Page 12 - March 2005 The Game

12 The Game, March 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Hall’s an excellent starting point for Horses
By Jim Reynolds
There’s a long procession of people involved in a racehorse’s life by the time he makes it to the winners circle. There are jockeys, of course, who have the least involvement but take most of the credit, the trainer who has used his conditioning skills and horseman- ship to enable the athlete to get to that point, and then there are the grooms, blacksmiths, vets, etc.. But in the beginning, at the front of the line, there is the stallion manager—who is there, if you will, from conception.
One of the best in British Columbia is Phil Hall, farm and stallion manager of Canmor Farms, an operation that stands six stallions and about thirty regular broodmares as well as running a breaking and training centre.
Phil, in his forth year as manager, comes by his skills honestly. He was raised at Emerald Acres, a breeding/training operation owned by his father Bob Hall (a third generation Irish horseman) and home to the legendary GEORGE ROYAL.
After high school Phil went to work on the family farm "on the end of a wheelbarrow’ according to his father but before long his brother-in-law, trainer Jim Loseth, was putting him on horses.
"I didn’t like it at first," says his father. "but he had a way with babies. He had nice hands. I really didn’t have to worry about him. He knows what he’s doing."
At 19 Phil began training and took a few of his father’s horses to Phoenix, Arizona winning with the first horse he ran.
He returned to Vancouver to train and a few years later took a job breaking horses in Okido, Japan. He stayed three months.
"That was a unique experience," he says. "It was the year SUNDAY SILENCE arrived in Japan and it showed me what kind of horse racing they have there. They wanted me to stay longer but I wanted to come home."
Over the next few years he trained horses at Exhibition Park (now Hastings) eventually taking his string to Winnipeg and then on to Fort Erie. After that first season in Ontario he travelled to Florida for the winter to gallop horses for trainer Mike Keogh. He liked Florida and bought a house there with his wife Treena. Before long however he got a call from his brother-in-law about the opening at Canmor.
"It was close to my family and my wife’s family and the job offer was a good one," Phil says. So they moved back to BC.
"Canmor treats me right and this is a great place to raise kids" Settling into the job at Canmor Phil has put his horsemanship and the things he learned on his father’s farm to good use. He believes in the teasing process for mares and does this every morning during the breeding season.
"You can tell when a mare is ready," he says. "They let you know when they’re in heat and that can save an owner a lot of vet bills. Some mares are difficult however and I work with a great vet in Craig Whalley.
"Ideally we like to get them here, get them in foal, and get them out. That way they don’t stack up, we’ve had up to one hundred horse here and that’s a lot"
Phil admits that he misses the competitiveness of racing but because he’s been there is just another reason that this soft-spoken horseman is an excellent staring point for any horse on his way to the Winner’s
Circle.
Phil Hall & Digital Dan
Benefit Walk for Jim Arnold
The Jim Arnold Benefit Walk on February 20 was a success. Taking part in the walk were retired jockeys, back row from left: Andy Smith, Gene Salas, Jim Daly and Randy Daly and front from left: Jim Arnold and Mark Walker.
On Sunday Feb. 20 more than 100 close friends and family members of retired jockey Jim Arnold took part in a benefit walk. They walked and jogged 5km around North Vancouver’s Mahon Park to benefit the Arnold family.
In April 2004, Jim Arnold was diagnosed with cancer.
Everyone attending the walk received a designer T-shirt embossed with the words “For The Love Of Jim Arnold” and a gold lapel pin of a dove.
The afternoon was filled
with Irish music and a non- stop barbeque of delicious hamburgers and smokey dogs along with refreshments.
Retired jockeys Gene Salas, Jim Daly, Mark Walker, Andy Smith and Randy Daly all came for the afternoon to chat with their friend Jim Arnold.
Jim’s family and his sisters Sally, Nuala, Jean, Maggie and Rosemary (sister Mary Louise was unable to attend) were responsible for hosting the event which was deemed an overwhelming success.
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Did You Know....
That a documentary titled, “The Life and Times of Northern Dancer” will air on March 31 at 7pm on CBC television.
Promoted as the little horse with a big heart that galvanized our nation, the documentary on Northern Dancer promises to be a charming story which led to the most famous two minutes of his life... breaking the 89-year-old track record in the 1964 Kentucky Derby.
The Life and Times of Northern Dancer is produced and directed by Halya Kuchmij, written by Kim Echlin, narrated by Teresa Tova. Series producer Linda Laughlin.
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