It’s been two years since we’ve seen one of Evelyn Sabraw’s photos featured in the Heart of Harness Racing calendar. However, for the 2021 calendar, she has once again impressed us with her adorable photo of mare Dont Stare, and foal Up Yer Kilt, grazing in the field on her farm in Acme, Alberta.

Evelyn purchased Dont Stare in 2018 from Bill Andrew and since then she has produced two foals, including Up Yer Kilt.

“When this little colt was born in 2020, we were a little surprised about the color, but it quickly turned into a fun naming game. With his red hair we named him Scotty, and his registered name Up Yer Kilt was too funny to pass up since his mom's name is Dont Stare,” explained Evelyn.

When we last spoke with Evelyn, she and her husband Mark, were making a shift in the industry to establish their own broodmare band. Fast forward to today, and the pair now have 12 broodmares, nine yearlings, three foals (with two more due in May!) and of course they still have their farm mascot, Slurpee the donkey and his quarter horse girlfriend Willow.

It’s been a tough go with no racing in Alberta, and with Evelyn no longer working a day job, she was determined to keep herself busy and began building a new barn with her husband for their herd of horses to call home.

“Over the past couple of years, we've worked on our breeding program, adding a few mares and learning about pedigrees. It's been an amazing journey with tons to learn, but I enjoy that! My new barn has a great set up for that kind of work which makes it all the more exciting,” she explained. “We started building the barn four months ago and it's been quite the project and adventure. My husband and I have pretty much done all the work on our own to keep it affordable.”

Evelyn and Outlaw Star Bright in the new barn she is building.

With the future of racing still unknown in Alberta, Evelyn is also toying with the idea of keeping one of the nine yearlings and getting back in the jogger to learn more about training. Along with many other things throughout 2020, her photography was put on the back burner with not much happening in the industry, but she is looking forward to dusting off her camera and taking photos of this year’s foals.

Evelyn is hopeful that racing will return by summertime so she can get to the racetrack to hang out with friends again and watch the four yearlings they sold last year hit the track!