Georgia is not a state many would associate with harness racing, but at this time of year there are a number of notable horses and horsepeople seeking refuge from winter in the warmth of the Peach State.



On Saturday (April 2) the Hawkinsville Training Center hosted its first session of qualifiers this year during the track's annual Harness Horse Festival. Seven dashes were conducted over the rich red dirt with one name standing out from the rest — 2020 O'Brien Award winner Pemberton.



Sidelined due to injury for the 2021 season, Pemberton made his first on-track appearance in more than nine months with a convincing victory over his younger rivals. Trainer Paul Walker was at the controls as the five-year-old trotter chopped out fractions of :29.4, 1:01.4 and 1:34.3 before letting the trotter out a notch turning for home. A :27.4 closer was enough to gain a double-digit margin on his closest competitor, with the mile timed in 2:02.2 over the track rated 'good' with a one-second allowance.

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"He's a little bit on the lazy side when he's in front, and the track isn't super fast right now. So we were pretty happy with the way he drove and the way he finished. That's pretty well what we were looking for today," co-owner Brenda Walker told Trot Insider. "You always worry when he's been off that long, coming back but we're happy right now with the way he's trotting and how he's going. So we'll just keep our fingers crossed and continue on."



Recovering from a slight fracture in his left front knee discovered after his second 2021 qualifier, Pemberton likely could have been pointed to a return to the racetrack late last year but his connections provided ample time for the stable star to recover.



"After the second qualifier it was stiff and when we got him X-rayed, it showed up. So we just pulled the harness off him right away...We didn't jog him again until December [in Georgia]. We thought it might as well heal properly, and we really didn't want to race him in the winter. We're hoping that it's healed well and everything's good this year."



Off a sophomore season for Brenda & Christine Walker with eight wins in 10 starts and a mark of 1:52.2 at Mohawk, Pemberton certainly earned himself a following during that award-winning campaign.



"We've still had a lot of people asking about him, if he was coming back and how he was going. We're keeping our fingers crossed, but so far, so good. That's all we can say."



This qualifier was the first of three planned for the son of Wheeling N Dealin, with the next tests coming north of the border at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Walkers will be heading back home with their six-horse stable in a few weeks, and the plan for Pemberton won't have him leaving the province — or country, for that matter — for any stakes engagements this season after returning to Canada.



That said, Team Pemberton wouldn't have to leave the province for one of the bigger prizes the division has to offer: the 2022 Breeders Crown. Much too wise to make any predictions this early, Walker didn't dismiss the race given Pemberton is eligible but there is a lot of racing and a lot of time between now and the end of October.



"Well, we're hoping you know, I mean, if everything goes good first. We're hoping he's competitive, and we'll just have to play by ear. You know what it's like with horses."