Ahead of His Time
You may not have known him, or recognize the name - Gordon Gilbertson.
But if you work in the industry, this man has saved you more time and trouble over the years, than anyone that you do know. How? By inventing a simple piece of equipment that you use every single day. By Keith McCalmont
Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ones.
The legendary Bobby Hull popularized the curved blade hockey stick, boasting a slapshot that struck fear into the heart of goaltenders.
It took Jacques Plante being struck in the face by a shot from New York Rangers winger Andy Bathgate to finally don the first goalie mask in an NHL game.
But, for our purposes, cyclist Tullio Campagnolo might be the closest example of a simple invention that changed the sport.
In 1927, racing cyclists competed with exactly two gears. While racing in the Gran Premio della Vittoria through the cold and snow in the Italian Dolomites, he lost valuable time, and ultimately the race, when he could not remove a wing nut allowing him to change gears. This setback led to the first rod-operated derailleur. Today, a racing bike can have as many as 30 gears and much time is saved.
The late Dr. Gordon Gilbertson imposed his legacy on the sport of harness racing with the invention of the Rondeau Quick Hitch. The concept seemed simple enough: create a mechanism to eliminate the use of a “thimble” placed over the shaft ends and wrapping straps around the straight portion of the shaft to secure the horse in the sulky.
The simple invention, perfected over many years, was patented by Gilbertson in 1980 and has made hitching horses a seamless and arguably safer experience for all involved in the sport.
In April, it was announced that Gilbertson, at long last, would be enshrined in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame thanks to his game changing idea.
But, Gilbertson, born on June 3, 1920 in Hagersville, Ontario, was more than just a veterinarian and inventor. He was also an owner, trainer and driver and it was that hands-on experience that led to the invention.
Although he passed on in May of 2016, his name is fondly remembered in the industry and a variation of his invention, the Rondeau Quick Hitch, clicks into the lifeblood of the sport each and every day at racetracks and training centres around the world.
Gilbertson graduated a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Guelph in 1944 and it was during his studies that he met a younger student, John Findley.
“He was ahead of me two or three years,” recalled the now 92-year-old Findley. “Gilbertson had got interested in harness racing and he knew that I was interested in racing and we became instant friends.”
One afternoon, Gilbertson brought a horse up to the college for treatment and offered a young Findley the opportunity of a ride along to see his Ontario practice in operation.
“We went out on call and went up #3 highway and visited the various training places and farms. I remember seeing Dillon Mc who was quite a notable stallion in Ontario at that time,” said Findley.
The visit inspired Findley and he eventually opened up a practice of his own in the Ottawa Valley, but he often kept in touch with Gilbertson.
In 1960, Findley quit his practice and opened a public stable. At the same time, Gilbertson had started work for the Racing Commission and the two would cross paths from time to time.
It was years later during one of these chance meetings that Gilbertson explained the origin story of the hitch to Findley.
“He told me one time that he got the notion for a new hitch from a bad accident in London where he was the commission vet,” started Findley. “One of the horses ran away and came around and speared another one with the end of the shaft.”
The horrific accident was something out of medieval times, like a jousting knight.
“The shaft was like a lethal weapon, stuck out forward and sideways a little bit and would penetrate things if it came in contact with it. It was quite dangerous,” said Findley. “Gilbertson thought at that time it’s a shame that the long protruding end was so dangerous to both man and horse and thought it could be rectified.”
Many horsemen, including Findley, have had their own scary experience with the contraption.
“One time, when I was quite young, I was hitching a horse at the farm and the colt jumped and the end of the shaft hit me on the chest and knocked me down and nearly out. It was quite a serious performance before we got finished with it,” noted Findley.
That experience in London motivated Gilbertson and he got to work on modernizing the hitch with machined parts.
Findley, who boasts an excellent recall, admits to being surprised that Gilbertson was the first to find a solution for the archaic hitching practice.
“It was all a hold over to olden times and it’s a wonder somebody didn’t think to change it before Gord did,” laughed Findley.
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about with the hitch, just listen to Findley as he describes the process of hitching a horse pre-Rondeau and consider the time it might add to your day.
“You put the tress on and it was hooked through a hook on the shaft back near the driver on the crossbar of a jog cart or near the driver on the bike,” started Findley. “Then, you’d put the thimble on the end of the shaft and then you took a wrap and wrapped it around and depending on how loose the thimble was you might wrap the thimble (with a safety strap, and tie the shaft down) in - - or not if it was fairly taut. It was quite a performance.”
With practice and repetition you might be able to shave some time off the ordeal, but there were other issues to consider as well.
“The time of hitching a horse, if it was a nervous horse, could get them more nervous,” said Findley.
And then there was the matter of dealing with the ‘style’ of the caretaker responsible for tightening the straps.
“When I first started they had long tresses and a brass collar and there had to be some slack or there would be interference with the horses’ chest muscles,” noted Findley. “I had one groom when I first started to train who wanted to have them tight. I just got tired of saying anything to her and would just reach down and let them out a hole when I went out with her horse.”
The invention of the hitch made life easier for horsemen. Snap the hitch in and away you go. It saved time during morning training and it made life easier at night at the track.
“It was a wonderful advantage,” agreed Findley.
Gerry Roebuck ran the harness repair shop at Mohawk and Greenwood Racetrack around the time Gilbertson was developing the quick hitch. He recalls ringing up the couplers at about $69 a pair.
“It changed the way they hitched horses and the way they built race bikes. I converted a lot of the harnesses for the guys in the area,” recalled Roebuck.
And even though he is one of many to have put Gilbertson’s name forward for Hall of Fame consideration, Roebuck isn’t entirely sold on the invention.
“In some ways I think the old hitch was safer. If the equipment broke, the horse could run loose but now they can’t get away from it. There’s no safety release on the quick hitch,” said Roebuck.
As the man at the track during a time of many changes in development of equipment from harness to racing bikes, Roebuck noted one important advantage with the quick hitch.
“What it really made a difference with was trotting hobbles. They became a lot more popular after the quick hitch because your bike was consistently hitched,” explained Roebuck.
Roebuck believes that Gilbertson’s salesman personality was the key to the success of the hitch.
“He really pushed his idea and made it popular. He got big names involved like Del Miller, Bill Wellwood and Harold Shipp,” recalled Roebuck. “He went down to the U.S. with the hitch and even though Wellwood was a top trainer and driver long before the quick hitch. He really made it go.”
Having these big names of the sport involved added credibility to the invention. Nike had Michael Jordan and Gilbertson had a board full of racing stars to promote his product. In a very short period of time, the quick hitch gained popularity.
In 1987, U.S. horseman Mark O'Mara added to the legacy of the quick hitch when he used Gilbertson’s gift on the great Jate Lobell in the 1987 North America Cup. O’Mara felt the hitch would help Jate Lobell deal with Greenwood’s tight turns and it worked to perfection with Jate Lobell besting Frugal Gourmet in a rapid 1:52.4.
While Gilbertson will be remembered for his quick hitch, it shouldn’t be forgotten that he was also a prominent horseman.
He traveled to great success with the race mare Ambitious competing across New York State at Buffalo and Batavia. In 1960, Standardbred Canada’s Robert Smith wrote about how Gilbertson campaigned Ambitious out west.
‘Then in 1960 Doc decided to follow a popular trend of the day for those looking for a fast clocking. He journeyed to Vernon Downs and Ambitious went a career mile, stopping the timer in 2:03 with "Doc" in the bike. Vernon's 3/4 mile track, where the horses scored out of a chute, helped a lot of horses to new records. That was quite a mile in those days and created a tale that Doc often retold. In her racing career Ambitious earned a respectable $30,000 in purses which was pretty good for the times.’
The well-travelled Gilbertson was also the first track vet at Windsor Raceway, worked for the Ontario Racing Commission and was associated with the Agricultural College in Ridgetown. He eventually settled in Stratford with his wife, Eleanor.
For Gilbertson’s many friends, his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame is bittersweet.
“I wish he could have been put in before he passed away. It would have been something for him to know that it was appreciated so much,” said Findley. “I remember a horseman saying to me one day how if we were working today we could go really go through a lot of horses with that quick hitch.”
And while Gilbertson didn’t live to make his Hall of Fame speech, the racing community can take their own moment to honour the great man each and every morning when they hitch up their horse and head out to the track to train.
