Page 33 - Canada Spring 2019

We have the same emotions and passions about the sport as the people who were involved in it 50 years ago did.
Another very important concept
to acknowledge is that the dream of Quarter Horse racing has transcended through time. We have the same emotions and passions about the sport as the people who were involved in it 50 years ago did. They were just as excited about that special foal being born as we are right now thinking about our newborn futurity prospect. They met and made many difficult sacrifices to organize a province-wide association to represent the interests of Quarter Horse racing. They weren’t able to have the luxury of modern communication with conference calls, web sites, e-mails or text messages. They didn’t receive the support of Horse Racing Alberta with owners and breeders bonuses or added purse support for their breed. No, it was hard for them to follow their dream. They traveled through snow storms and blizzards. They used old photo- copiers, and met voluntarily in one another’s kitchens. They bought stall fronts with their own money, supplied tractors to work the track, hauled horses for nothing, donated stallion services and, in essence, they made sacrifices for us and the betterment of Quarter Horse racing without much help or recognition.
Another essential common ingredient is that Quarter Horse
Barry and Janice Sather, pictured here, owned Just Another Six who won more races in 1987 than any other horse in North America and was the top of the AQHA stats on Horses with Most Wins
racing and the AQHRA transcends all class and status systems.
Our participants have involved millionaires who owned their own trucking companies and individuals who never knew what a bank account was and traveled to the different
race meets in an old Volkswagon bus. There were dentists and doctors who owned Quarter Horses, cattle ranchers and game wardens, mothers and music promoters. They were remarkable people who owned fast horses and they persevered through poor purses, injured horses and
bad track conditions. “One of the hardest moments of heartache for me was losing our horses in a stable fire at Trout Springs in 1995,’’ stated Garnet Leech. “It was a tragedy – 59 horses were killed and I lost six of them, such devastation for anyone who loves horses.’’
What other important concept has developed through 50 years of racing? We have consistently improved our breed, and our race horses are more numerous
and faster. We may have started with one good filly and now, as any good breeding program can attest, we have kept the best and tried to breed to the best. We now have horses that can be competitive at any track, and Alberta is recognized as one of the most vibrant locations in all of North America for Quarter Horse racing.
Finally, the dream that first started long ago has been carried on but
now, there are many more of us who are passionate about Quarter Horse racing and our industry. New owners are coming in every year and there is
a climate of positive enthusiasm and excitement. In 2006, the Canada Quarter Horse Cup Futurity television broadcast under the auspices of HRA won the Multimedia category of the AQHA Marketing and Media Awards. Fans and supporters come to watch our fast horses run in record numbers.
How far can we go and just how fast can our horses run? It’s uncertain, but one thing for sure is certain – we have followed our dream, we have lived the dream and we ran fast horses.
SPEEDHORSE CANADA, Spring 2019 33