Friday night marked the end of this year’s harness racing youth camp at Grand River Raceway. The camp culminated in a pair of special exhibition races, in which two fields of four euphoric kids made their harness racing debut, accompanied by experienced drivers in double-seated jog carts. Amidst cheers from their many friends and family who had come to watch the race, the kids lined their retired racehorses up behind the starting gate. Expertly steering their Standardbreds once around the half-mile track, they crossed the finish line with giant smiles on their faces. The kids clearly all felt like winners because they were still beaming as they returned to the winner’s circle for a group photo.  
The highly-anticipated races were the highlight of the four-day camp, during which the kids spent action-packed days learning about harness racing from the ground up. The Ontario Harness Horse Association has been running Harness Racing Youth Camps for the last eight years, hosting between eight and 10 free camps each year at various racetracks throughout the province. The simple application process requires kids to write a short essay about why they want to drive a racehorse, and for many, it’s about having the chance to work with their favourite animal. It’s a dream come true for many kids who’ve never had the opportunity to spend much time around horses, let alone learn how to harness and race them. For the eight lucky kids who got to come to camp this year, it was exactly that.
Upon arriving at camp on the first day, the kids were split into four colour-coded teams of two and paired with one of four retired racehorses who are owned or leased by OHHA. The red team included Rachel Chalkley (12, of Belwood) and Bailey Keller (13, of Kitchener). They were matched with Postie Pete, a 13-year-old bay gelding. The green team included Robynne Smith (11, of Orangeville) and Madison Noonan (11, of Guelph). They were matched with Pacific Cowgirl, an 11-year-old bay mare who earned over $220,000 in her racing career and is now pregnant with her first foal. The yellow team included Temeika McIntosh (10, of Arthur) and Rachel Rier (11, of Hanover). They were matched with DM Billy The Kid, an 11-year-old gelding who won 35 races and over $380,000 during his career. The blue team included Jacob Fulcher (10) and Justin Read (11) from Elmira. They were matched with Medway Factor (Buddy), a 15-year-old gelding who won 14 races and over $130,000 during his career.
Each day began with an hour of classroom lessons taught by Tasha Lyon, the camp’s instructor. From horse safety and anatomy to feeding and nutrition, she taught the kids the basics of caring for a racehorse. With a background in English riding and 15 years of experience working in Standardbred racing, Tasha shared her passion for all things horsey with the kids and was amazed at how quickly they soaked it up.
“It’s been really neat watching how fast they can progress in the four days,” she remarked, “Especially when you consider that most of them don’t have any horse experience at all coming into it.”
After spending time with Tasha, the kids would visit their horses in the barn and tend to their needs. With the help of Stacey Reinsma, the camp’s groom, the kids learned about all the work it takes to look after racehorses.
“I like watching the kids bond with the horses,” 21-year-old Reinsma said. “You can see the change in some of the kids, even just watching them get to know their horse. They really enjoy it.”
Cleaning out stalls, grooming and feeding were all part of the kid’s responsibilities and they did everything with a smile.
 “It’s really cool getting to do everything, like feeding the horses and cleaning their stalls. It’s hard work but it’s really fun,” said Rachel Rier.
Once the horses had been fed lunch, the kids would take a break for lunch too. After lunch they returned to the barn to put on the harnesses and get the horses ready to exercise out on the track. Working together to tack up their horses, the kids put their new skills to the test as they assembled the many pieces of equipment worn by racehorses. What at first seemed like an intimidating task was soon mastered by the eight eager horse-lovers.
“I came here completely new to harness racing and I didn’t know anything about it. We were the new guys,” said Jacob Fulcher, as he worked with his partner Justin to get Buddy ready. “But now we can get Buddy harnessed up quickly and he’s starting to work together with us.”
Then with the help of volunteers, the kids each took turns jogging their horses around the racetrack in double-seated jog carts. It was the part of the day that all the kids looked forward to. With the reins finally in their hands, their smiles were visible from across the racetrack and the horses were on their best behavior.
“It was faster than I though it would be,” said Rachel Rier, “and it looks really bumpy but it’s actually not.”
“It was amazing,” said Bailey Keller. “I hadn’t really put a lot of thought into what it would be like but it was a lot of fun.”
When each of the kids had jogged for three laps around the track, totaling one and a half miles, it was time to return to the barn and bathe the horses. For most of the kids, it was all over too soon and they couldn’t wait for their next chance to get out on the track. And even though camp only lasted four days, there will still be opportunities for the kids to participate in the harness racing industry. Since Liz Waples became the camp’s co-coordinator four years ago, she has made it part of her mandate to help connect the kids with local trainers after camp is over.
“I hook up the kids that are interested in continuing with trainers so that they have the opportunity to keep working with the horses,” explained Waples. “To me, if the kids have no direction after the camp and nowhere to go, then it’s been a fun four days but then that’s the end of it. The whole purpose is to get them to continue. Now there are a lot of kids working full time in the summer for trainers who started in the youth camps.
The girl that works full time for us this summer went to camp two years ago. She had no horse experience before camp, she just loved horses. Now she does everything, from cleaning stalls to jogging horses.”
And that’s just what many of the kids from this year’s camp are hoping to do.
“We got our groom licenses here,” explained Jacob Fulcher, “and I really want to continue with it.”
“The camp has been really good,” said Robynne Smith. “I’ve learned a lot about all the harnesses and how to put them on. Working with the horses is a lot of fun. I would like to try to find a trainer to work and be a groom for them.”