Page 10 - The Game March 2006

10 The Game, March 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Alberta Energy
by Pat Gauvreau
If you look in the dictionary under dedicated and hard working you'll find a picture of Nikki Leschert. This super energetic exercise rider always arrives early at Calgary Stampede Park. First thing she does is tack up the pony and one of the many thoroughbreds that
she'll be riding that morning.
Then she puts her gear on and she's off. During spring training, Nikki will gallop over 20 horses every morning. By noon she's brushing about a half a dozen horses that she's taken on for the year.
Her all time
favourite horse is
Eternal Secrecy, a beautiful grey 8-year-old gelding. This is the horse that brought her to Calgary. She was living in Vancouver back in 2002 when a trainer by the name of Robertino Diodoro came to town looking to claim some horses. Just so happened he claimed Eternal Secrecy, so she had little choice but to follow them both to Calgary. Since then, they've become one big happy family. Eternal Secrecy won 7 races last year; one of which was "The Lions Gate" in Vancouver.
Nikki was born in Dawson Creek and always found herself around horses. Her father, Darrel, was a blacksmith and did a bit of training in Langley when Nikki was a youngster. By the time she was six her dad was shoeing and grooming thoroughbreds and was
to gallop because she needed to make some money. One day Roy said he had a gallop boy that didn't show up very often and told her to come by and see him. As luck would have it, the very next day the gallop boy didn't show up, so Roy told her to run up to the Agridome
and get on some. From that day on she got on half of Roy's barn and was able to ride most of them without too much trouble. Roy was funny, sometimes he'd stand at the gap and scream at Nikki, trying to make her cry, trying to see how tough she was. He was great though, he was a good friend. At the end of the year he that he'd never seen
Nikki riding her favourite horse "Eternal Secrecy" Pat Gauvreau Photo
partners with Maureen Allen, who Nikki affectionately calls her "horse mom". On weekends, Nikki would go down to the track and roll polos and walk the odd horse and clean some stalls if she could. It wasn't until Nikki was 10 that she got a horse of her own. Her Dad and Maureen gave her a 3-year-old thoroughbred filly for pony club.
Nikki remembers her as quite a rotten horse that always smashed her in the face when she was trying to get her to jump, but somehow
Nikki managed to stay on most of the time and learned a lot about riding from all those hard knocks back then.
Nikki left the track for a few years, but went back in 1997. By the end of 1998 she started galloping on a farm. By spring of 1999 she was galloping on a couple of farms. When she first started galloping at the track, Roy Rawson, a trainer at Hastings Park, had a special influence on her. He would stand at the gap and watch her walk onto the track and say "hands and balance - hands and balance". Nikki would always bug Roy for horses
told Nikki
anyone learn as fast as her.
In 2000, just as she really got rolling at Hastings, she had a horse rear up, flip over and land on her, breaking her pelvis. She was off for 3 months. While recovering she lost a lot of weight and Roy told her now would be the time to race ride if she was going to ride, because she was so light. So Nikki started riding on the B tracks. She had a couple starts in Kamloops in September and had about 16 mounts in Vancouver. Nikki won her first race on a horse owned by John Allen, the father of her old friend, Maureen Allen. The horses name was North of the Valley and it was the longest $2.00 payout of the year, around $102.00. That fall Nikki and a friend went to Hollywood Park and Santa Anita to gallop horses. The following spring she returned to Vancouver, but had gained a few extra pounds and didn't get back to race riding.
In 2004 Nikki galloped Controlled Meeting who was second in the Canadian Derby, won the Ky Alta and was second in the Westerner. Nikki is looking forward to Calgary's new track where the horses will have a better opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.
Bridles
Reins
Girths
Martingales
Side Reins
Lead Shanks
Stud Shanks Newmarket Shanks
Manufactures of quality tack including:
Exercise Saddles Belly Pads Jumping Boots Ankle Boots Breaking Surcingles Anti-Cast Surcingles Chambons
Halters: Foal, Weanling, Yearling, 2-Year-Old, Mare, Stallion
Custom Work, Repairs, Chaps, Nameplates, Horse Supplies, Gifts
Box 459, Nobleton, ON L0G 1N0 905-859-4052 Fax:905-939-8096 Email: info@finchamsharness.com
www.finchamsharness.com
Louis Cauz with his 18 lb Dolphin Fish.
A Record Breaking Catch
Woodbine based jockey Jono Jones’ boat, Legacy, was the winner of the 2006 Spice Island Billfish Tournament in Grenada in January after Jones’ official team reeled in a record- breaking 669 lb Blue Marlin (seen here), breaking the old record for the waters of Grenada by 113 pounds.
The Legacy team pose for the cameras after their record-breaking catch. From left to right: Louis Cauz; first mate, Denzil (Arthur) Hunt; Jono’s Dad, Challenor (Challie) Jones, Hall of Fame jockey and trainer from Barbados/Jamaica/Trinidad; Jockey and Captain Jono Jones; Adrian Jones, who was in the chair and caught the fish; and Peter Lewis.
(Challie and Louis were observers on board)
EXPERIENCED • CONSISTENT • RELIABLE
Trainer, Pat County Jr.
2005 Season Stats
41% in the money 17% wins
Now Accepting New Owners for 2006 Season at Fort Erie
905-894-5962 or cell: 905-324-8710
RICHARD MOYLAN Thoroughbred Bloodstock Agent
NOW ACCEPTING HORSES
FOR CONSIGNMENT
Fasig-Tipton - July
CTHS September Yearlings & Keeneland Sales
Hunterview Farm
North off Hwy #9, Between Airport Rd. & Hwy #50 993445Mono-AdjalaTownline,RR#5,Orangeville,ON L9W2Z2
Farm: 519-940-0319 Cell: 416-999-1249