Page 74 - June 2018 Speedhorse

That’s kind of what Jerry Burgess hopes the kids themselves will do. “We try to show and tell these kids as much as we can,” he says. “We try to make it interesting for them, so they’ll want to listen
and learn, rather than just get out of class and say the heck with it. And we try to keep it on a level that even people like me can understand. Keep it simple: Put it in layman’s terms and go on.”
Maybe – just maybe – some of the youngsters will go into the industry in some form or fashion.
“The goal of the class pathway is the CVA exam, and the end goal of the pathway for me is to become a veterinarian,” Jett says. “Next fall,
I will be attending Texas A&M-Commerce. I will be majoring in biology – my favorite subject – with a minor in animal science. I’m currently leaning toward small animals, because I got a little stray dog when I was growing up and she
is 18 now and I still love her, and I want to do that for other people, too. But you never know. Things can change. When I saw how well the horses were taken care of, I was really surprised. These horses are pampered the way I’d like to be. There was like two or three feet of bedding
in the stalls for each of those big animals. My opinion (of racing) really did change on that. I like how it looks and now that I see how things work, I see large animals as a possibility.”
The possibilities are limited only by what the students themselves choose.
“We always want new individuals becoming interested in our sport,” says Darren Fleming,
who runs the barn as an assistant trainer for nationally leading Thoroughbred conditioner Steve Asmussen. “Maybe it’d be something they’d want to do, maybe now they’ll come out and bet a little on the races, maybe they’ll bring a friend, maybe they’ll develop some kind of interest in the sport.”
So, put the youngsters in the gate and let them go.
“Racing is a good business,” Jerry concludes. “It’s a very honest business, once you know the ins and outs of it. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s very interesting, very satisfying and very rewarding. I would like to see some of these kids get in any line of the horse business: owning, training, riding, veterinary, whatever. We need them all. We need everybody, we care about each of them and we want to help them out on their journey.”
The day ended with a complimentary luncheon courtesy of Lone Star Park.
South Grand Prairie’s “vet tech” program works to provide students with strong academic foundations in veterinary studies while preparing seniors for the Certified Veterinary Assistant Exam offered through the Texas Veterinary Medical Association.
Lone Star Park starter Terry Walker, with Jerry Burgess, sits aboard his mount and explains starting gate protocol.
The program wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the jockeys’ room.
72 SPEEDHORSE, June 2018