August 7, 2002

Racers harness equine energy

Horse owners serve as trainer, groomer and all-around stable hand

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Racing on the county fair circuit is a labor of love for most of these horse owners, who also stand duty as trainer, groom and stable person.
      Sunday's rainout of the afternoon races scheduled at the Northwestern Michigan Fair just made this more apparent. When the races were rescheduled to Monday due to a muddy track, the owners did not head out for some sightseeing in Traverse City or even venture into the fairgrounds for some fun.
      Instead, they stayed with their horses, taking them out for runs as needed around the ongoing duties of feeding, mucking, grooming and training.
      "If they don't run every day, they get restless," said Shawna McGuire, after helping Dan Terwilliger hitch up his horse, Jeremy's Raider, to a sulky and watching the pair head out for a practice run.
      McGuire has been around horses most of her life and used to ride and show them when younger. While she now helps with grooming and equipment, riding only occasionally, she said that horseracing gets in the blood.
      "Once you get into it, it is really hard to get out of," she said. "It just becomes a way of life."
      While not yet drawing huge crowds locally, harness racing is a popular sport around the state. The sport is at a crossroads, said Terwilliger, who closely follows pending legislation that will either provide a huge boost or a damper on the public's interest.
      Terwilliger owns six racing horses, trains others and is a farrier for racing horses. After 12 years in the business, he knows the fair circuits are a crucial step to building a racing record for two- and three-year old horses. The next step for these Standard bred horses is pari-mutuel racing where payoffs are higher, crowds bigger and competition more intense.
      "This will be Jeremy's fifth race and he has a lot of potential, but he is like a six-foot-tall nine-year-old," Terwillinger said. "He just can't figure out where to put his feet sometimes."
      Larry Wagner, the superintendent of speed for the fair's races, said that the horses he sees in races are mostly temperamental.
      "All you have to do is think of all the miles they travel to practice," he said.
      To find Jack Calvert anytime, just send a postcard to Race Track, USA.
      Because of the earlier rain, the announcer for the fair had the afternoon off from his duties and lounged around the office swapping stories and greeting old friends in the tightly knit community of harness racing.
      Calvert has been a driver and owner of harness horses for 60 years and has been announcing races since 1949 when his first gig was at the Detroit Race Course. Racing is a way of life for him, one he learned from his father.
      "My dad raced horses, starting in 1918," said Calvert. "My brother raced horses and my boy is racing horses right now and I have a horse running tonight in a race in Canada."
      "It goes a lot of generations back in the horse community," he noted. "We used to travel from fair to fair together; I'm probably the last one to remember doing that."
      Calvert raced for 32 years in Quebec. While he does not ride in races anymore, he has a lifetime of stories. He proudly recounts how his father had a horse who held the world championship record in double gaited racing for one month.
      "I had a horse run two races in one day, right here in Traverse City," he said. "Two years in a row because his half brother came back the next year and did it, too."
      The two-wheeled sulky, or bike, that is used in harness racing is a light, highly-balanced cart that gives the driver excellent control over his horse. During the one-mile race, which usually takes just over two minutes to complete, the driver and horse work closely as a team.
      "The main thing about racing a horse is the brains and the hands of the driver," Calvert said.
      "The racing is bred into the horse, they are either a trotter or a pacer, though there are double-gaited horses."
      Terwillinger said that to be successful in harness racing, both the driver and horse must operate on instinct. This can only come from hours of training and getting to know the animal, and its moods and capabilities.
      "You teach them, but it is mostly instinct," he said. "If you're doing a lot of thinking while driving, you're going to get passed. It has to come naturally."