With limited opportunities and growing uncertainty of when harness racing will resume in his home province of British Columbia, John Abbott has made the decision to move his base of operations to Ontario as early as next month.
"My wife, my son and I are hoping to be out there by mid-March," Abbott told Trot Insider. "We feel like it is in the best interest of our future to be in Ontario. We have been discussing it for a while. We want to be where the racing is. More tracks, horses and work in general."
Given the lengthy hiatus and uncertainty faced by the harness racing industry in Western Canada, many stables have been forced to downsize or relocate altogether. That reality, paired with limited willingness to keep playing the waiting game, is one that Abbott, along his wife, Jessie Robinson, and their son, Beau, prompted their decision to make the cross-country trek to a new home base in Guelph, Ont.
"They're obviously trying to get money to race right now, so they're waiting on a response from the government and those types of things," Abbott explained. "But, with everything going on in the world right now, it's tough to gauge when that's all going to take place. For us, we just had to make a decision and act on it, just like a few other people from B.C. and Alberta have done already."
Abbott does have ties to Ontario, though. The move east brings things full circle for the 35-year-old horseman, whose dad, Gord, was born in London, Ont., before venturing west and racing primarily in British Columbia for the past three decades, save for a stretch in Ontario from 1999 to 2003.
"It's kind of neat," Abbott continued, indicating that the relocation is not a short-term proposition. "We're not just going to go for the summer; we're pursuing it full-time and we have some goals."
Abbott, who finished 2020 in eighth place in the Fraser Downs driving standings, has 300 driving wins to his credit through his career. While racing will have resumed in Ontario for a few weeks before his planned arrival — and he'll be able to hit the ground running to some degree — Abbott will still have other business to get in order upon landing in his new home base.
"I potentially have a job lined up; I've been talking to a trainer out there. I'm kind of looking more for a second trainer gig, so to speak, and then pursue some driving and see where that goes. Once the wife gets settled, she can figure out exactly what path she wants to pursue, whether it's grooming or equine therapy."
After he acclimates himself to new surroundings and a new circuit, Abbott has indidcated he'll look to expand his own stable.
"We have one cheaper class horse we're bringing out," he said, "but over the summer, we're looking to possibly buy one or two more."
The move east may take the trio away from Abbott and Robinson's immediate families, but Abbott believes the benefits of the move will far outweigh the challenges:
"We just feel like it's the move we have to make. We're very passionate about horse racing, so it's where we've got to go.... We're excited to see some old friends and meet some new faces, too."