"I love the horses and I love harness racing. I wish I would have come to the backstretch, here at Northlands, sooner."

Canadian Football League player Tristan Jackson has been on the Northlands backstretch this week and he's been doing a lot of smiling. And so have the horsepeople.

"He's creating a buzz on the backstretch," says trainer Rod Starkewski. "He's a celebrity here, but he doesn't show it. He's just here having fun and we're all having fun with him."

"I've been here (at Northlands) before, but only when the thoroughbreds were racing," says Jackson. "I love the harness horses and I've met some very nice people, back here, who've allowed me to jog some horses. I'm having a blast!"

Speaking of blast, a blast of cold arctic air descended upon Edmonton, this week, with temperatures hovering around the -15 C mark.

Jackson finishes a jog with an unraced As Promised three-year-old.

"I've jogged harness horses before, but never in this kind of cold, but it's all good," smiles Jackson.

Signing as a free agent with the Edmonton Eskimos, in 2008, Jackson had played three seasons for the 'green and gold', as a defensive back, but played for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders during 2011. He does have an offer on the table from the Riders, for 2012, but nothing's been signed yet for the upcoming season.

"I'm due to become a free agent again on the 15th of this month. I guess we'll see what comes out of that."

Jackson is known for one of the biggest hits of the CFL's 2011 season, on Romby Bryant of the Calgary Stampeders.

When asked about his background with the horses and standardbred racing, in general, Jackson says it all started at an early age.

"I began walking horses, back home, when I was around eight," says the Beaumont, Mississippi native. "I'd say it was back around 2008 when I had picked up my first 'Tennessee walker' and it wasn't long after that I had my first standardbred horse."

"My first standardbred I called Noche," he says. "His name on the racetrack was Hoosier Bandit and he raced a bit in Indiana. I've raced him under saddle, on the dirt roads back home, but it's all just for fun in Mississippi."

Jackson mentions that he's in on a two-year-old, by the name of This Spark Wil Fly, in Chicago, but he'd like to team up with his good friend - trainer Rod Starkewski - to race one here in Alberta.

Tristan plans on attending the races this Saturday night, in Edmonton. To view the entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Northlands Park.

(with files from Northlands; photos courtesy Shannon Doyle)