"This shot was captured by complete luck. The sun was just coming up and the shadow reflections on the snow banks were beautiful."
Jenn McGean is responsible for the Heart of Harness Racing’s Calendar photo for February. Her husband, Bruce, took a shot of his shadow while jogging Physicallyinclined on a cold wintry January day on their half mile farm track in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, and texted it to Jenn. It was such a unique shot that Jenn decided to submit it for consideration for the calendar.
McGean comes from a harness racing family. Her parents, Kenny and Cathy Parker got her involved when she was young and some of her earliest and fondest memories are watching her parents’ horses race at Sackville Downs in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia.
“My older brother, Kenny Jr., and I were very lucky growing up as Dad always had a horse or two for us at our small farm in Stewiacke. This was a hobby for my family therefore my brother and I were responsible for jogging the horses ever day after school,” she explained.
As fate would have it, Jenn’s husband also grew up in a racing family and now they share their love for harness racing with their eight-year-old daughter, Sydney. Bruce and Jenn currently have three horses on their Stewiacke hobby farm including Physicallyinclined, Udontlooksotufftome and their daughter’s miniature horse, Cyrus. The three work together each day to take care of the horses and do the chores, but they “wouldn’t have it any other way!”
Jenn has worked as a compliance auditor with the Government of Canada for the past 10 years and Bruce operates his own welding business in town.
Mohawk Racetrack is Jenn’s favourite track and she always dreamed of having a horse that could compete there. In 2014, that dream came true with Physicallyinclined.
In 2013, Bruce decided to sell their two racehorses and invest in an Ontario bred yearling. In November 2013 they ventured to the Forest City yearling sale and purchased Physicallyinclined for the bargain price of $4,500. Their return on investment has been outstanding as the colt now has more than $267,000 in purse earnings.
He was the first yearling the husband and wife team broke together and trained on their farm track. Before they knew it, it was June, 2014 and they were in Ontario prepping for his baby race. “The joy this horse has brought to my family,,and our partners,Sterling and Jill Feener is priceless. He not only is a great horse on the track who loves his job, he is a very well mannered horse with a large personality.”
The McGeans traveled from Nova Scotia to Ontario for every one of his Ontario Sires Stakes races in 2014 and 2015, and the North America Cup Consolation last June. Dr. Ian Moore took over training the colt for his sophomore year. The highlight of the season was when the Mach Three colt handily won the North America Cup Consolation in 1:49. According to McGean, that was one of her proudest moments!
