This is usually the time of year when final preparations are being made for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Toronto’s spectacular indoor showcase of all things agriculture and horses, but unfortunately like so many other events and competitions, the Royal was cancelled for 2020. Instead of putting finishing touches on training, and moving into the historic Horse Palace at Exhibition Place, exhibitors are reflecting on past Royal Horse Shows, their memories and successes.

Road Horses, or Roadsters have competed at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair since it began in 1922 and continue to be considered one of the most exciting divisions showing as part of the Royal Horse Show. In the early days of the division, classes were offered for trotters, pacers, pairs as well as Standardbred in-hand confirmation/breeding classes.

Today, the road horse division consists exclusively of Standardbred trotters, with classes offered for green horses (first or second year as a show horse), bike, wagon and ladies. The division continues to thrill the crowds with their speed and brilliance as up to a dozen horses are presented at three distinct speeds of trot…jog, road gait and at speed or “Drive on!”

Canadian road horse exhibitors are primarily hobbyists, often following in the traditions of generations of family members before them, the most visible of those continued traditions being the style of the colours worn while showing bike classes which is similar to those sported by harness drivers of the 40’s and 50’s. Many cite a connection to family and tradition as the reason they continue to constantly be on the lookout for their next Standardbred show ring star.

Some Standardbred trotters in the show ring may not have made it to the track because they weren’t fast enough to be competitive, but do have the presence, carriage and style coveted by road horse exhibitors, while many others have had varying levels of success as race horses before being transitioned to the show ring as their second career.

The examples highlighted below include a few Standardbreds who may be familiar to Canadian harness racing fans as race horses on Canadian racetracks before reaching the pinnacle of Canadian show ring success at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Armbro Beau (Balanced Image – Evita – Bonefish)
Breeder: Armstrong Bros., Inglewood, Ont.
Race Career: Raced at tracks throughout Ontario from age two to nine, with 129 lifetime race starts, 16 wins, earnings of $129,841 and a lifetime race mark of 1:56 set at Woodbine.

Show Career: The classy bay gelding was purchased by Steve McLean in 2010 and began his show career soon after. “Beau” earned the title of Canadian Champion Road Horse to Wagon in 2012 and 2013 and continued to compete at shows throughout Ontario, and Quebec for several years.

S Js Storm Trooper (S Js Photo - Wesgate Freedom - Royal Prestige)
Show name: Stormtrooper
Breeder: Cedarknoll Racing Stable, Puslinch, Ont.
Race Career: Raced from age three to seven, with 79 lifetime race starts, seven wins, earnings of $94,659 and a lifetime race mark of 1:56.4 as a six-year-old at Georgian Downs.

Show Career: Purchased by Lloyd and Carolyn Nugent of Napanee, Ont. in late 2010 and successfully transitioned to the show ring by winning the Green Roadster Classic (for road horses in their first or second year in the show ring) in 2011 and 2012. In addition to winning multiple qualifying classes “Trooper” successfully won numerous championships at The Royal including 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 Canadian Bike Champion, and 2018 Canadian Road Horse to Wagon Champion.

As with so many exhibitors involved in the Road Horse Division, family is vitally important. The Nugent family is the perfect example of that. Until his passing in 2019, Lloyd oversaw training, with his daughter Carolyn doing much of the driving. Carolyn has now added training to her repertoire and intends to continue in her father’s footsteps.

When asked what qualities first attracted the Nugents to Stormtrooper, Carolyn said: “What we saw in Trooper was his beauty all around, a fine head, nice long neck, trots light-footed like he isn't touching the ground, high knee action even when he walks and lots of spirit. His race trainer Robert McKenzie, Jr. had him well-mannered so it didn't take us long to bring him along to be a show horse. The thing with Trooper is he has a switch like no other horse we owned, calm at home, in the stall, trailering and getting ready for a class but when you check him up he switches into full show gear.

“As my Dad would always say he has motion and presence and that's what we look for in a road horse.”

The Nugent family’s favourite memory of showing Stormtrooper, who is still going strong at age 17, is when he won the Green Roadster Classic in 2011. He then followed it up by being named Reserved Champion Road Horse to Bike that same year against many more experienced horses.

Breezy Knoll Abe (Eighteen Karat - Swift Yankee - Baltic Speed)
Show name: Road Rage
Breeder: Parks Breezy Knoll, Lowville, N.Y.
Race Career: Raced as a three-year-old at Rideau Carleton and as well as Vernon Downs, Goshen and Saratoga with Shirley Williamson as trainer, with 24 lifetime race starts, five wins, earnings of $24,976 and a lifetime race mark of 2:00.3 set at Vernon.

Show Career: Purchased by Wayne Scharf of Richmond, Ont. in 2004 Breezy Knoll Abe soon began his show career with the moniker of Road Rage. A two-time winner of the Green Roadster Classic (for road horses in their first or second year in the show ring) in 2005 and 2006. Road Rage was also the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Canadian Road Horse to Bike Champion.

When asked how Road Rage became part of their show string, Wayne’s wife Shirley described the following: “Our daughter Kerri and I were going to the qualifying races at Rideau Carleton to see if we could spot any good candidates to make a road horse. As soon as he came out, he really caught my eye, and I liked him very much. We went home and told Wayne and he and I went the next time to see him. He really liked him and we pursued the trainer and his owner, watching him race many times. It was close to a year before we were able to finalize his purchase.”

The Scharf family’s greatest memory of showing at The Royal with Road Rage was in 2005, when he won the Green qualifier, Green Class itself and then won the Over bike and the Bike championship as well as winning the gelding line/confirmation class. In 2006 he repeated winning the Green class, over bike and Bike Championship. In 2007 he won the Bike class and Bike championship again.

“Needless to say, he has given us many memorable Royal experiences but his first year was special. We still have him and he is here until he is ready to go.”

Spunky Len (Spunkys Creek - Roy Ross - Brisco Hanover)
Breeder: Eli Weber, Mount Forest, Ont.
Race Career: Raced from age three through five throughout Ontario and Quebec, with 44 lifetime race starts, three wins, earnings of $20,289 and a lifetime race mark of 2:00 set at Hippodrome Montreal at age five.

Show Career: Purchased by Howard Salisbury of West Bolton, Que. in February of 2008, Spunky Len continued to race until November of that year.
After some time away from the track, Spunky Len began his show career in 2010, winning the Green Roadster Classic (for road horses in their first or second year in the show ring) with Howard’s son Derek in the bike. He has continued to show since 2010 and in 2019 at the age of 16 won the Canadian Road Horse to Wagon Championship at the Royal.

When asked what made them think Spunky Len would make a good road horse when they saw him racing, Derek Salisbury’s response was, “his headset. That is what caught my eye. When a horse’s headset is naturally high, it makes it so much easier to train them to be a road horse.”

As with so many exhibitors involved in the Road Horse Division, it is a family affair. When asked about his favourite memory of showing Spunky Len, Derek enthusiastically responded. “Family!! It is all about family. Spunky Len is part of our family. When we are all at the Royal, Spunk has a huge crew in the pits.”

Impressive (Duke of York - Lastingimpressions - Yentls Image)
Breeder: Kenneth Switzer, Georgetown, Ont.
Race Career: In 121 lifetime starts from age three through eight, Impressive accumulated 15 wins, earnings of $91,606 and a lifetime race mark of 2:00.1 at Grand River Raceway set at age five.

Show Career: Impressive was purchased in June of 2015 by Clare Hayes of Lindsay, who continued to race the chestnut gelding until the fall of 2016, all the while hoping he could transition him to the show ring once his time as a race horse concluded. Impressive, whose barn name is ‘Red’, made his show ring debut in 2017 winning the Green Roadster Classic (for road horses in their first or second year in the show ring) in both 2017 and 2018.

When asked what made him think Impressive might make a good road horse, Clare said, “I first saw Red at Grand River in a race where his head carriage at speed impressed me. I followed him for some time before I purchased him at Georgian Downs one evening.”

Hayes continued by saying that his favourite memory of showing Impressive at the Royal was “winning the 2017 & 2018 Green Road Horse to Bike Classic, it was very exciting.”

For more information about showing Standardbreds as Road Horses, visit roadhorse.ca or the organization’s Facebook page.

(CRHA)