How long have you been trotting?
For about 15 years. I used to go to the local race meeting and Dad met up with some old friends who did it and I got started that way.
How long has Brett's Delight been trotting
About six or seven years...traditionally it was thought that horses should be three before they race so that their muscles can develop properly but as the sport has progressed and developed some will get them started at two now.
How much training do you have to do?
We take the horses out for about 6 miles each day, although they don't need the whole tack once they are experienced. When they are just getting started though we will take them out with a saddle to develop their stamina and muscles.
How often do you race?
We race every weekend from Easter till the end of September. There are two associations, the British Harness Association which runs under Jockey Club rules and covers the UK and Ireland, and the Wales and Border Counties Racing Association which we are with, so we travel as far as Ammandford, Hereford and Ludlow, and New Quay on the coast.
Has trotting been popular in Mid Wales for a long time?
Well, it has been going here over a hundred years beginning with a group of farmers racing Cobbs and working ponies on Saturdays. It is very big in America where they often race on hard tracks - most of our tracks are grass. You can see that more American studs are being sent here now that as it more popular over here.
What kind of horse do you use?
We use Standard Breds and Pacers. People often ask why you can't use an ordinary horse for trotting and it is because ordinary horses move their front right leg and back left leg together and their front left with their back right. Trotters, although they can move this way, naturally tend to move front right and back right and front left and back left together instead.
Are many young people involved in the sport?
Most of our race meetings have races for under 16s and it is often family members of other people racing at the same meet involved. If you are a new driver now you do the nursery races first and stewards decide when you can move up.
We have five classes with the first being the Nursery for practicing young horses new to the track, there is no betting or prize money in this section. Then there is the Baby Novice class which doesn't have heats or finals and the handicap is decided on wins with those not having won anything closest to the starter car with its fence. For each win the horse is put 10 yards back. To move up to the novice class a horse needs three wins and then there are heats and finals. To move up again a horse needs either three wins or to win three heats from 20yards.
In the B Grade the handicap is decided by prize money with £250 giving a 10 yard handicap. To get into the A Grade a horse needs to win a final from 20 yards or win £1,000 of prize money. In the A Grade you just keep going back up to 60 yards with your wins. And if you lose 5 times in the in the A or B Grades you get moved forward 10 yards.
Are there any restrictions on who can race?
There used to be a rule that you had to be over 9 ½ stone but they scrapped that. You get people from 12 to 70 trotting (although you have to be 16 to race). Last year a 72 year old was on the circuit in the top grade. There are plenty of guys in their 50s who win a lot. Experience and nerve counts more than age. The sulkys add a lot of metal to the racing mix so it can be quite nerve wracking as you are only inches apart from each other with up to nine sulkys in a race.
And there are more women getting involved too, with Mary Langford winning the overall drivers championship in 2007 (and the horse championship with Live the Dream).
All races are supervised by the racing body stewards and there is random drug testing. There is betting on all the races (except under 16s and nursery) with bookmakers as well as food and bars at all the courses..
Are there any risks?
There are very few accidents, we all have to wear helmets and body protectors and white trousers as well as our silks and no race will start without the vet and ambulance present.. The horses have to have an extra nail in their shoe for grip and if we fall we are inspected and penalized if we don't meet the standards. The beginning of the year is hard on the muscles as you get back into training and racing I suppose. And the horses can get sharp teeth from the tack and sore backs but there are equine dentists and osteopaths now...
Why do you do it?
Its quite exciting, you have more to think about with all the tack and so on. The whole thing is very time consuming and a big commitment in terms of time and money, but its very rewarding.
