Page 10 - July 2008 The Game

10 The Game, July 2008
Outside the Jocks’ Room...With Justin Stein
By Michelle Rainford
Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
Woodbine Jockey Justin Stein and his sons Owen and Jeremy
As the one year anniversary of my spill comes and goes, the number of times I have been asked “what have you been up to” has begun to over- whelm me. In truth it has not been much, based on the doctor’s orders. To go from being a professional athlete to someone on the long-term disabled list has left me feeling useless. It’s dif cult to deal with and it’s something I’d like to overcome.
“so long as gravity isn’t pushing down too hard.”
not afraid of a challenge. They drove across Canada pulling a U-haul in preparation of their move to Toronto.
Then the idea came to me: why
not write for The Game? Introduce Woodbine’s jockeys to the public
in a way that they have not been introduced before. Who better to interview the jocks than someone who shared a locker room with them? These jockeys are my co-workers, my competition and my friends and so I feel I have a good chance of getting them to share their personal lives with others. But now the question, who to start with? With over thirty to choose from I decided to simply pull a name out of a hat, and the rst name to be pulled is Justin Stein.
“I always get carried away and end up spending way too much,” he says, “I love to Bar-B-Q, though.”
Both Justin and Renee’s family’s still reside in B.C. During their rst winter in Toronto they traveled back to Vancouver. “We drove when Renee was pregnant with Jeremy, Owen was really little, two dogs, and we had to pack for two climates.”
We had been talking for just over half an hour and I knew Justin had to get home to dinner with the family, but before he left I had to ask him if he could sum himself up for me. “I’m a family man. And I’m dedicated to my work.” This assertion prompted me to ask one more thing, “You are 28 and some might consider you ahead of your time. Are you at all surprised by where you are in your life now?”
We met after the races on a Thursday and took a half hour to talk and get to know each other a little better. My opinion of Justin when he rst came to Woodbine a couple of years ago, was that he is really shy and dif cult to get to know. What I have since learned about him is that he is de nitely shy, but upon becoming his friend, you discover a very sincere, responsible and very fun and outgoing person. We began our talk with a brief disagree- ment over his claim of being ve feet,
When I asked him what Jeremy is like he retorts, “he poops a lot,” with a smile, “actually it’s hard to say just yet, he’s still so young.”
I change subjects and ask Justin what he likes to do when he has down-
time. He tells me how he as taken
up biking and it has become a thrill for him. Cory Frasier and Constant Montpellier, friends with Justin, all bike together on some mostly un- known trails near Justin’s house. “Biking’s great. You can burn a lot of calories when you bike hard. It’s so much fun.”
His answer was as honest as I could have hoped, “Well, yeah. Five years ago I was working in a kitchen mak- ing less than $1000 a month, stuck inside and I didn’t even like cooking. I was going nowhere, but I got lucky. I met my wife and found a career as a jockey.”
Patience
Wait. Wait a minute. Wait a while. Wait your turn. Wait in line. Hurry up and wait. Wait, wait, wait. I remember being inspired to write a book about my adventures as an amateur jockey during the 90s.
I was going to call it The Wait/Weight. We were always waiting: at the airport for bags, connecting ights, riders on connecting ights, cabs to the hotel, cabs to the track, waiting to get licensed, waiting
Get Tied On
Born February 8, 1980 in a small town just outside of Vancouver, Justin grew up around horses, but didn’t pursue a career with them until much later. After High School he attended Chef School worked as a pre-appren- tice in restaurants, although admittedly he didn’t like it much. I asked him if he liked to cook at home, but he says he doesn’t.
Justin is married and has two
sons. He and his wife Renee have been married three years and along with Owen, 3, Jeremy, 10 months, three dogs, and three cats they live
in the town of Inglewood, just south
of Orangeville. A beautiful 1875 Victorian home is the pride of Justin and Renee, and the perfect place for their boys to grow up. We talked about his kids: “Owen is a considerate kid, athletic, always asks you about your day. And he’s an exact replica of me!”
“I was really nervous making the move,” Justin admits, but when I asked him if he was glad about uprooting his and his family’s life from Vancouver to Toronto, he was quick to exclaim “we couldn’t be happier.”
One thing that was very apparent to me is how important Justin’s family is to him, being a good husband and dad.
Reading is another favourite pastime for Justin, as well as watching movies, “we usually watch about one movie a week. Transformers is really good, so is Ironman.” One thing I am always curious about is a person’s pet peeves, and for Justin his answer threw me into a laughing t, “pennies on the oor.
Or any kind of money. It doesn’t belong there, pick it up! Oh yeah, and leaving cupboard doors open. You open it...close it!”
I think I can safely say that Justin
is a lucky guy, and as someone who never wants to take things for granted, that luck should continue with for the Stein family. Woodbine is lucky to have such a great person racing in its midst.
“I’m a bit old fashioned. I want my kids to learn to be respectful, take their hat off, hold the door for a lady and to be grateful for what you have.”
As a family, Justin and Renee are
Not afraid of a challenge, indeed.
for the race, waiting to leave for the airport and hopefully do it all over again the next day. The
The bible has quite a lot to say about patience. In the book of Galatians, it refers
to it as one of the virtues of the Holy Spirit, along with love, joy, peace, kindness, good- ness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The wise writer of Ecclesiastes says “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” Lack of patience rarely gives good results - in fact it’s doubly bad because it usually causes anger in us and others. Riders have begun riding too soon, (just listen to some old school veterans on the current crop of young jockeys!), trainers have leapt into the game before they’re ready and grooms have put on bandages when they could use an extra year of walking.
with Chaplain Shawn
glamour! Of course the other half of the title referred to the constant battle with the scales. Waiting requires a lot of patience.
lessly for a hole to open. Wise trainers know to wait for the right race.
I see young people rush into marriage and rush out even more quickly. Rather than exercising wisdom and patience in the biggest decision of their life, they’re like horses in the gate - just can’t wait. Many people get tired of waiting for God to answer prayer and make choices without realizing God may be answering in a way they’re not aware of, blinded
Backstretch Party • Celebrating a Win • After the Races
We Have Everything You Need
• Freshly prepared fruits, vegetables and salads
• Party Platters • Assorted Cheeses & deli meats • Fresh and frozen barbeque meats
• Fresh Hot gourmet pizzas & specialty sandwiches and much more!
Enjoy a fabulous selection of fine wines from Colio Estates Wines
After the Races...Take home a Meal to Go! Fresh barbequed ribs, chicken wings, wedge fries, Chinese Food, Sushi & More! Spruce up your barn with a visit to our Garden Centre
or visit our full service floral design shop
Fortino’s (Queens Plate Drive) Ltd. Hwy 27. & Queens Plate Drive, just North of Rexdale Blvd. 416-745-4675
Hours: Mon-Thurs 8am-9pm,Fri-10pm, Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 9am-8pm
by their own haste. Author Joseph Campbell wrote: “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us” Does life wait for us, or we wait for life? If we allow life to wait for us, at least we enjoy the thrill of the hunt as we search for it. But if we have to wait for life, perhaps we’ll lose patience and grab hold of something that’s either not meant for us or not good for us.
When I trained, I used to think it was good to give a horse a race until I realized how sore I was after playing in a basketball league as an adult - jumping into games without any warm up or workout. The next day I felt like I was run over by a truck. A few practices in the gym would have really paid off. I stopped giving horses a “tightener” after that. Pat Day’s nick- name was “Patient” because he waited end-
Golf is a game of patience. “A good golfer has
the determination to win and the patience to wait
for the breaks.”- Gary Player, a pretty good golfer and horseman. Fishing requires the patience of Job. Parents should be automatic saints for just being par- ents. Patience must be learned- we’re not born with it. (Ever seen a patient hungry baby?) If you don’t wait on your horse, your horse will make you wait.
May we all be granted patience as the year rolls on. With our jobs, our children, our spouses and especially our horses.
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