Page 146 - September 2016

A TrAiner’s View
“...you have to have a love for the sport, you have to have dedication, and you have to have integrity.”
Clinton Crawford
by John Moorehouse
NAME: Clinton Crawford
HOME BASE: Sallisaw, Oklahoma
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: 24
STATES IN WHICH YOU TRAIN: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas
FAVORITE HOBBY AWAY FROM THE TRACK: Team roping
It’s been quite a year for Clinton Crawford. Heading into the third weekend of August, the trainer based out of Oklahoma ranked second in the AQHA trainer standings for money earned, with his starters bringing in a combined $1,226,453. Crawford also ranks fifth in wins, with 40.
Crawford did not hesitate to acknowledge one very special horse as a major reason behind his recent success. Jess Good Candy has been a once in a life- time competitor for Crawford, winning last year’s All American Futurity and this year’s Ruidoso Derby as part of a perfect record in seven races to date.
“He’s the best horse that I’ve ever trained and probably the best horse that a lot of people have ever seen,” Crawford said.
The best, yes, but not the only one. Crawford’s barn currently contains approximately 80 horses.
Q: HOW DID YOU GET INTO HORSE RACING?
A: I was raised in it. My dad, he trained race horses from the time I was a little kid. And I just kind of followed him around. That’s where I learned how to train race horses. He mostly ran around in Oklahoma, there on the non pari-mutuel tracks.
Clinton Crawford with Jess Good Candy after winning the 2015 All American Futurity
Q: YOU SPENT SEVERAL YEARS TRAINING EXCLUSIVELY IN CANADA. TELL US ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE?
A: In 2007 or 2008, my brother was selling some horses in Canada to Roger Girard. He had a trainer I guess he had fired. My brother had come in contact with him and he gave me a job. I had 15 head training myself, but he offered me such a good job I had to take it. I worked for him, just for him, from 2008 through 2010. At the end of 2010, he decided he was going to do a little bit more pipelining and wasn’t sure what racing was going to be like up in Canada. So, I came back to the States, put a stall in at Remington, kind of wondering what I was going to do. I’d had all my eggs in one basket. Then Carl Pevehouse called me in January of 2011.
Q: WHAT’S THE KEY TO MANAGING SO MANY HORSES AT ONCE?
A: You’ve got to have people you can trust and depend on, and I’ve got a good crew. I’ve got about 14 people on the payroll, and two or three that look after all that. I’ve got two farms down there at home and a person there in both farms.
Q: WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT AS A TRAINER?
A: It was winning the All American Futurity last year. To try to qualify in that race is tough enough. To win it, it’s just a dream come true right there.
Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TRAINING STYLE?
A: There’s a lot of trainers that train them like an assembly line. Just do them all the same. We don’t
do that. I’ve had horses I’ve had to train harder than others. I’ve had horses that have special needs and they need a special person to take care of them and
I have some grooms that are really good with that. Sometimes, I have a horse that can run and really needs a little TLC. I’ll stick with a special person with that horse. All these horses do have different per- sonalities, and you have to look for it and, when you see it, you have to make changes for that horse.
Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BECOME A TRAINER?
A: The thing about getting into training, you have to be dedicated. You can’t just jump in here ... you have to have a love for the sport, you have to have dedication, and you have to have integrity. It’s just going to take a lot of hard work. Training race horses is not for everybody.
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SPEEDHORSE, September 2016
THE BACKSIDE
Jimmy Hart Photography