With the May 15 application deadline for the Harness Horse Youth Foundation’s summer programs, children are not the only ones preparing for the camps. The foundation’s stable of Trottingbreds, smaller cousins to the Standardbred, are also preparing for their summer duties with a group of trainers who volunteer their time and resources.
This year, four of the HHYF horses are being trained in Delaware where the summer’s first overnight camp will be held in late June. Karen Dennis is conditioning Royal Attire; Janet Davis has Imas Hit; Shannon and Andrew Stafford are working with LR Trixie; and Arthur and Stacy Stafford have Jandi Tuff As Sky.
The rest of the stable is in the Midwest, with Brandon Bates training Little Hick Town in Indiana; the Nick Giberson Stable working with Sweet Karen in Springfield, Illinois, where the Facebook diva has done numerous outreach programs; and the Kristen Shetler Stable is prepping CDs Miss M at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
“We are grateful to these volunteer conditioners,” explained HHYF Project Manager Keith Gisser. "They take time out of their own schedules to jog the horses daily, and even thought the don’t go fast training miles, it is critical that the horses get ‘legged up’ for the summer. Several of the trainers have gone above and beyond, scheduling educational events at their barns, which helps us move forward with our mission. I also have to mention the great job Patty Logan does with our stable in the off-season.”
The Harness Horse Youth Foundation is a charitable 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing young people and their families educational opportunities with harness horses, in order to foster the next generation of participants and fans. The Foundation has been making a difference in young people’s lives since 1976, and its programs include interactive learning experiences with these versatile animals, scholarship programs, and creation and distribution of educational materials. For more information on opportunities through HHYF, or to support its mission, go to www.hhyf.org.
(HHYF)