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God Bless America
By Jerry L. Ginther
For a young boy with a bicycle in a town the size of Sullivan, not much is too far distant for a little adventure. One such place was the training track of Roxborough Farms located on the northwest side town. This was a training track for Standard Bred racehorses, or harness racehorses.
If you are uninitiated in this type of horse racing, you may be surprised to learn that the jockey sits in a little two-wheeled buggy behind the horse. This little buggy, called a sulky, is very lightweight and runs on two bicycle wheels with the seat being located equidistant between the two. The first time I visited there I thought they were just "pony carts" being pulled by big horses. I was in for an interesting education in harness racing.
The grooms who worked there were older men who appeared to be retirement age or slightly older. I'm pretty sure that none were less than sixty years of age, but very congenial and seemed to love answering a young boy's questions about horses and their training. Well, I'm not so sure about the last part of that statement, but I'll say they tolerated me pretty well and, as I became a regular visitor they became more friendly and talkative. I learned quite a bit, though, by just being allowed to watch and listen. However, I was told that if I wanted to continue my visits I was to come alone, as they would not abide a bunch of rowdy boys. Not a problem, because I remembered getting the same warning when I frequented the railroad depot. So, if I was cycling with others I avoided visits to some of my favorite places.
During some of my visits, they would be shoeing the horses. That may have involved replacing a horse's lost shoe or getting a completely new set. Each shoe was heated in a forge of brightly burning coals until it was cherry red. Then, pounded with a hammer on an anvil to the desired shape. What was originally a straight piece of iron became a horseshoe that perfectly fit the hoof for which it was made. That was amazing to me, but the next step was just as interesting. They nailed those shoes to the horse's feet. Next question, does that hurt? The answer was just a few chuckles followed by, "No son, that doesn't hurt".
Well, it wasn't long before I could harness and unharness a horse about as fast as the old-timers, albeit, I needed an additional piece of equipment, something to stand on. The only part of the harness business I didn't particularly look forward to was washing them in a bucket of water with saddle soap, but I would gladly do it just to be there. There was another reward for doing a little work, too. In the late afternoon when it was time to bring in the brood mares from pasture, I would get to ride one of them to the barn. They were so big it was like riding on a barn. At first the height was a little scary, but they were in foal and so wide one could hardly fall off. It was sort of like sitting on a bed and trying to drop your legs over the sides.
Another part of the education was learning that harness horses do not just run as thoroughbred horses do. Harness horses have to maintain one of two gaits throughout the race; those gaits are pacing or trotting. If they break stride and begin to gallop they must be pulled up, reined in, and a trot or pace reestablished before they can continue racing. Usually they cannot catch up once they go off stride. If they are off stride when they cross the finish line they are disqualified.
For me those visits were just another episode in growing up in Sullivan.
Copyright © 2002 - 2015 Jerry Ginther, All rights reserved worldwide
