON
Lorne Thomas, 13, Acton, ON
Acacia Tostes, 12, Mississuaga, ON
After working with the children during the week, assessing their interest and desire to learn, Taylor selects one lucky youngster to make a trip to East Rutherford, NJ to meet children from the other five camps that were held across the United States and participate in a special race on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands. This year Heather Klinard and her family from Pain Court, ON will make the trip to New Jersey.
“I am really excited about going to the Meadowlands because I know it’s a big deal and I know a lot of people will be watching me,” says the aspiring horsewoman. “But I’m not nervous. I know if I do my best nobody is going to laugh at me or anything.”
Klinard had her first introduction to horses last summer at a riding camp near Chatham, and while her first career choice is to become a Thoroughbred jockey, a harness driver ranks right up there after her week at the HHYF Camp.
“I wanted to see how much different it was from riding,” says Klinard. “But what I really liked was just being with the horses and just working with them. That was my favourite part.”
Taylor adds that Klinard was an enthusiastic student who took to driving like a duck to water.
“The first time she sat behind one and took a hold of the lines she was almost a natural. She just sat there and looked like a driver, and then her face lit up,” says the Indiana resident. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a kid light up more when she sat behind a horse.”
Taylor and Klinard will meet up for a second time from July 31 to August 2 in New Jersey. The children from each of the six camps and their parents will enjoy racing and Hambletonian Week festivities at the Meadowlands on Thursday and Friday evening, make a trip to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame on Friday and then the young drivers will take centre stage on Saturday morning.
Local sponsors who enabled the 12 participants to attend the Canadian HHYF Camp were Woodbine Entertainment Group, the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association, the Ontario Sires Stakes Publicity and Promotion Group, 4-H Ontario, the Ontario Harness Horse Association, The Canadian Sportsman/Sportswood Printing, Triumph Manufacturing, Waldie’s Blacksmith Shop in Milton, Elmira Raceway and numerous Ontario breeders.