PEI Sports Hall of Fame inductee Harry Poulton was honoured in an official ceremony on Friday, Nov. 25 at the Rodd Royalty Inn in Charlottetown.
Forty years of outstanding success in training horses earned Poulton the call to the Hall. Moving out west when he was 18 years old, Poulton has the distinction of training not just one, but two world champion horses.
Teaming up with owners Gordon and Illa Rumpel, Poulton turned On The Road Again (bought for $10,000) into a horse that earned $2.8 million in three years, twice winning Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1984 and 1985, in addition to being named both Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year and Aged Pacing Colt of the Year. Notable race wins included both the Meadowlands Pace and the Canadian Pacing Derby.
Remarkably, Poulton trained another world champion in Matts Scooter, who won $2.9 million and was another two-time Canadian Horse of the Year.
Poulton’s tremendous achievements resulted in him winning the Canadian Trotting Horseman of the Year in 1988 and Glen Garnsey North American Trainer of the Year award in 1989. That year, Poulton trained and drove Stargaze Hanover to victory in the Gold Cup and Saucer.
Other inductees honoured during Friday's ceremony included longtime broadcaster Dave Holland, who has become a respected and trusted voice, covering numerous sporting events, including the Gold Cup and Saucer, as well as curlers Peter Gallant and Robert Campbell.
Poulton and Gallant were recognized as part of the 2020 Class of inductees that had ceremonies delayed due to scheduling and the pandemic while Holland and Campbell rounded out the extended Class of 2022. This was the Hall’s fourth induction ceremony this year as it rebounds following the pandemic.
(With files from PEI Sports Hall of Fame)