It’s been nearly two months since every horse owner’s worst nightmare.
That nightmare was a barn fire, one which hit the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds in Woodstock, Va.
No equine lives were lost in the fire that hit the barn where trainers Lawrence Marston, Betsy Brown and Doris Lineweaver base their stables. However, the fire claimed equipment from bandages and bits to headpoles.
Nearby Rosecroft Raceway opened last weekend, and Brown and Lineweaver have been back in action at that track, operating once again with the generosity of friends, family and strangers.
They have to do some fancy footwork to get all the horses trained in a barn that now has just a few useable stalls on either end, and no electricity.
“It’s tough, we don’t have a barn,” says Lineweaver. “We’re mainly shipping in (from our homes) and trying to train. The horses ship in every day. Most of us are fairly close, so it takes less than a half hour each way. I have six so I have to take two loads; Betsy had between 11 and 15 she’s trying to train, so that’s more trips for her.”
The horsemen’s associations in both Maryland and Virginia stepped in with donations, as have individual horsemen and Penn National, parent company of Rosecroft, donated $3,000 immediately after the fire. Track owner Jeff Gural, also a standardbred breeder and owner, donated $10,000 toward the barn rebuilding fund.
Lineweaver says there was no insurance for the contents of the barn.
“The only insurance was on the actual building itself,” which will be rebuilt, she says.
“We’re sharing stalls and there is no place to store equipment. There are only eight viable stalls left, so we’re sharing them. I’m sharing one set of ear plugs and one set of bandages. I’m lucky enough that I have three horses and each of them has one bad leg, so I can share one set of bandages among them.
“My jog cart and race bike were fine and at home. I had feed tubs and water buckets burn up and my whole cabinet full of medicines and leg paints, stuff you don’t even think of.”
The new routine of shuttling horses to the track consumes time usually spent on the horses, says Lineweaver.
“There is never enough time in the day, you can go from morning to night. I have kids to get off to school and I can’t leave until they leave and I have to be home when they’re home. You’re running back and forth and jogging and training.”
What’s left of the barn is secure, though rebuilding has not yet started.
“They did clean up 95 per cent of the debris,” says Lineweaver, whose family has trained at the Woodstock Fairgrounds for three generations. “They cut off the parts of the roof that were flapping and tried to make things safer for us.”
Betsy Brown and her stable of 12 horses is also moving ahead, with help from many new and old friends.
“We’re back in business thanks to the generosity of a lot of fellow horsemen,” she says. “A lot of people sent harnesses or donated money. They sent gift cards to Big Dee’s so I could order things that I needed. Roger Hans gave me a jog cart and Ray Schnittker sent me 10 harnesses. People were just unbelievable.
“I lost 15 harnesses, every harness I had, bridles, the boots, hopples; I just lost everything right down to ear hoods and tie-downs.”
Despite the hardships, Brown is happy to be back at the racetrack with her stock.
“It feels great to be racing again. The first week the horses raced OK, last week we had a bad week. I’m looking for better performances in the weeks to come as they get raced more.
“We lost a good month and a half. It was tough, but you just feel so good to be back jogging and training. I still need hopples and a few little things that I’ll get as I get the horse that wears them racing. I need a couple tie-downs and some of the horses wear screens to race.”
Brown also credits her owners for helping her get the stable functional again.
“Ursula Ayd, Terry Kibler and Marvin Sigler --- they’ve helped get harnesses and coolers. I didn’t have one thing left, nothing. They ordered some stuff for me to get back racing. It’s just been nice to know that people care; they really care.
“It’s just been phenomenal. You wouldn’t think they would care about a couple little trainers, whether they had a place to train and try to make a living. But they do. What does Ray Schnittker or Jeff Gural care if I have a place to train or stable? But so many people have contributed.”
Those that would like to help Brown, Marston and Lineweaver can do so by sending or dropping equipment donations or gift cards to tack shops at either the race office at Rosecroft Raceway, 6336 Rosecroft Drive, Ft. Washington, MD 20744 or the paddock at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey on any racing day.
Donations toward rebuilding the barn can be made to Shenandoah County Fair Association, P.O. Box 264, Woodstock, VA 22664.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.