For any child who has ever dreamed of being part of horse racing, here’s their chance.

In partnership with eight racetracks around the province, including Georgian Downs, the Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA), is offering eight-day camps for kids that want to try their hand at the reins of a racehorse.           

And if offering 10 to 13 year olds the opportunity to try harness racing isn’t unique enough, there’s more. The camp is free.          

“There was never any talk of charging for it,” said Brian Tropea, the OHHA organizer of the camp. “We’re just trying to provide an opportunity for kids with an interest (in harness racing), to learn something different. To maybe give them another option or career path.”          

Initially started in 2003 to introduce new people to the sport of harness racing, 320 youths have attended the camp during the five years. With eight camps each year and eight kids at each camp, there are 64 new harness racing fanatics being created each year.

“We’ve had tremendous responses,” said Tropea, “To work with and bond with a thousand pound animal. For some of them, it’s incredible.”

Former students have created a page on Facebook for the camp, to stay in touch with their friends and to keep the dream alive.

“It’s peaked the interest of a lot of children,” said Tropea.

The OHHA has also approached trainers at the different racetracks who are interested in opening up their stables to the graduates of the program. It allows the kids to stay involved in the sport and some of the students from the first year that are now eighteen have obtained their trainers licence.

During the course of the camp, the students learn all there is to know about harness racing, including harnessing, grooming, and feeding. But there’s also classroom work where they learn about the nutrition, shoeing and the veterinary needs of the horses. Only eight students are selected for each camp and with four horses available during the four days, one pair of kids is assigned to each horse.

The highlight of the camp for most children is the opportunity to jog the horses around the track.  The camp uses two-seater jog carts and a volunteer accompanies the children at all times.

The last day is when the real fun happens.  Accompanied by a professional driver in the cart, the children race off against the other three horses in the camp, and vie for bragging rights.

“These horses have been race horses,” said Tropea, adding that when they get on the track they want to race. He does stress that the horses are specially selected for the camp and while they may be too slow to still be racing they are sound.
          

In his next life, Tropea say he’d like to come back as a camp horse. “For ten months they do nothing and then for two months they have children fawning over them.”

The camp is funded by the Standardbred Revenue Allocation committee and is made available to all racetracks across the province, though the camp rotates through the different locations.  This year, Georgian Downs is hosting one of the camps.

“We appreciate the racetracks participation,” said Tropea, “They give us free range for three or four days. They’re fantastic to work with.”

To apply for the camp, the 10 to 13 year olds from a non-harness racing background are required to submit a 200-word essay on “Why I Want to Drive a Racehorse.” On the final day, they’re also required to write about the camp.

So far, the only complaints they’ve had are that the participants want more time with the horses and they want the camp to be longer.

“I say to the kids that they can tell their biggest secret to the horses and they don’t have to worry,” said Tropea, referring to the bond the kids develop with the horses. 

“But it’s very sad on the last day.”

The deadline to apply is July 4.  For more information visit www.georgiandowns.com/youth-camp.htm