Lianne Head is the Heart of Harness Racing’s Calendar photographer for May. Now residing in Milton, Ont, Lianne captured this image of a young Parkhillkryptonite and canine friend Chloe at John Bax's Parkhill Stud Farm in Peterborough.
"Sometimes I take my camera out around the farm in my spare time and try to get a couple of shots," noted Lianne. "John's dog usually chases the horses and bugs them. And I saw him sniffing one time and I thought 'I'll have to get a picture of that!' I was lucky enough to come across it one time and have my camera ready."
Lianne wasn't from a Standardbred background, but has always been around horses. A high-school co-op placement introduced her to the Bax outfit in Peterborough, and Lianne has been involved with harness racing either part or full-time ever since. She now works for Team Bax full-time and often takes photos with her phone around the barn, but those are just for her own personal collection.
"It's just kind of a hobby. I've been taking pictures of Goodtimes ever since my co-op, but I keep those private."
Lianne counts Goodtimes as her favourite racehorse, sharing top honours with her own riding horse (pictured below). As it happens, those two are paddock pals at the current Bax location, just outside of Campbellville. The local track, Mohawk Racetrack, also tops Lianne's list.
"Mohawk Racetrack is probably the best place if you want to bring family or friends out. It has a really good atmosphere," stated Lianne. "I brought my parents and my parents friends for North America Cup night last year, and we were lucky enough to have Hemi Seelster win the Goodtimes that day so they all went home with pockets full of cash! That was a great experience for them, not knowing horses.
"My parents' friends, I'm trying to bring them into the industry a bit so that couldn't have been planned any better...they got full excitement that night!"
