BUCYRUS―Excitement filled the air as local kids learned about horses, harness racing and more at the Crawford County Fairgrounds on Monday during a harness racing class.
Maddie Kent of Bucyrus, one of the students of the class, said she wanted to be able to attend a class that would teach her more about horses.
“I thought riding horses would be really fun and it is,” Kent said.
She said the horses have it rougher than most people realize.
“Well, they have to put all of this gear on and they can get really frightened. So we have to be really careful with them,” said Kent.
Kent said they were able to ride with two trotting-bred horses. The breed is smaller than most but different than ponies.
“We are riding with Roy right now but we rode with Misty earlier. She was a little feisty,” said Kent.
Chris Easterday’s parents, Vonetta and Donald Schnarrenberger, raised and trained racehorses for many years and she is continuing the family tradition by owning several horses herself.
Easterday said she thought the class would be good for local kids, ages 10 to 17.
“It is a chance for the kids to work with horses and to also get them interested in harness racing,” said Easterday.
Keegan Rutledge, 12, said he has never had a chance to work with horses.
“It’s good to get some experience with horses. It’s really fun and I have learned a lot already today,” said Rutledge.
Ellen Taylor, executive director of the Harness Horse Youth Foundation that is based in Anderson, Indiana, was in charge of the day-long class.
“Our group is a national organization that travels around the country and teaches kids about harness racing,” said Taylor, who has been working with horses for nearly 40 years.
David Staats of Bucyrus is in charge of harness racing for the Crawford County Fair Board.
“Harness racing is important to me and it’s definitely important to our fair. I am a presiding judge so I travel to other fairs. I look in the grandstands and there’s no youth. The youth is the next generation and without them, we have nothing,” said Staats.
When he learned of Taylor’s program, he went to the fair board.
“I told them we need to try this,” said Staats. “We have a nice turnout and these kids are having a lot of fun. This is our next generation, whether they end up being owners, trainers, drivers or spectators, it is very important to get them involved.”
Staats said the six kids in the class learned about the anatomy of the horse, the care of horses, the equipment used in harness racing and other aspects of horses and harness racing.
Easterday said the students in the class were also to play games to teach them about trotting and pacing of the horses.
Jasmine Taylor took a spin around the track with the horse named Roy.
“We learned so much about horses. We also learned about the parts of the horse and where all the tools go,” said Jasmine. “This is so much fun.”
The class was open to the public and more classes will be offered in the future. For more information about the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, visit the website.