On Halloween this year while children and the ‘young at heart’ will be out trick or treating in the neighborhoods, an unsung hero in the sport of harness racing will be celebrating his 100th birthday.
Unknown to many of the younger generation in our industry, Aime Choquette, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, has been a ‘behind the scenes’ great in harness racing. On October 31, Choquette will be celebrating his 100th birthday.
Born in 1914 in Sherbrooke, Choquette returned to his home town four years ago and lives a quiet life in an assisted-living centre. He is close to his sister, age 94, and has breakfast with her every week.
“I don’t get around as much as I use to,” Choquette says, “I have to use a walker now, but that has only been this past year. But other than that I think I am doing pretty well for almost 100 years old. I smile every day thinking how fortunate I am to have lived this long. I never thought growing up that I would live to see my 100th birthday.”
A confirmed bachelor, Choquette, who did not get into the harness racing industry until he was 38, had spent the next 52 years devoted to the sport.
Starting out as a trainer of show jumping horses in Quebec, it was in 1952 that Choquette first switched over to become a caretaker in the Delvin Miller Stable, a relationship that would last for more than 30 years and see many world and Grand Circuit champion trotters and pacers come from the Miller Stable.
“At the time I was maybe one of the best show jumpers in all of Canada,” Choquette explained. “One day, at a big event in Trois-Rivieres in 1951 at the Warwick Horse Show, I did a jump that no one had ever attempted before. I jumped the great horse Pete Hackley, over four jumps that were set up next to each other.
“Delvin Miller [happened] to be in the area at that time and heard about the jump I had made,” Choquette said, “and he was introduced to me and said he was interested in having me work for his stable and learn about harness racing. At the time the show horse business was going downhill and harness racing was moving uphill, so I took up his offer.”
Promoted to second trainer in 1959, Choquette would travel throughout North America on the Grand Circuit with Delvin Miller for most of his life, prepping yearlings at Miller’s famous Meadow Lands Farm in Pennsylvania and wintering at Pompano Park in Florida.
One of Choquette’s quotes that has stood the test of time include: “…we educate them, we never break them…” in reference to the early training of young horses.
During Choquette’s long career he has shared his horsemanship, wisdom and friendship with many of today’s racing industry leaders, who were grooms under Choquette’s tutelage.
They include the late Andy Grant, former president of the Hambletonian Society, and the late Castleton Farms president, John Cashman, Tom Charters, current president of the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown, Jerry Monahan, Red Mile GM, former USTA Registrar Bob Leuhrman, Jim Moran of Vernon Downs, horsemen Walter Bonafice, Don McKirgan, Lenford ‘Bucky’ Waugh, Bob Yohn, Soren Landin, Tomas Nilsson, Fred Kristofiak, David Seitz and many others.
Some would say that Choquette could be a tough taskmaster, but tempered that with his natural talent for teaching that was often reinforced with the reminder that…“You young fellas are here to learn.”
And the horses that Choquette worked with reads like a “Who’s Who” of harness racing greats, including Countess Adios, Dancer Hanover, O’Brien Hanover, Speed In Action, Tarport Hap, Meadow Bright, Songflori, Arndon and Delmonica Hanover, just to name a few. And Choquette also travelled around the world with Delvin Miller, racing their great stable and winning nearly every major stakes race in harness racing. Amie alone took Delmonica Hanover to France and prepped her for her victory in the prestigious Prix d’Amerique.
“I saw those hills at the Vincennes racetrack,” Choquette recalled, “and realized that she (Delmonica) would have to race up and down them and never could miss a step, so I would train her in short trips every day, up and down until she knew it made no difference and she would trot up and down at full speed with ease. When she beat the boys it was a great day and such a historic event in harness racing.”
Even at age 90, trainers would still call upon Choquette to come to Pompano Park and the local training centres to watch their horses train a mile and ask him for his opinion on what they were doing right and wrong. They knew that even if Choquette could not sit in a sulky anymore, that his eyesight and knowledge were still so keen.
In his later years, Choquette wanted to help those in the business that were less fortunate them himself, and with the Florida Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association he would funnel money to their sunshine fund. The chapter then renamed it the Amie Choquette Sunshine Fund and he has donated thousands of dollars that have been given to horsemen in need.
Steve Wolf, who has been a friend of Choquette’s for many years, has explained that he had the opportunity to visit Choquette in Sherbrooke just one month ago. The pair had breakfast together with racing photographer Ann MacNeil and fellow journalist Melissa Keith, and, of course, Choquette was full of himself getting to go out with two young women.
Choquette is still very spry and his memory sharp as a tack. He took out his scrapbook to show the ladies photographs from his early years in both show horse and harness racing. He has a great collection of memorabilia dating back older than he is. And he was so pleased to have company who traveled so far just to visit him.
And when his visitors left, Choquette said ‘goodbye’ in what was a trademark response that he and Delvin Miller would say to everyone that came to the stable, “We’re glad you got to see us!”
Everyone is being encouraged to send Choquette a birthday card congratulating him on his milestone birthday. His mailing address is Aime Choquette, 2835 Du Manoir, Apt. 220, Sherbrooke, QC Canada J1L 2E6. We know he would love to hear from his many friends he has made over the last, let’s say, 100 years!
(Harnesslink.com)