A regular contributor to the Heart of Harness Racing calendar, Jackie McManus of Komoka, Ont., took December’s feature photo of trainer Scott McNiven and his daughter Kelley working with a yearling at Dorchester Downs Training Centre in Dorchester, Ont.

Jackie, who is the communications facilitator and right-hand woman for the fractional ownership group, Own A Standardbred (OAS), was at the farm that day to get her weekly updates for the owners when she captured the photo of the McNivens.

“I was fortunate to be at the farm the day they were line driving one of our yearlings. I wanted to be able to capture the bond between OAS2020 trainer Scott McNiven and his daughter Kelley while they worked together,” Jackie explained. “They, including Kim (McNiven), are a great family team and work hard and well together. The father/daughter bond is something special for me and it was a photo I really wanted to capture.”

Since the OAS fractional ownership program started in early 2020, there have been many new updates through 2021, including a partnership with trainer Francis Dumouchel and assistant trainer Maddi Henry for the OAS2021 group that shares ownership in five yearlings.

“We were very fortunate to have the results we did this year. The three colts all raced in either the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots or Gold Series with some top finishes, and the two fillies are set to qualify in December,” noted Jackie. “We have a great group of owners who I communicate with weekly via email and include either photos or videos. I am proud to say that every member of OAS2021 is a member of OAS2022 along with some new people and we have added three yearlings to the OAS2022 stable, again with Francis.”

While several months in the 2020 racing season were hampered by lockdowns and restrictions at racetracks, the 2021 season brought lots of new memories for Jackie and the OAS2021 ownership group including a special win by both He Bee Sunny and Luca Hanover.

“My favourite colt training down was He Bee Sunny, who won his second qualifier then finished third in a Gold before we had to turn him out for the year. I think the thrill for our group though was Luca Hanover, a Resolve colt who won a Grassroots then finished in the top three in three Gold starts.”

Between OAS2021 and OAS2022, the ownership groups will have eight horses to watch develop throughout next year. Along with Jackie’s weekly email communications that include photos and/or videos, OAS recently started a YouTube channel to share video updates on the horses with owners.

Jackie’s passion for photographing horses complements her efforts with OAS to inspire new people to become a part of the harness racing industry through fractional ownership.