The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club’s Heart of Harness Racing Calendar Photographer for June is Nicole Schnurr of Rockwood, Ontario.
Nicole captured this image of parade marshal Joanne Colville at Mohawk Racetrack on North America Cup night last summer. “I was lucky when I captured the picture,” admitted Nicole. “The light at that time was so beautiful and perfect. The horses were just coming out onto the track for the post parade and Joanne Colville riding the parade pony was standing in front of me like a statue in the centre of the track with the flag waving in the breeze. It was just perfect timing!”
Growing up in a racing family, Nicole had the opportunity to learn the ropes from her grandfather Larry Nickle who trained, drove, owned, and bred standardbreds. “You could say that I have harness racing in my blood! I have been involved in racing in all aspects. I have worked as a groom for many well known trainers including Ron Waples, Rob Fellows, and Tony O'Sullivan,” she explained. “My two favourite horse people are my Grandfather who taught me everything I know about horses and Ron Waples for giving me every opportunity to drive and train horses while I worked for him.”
Nicole also worked for the Ontario Harness Horse Association’s Youth Camp and the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society. She has her trainers and owners licenses and has owned a few of her own racehorses over the years. She’s waiting for her first training win and hopes to tackle that when she has the time and opportunity to train her own horse again.
Nicole jogs a Standardbred with a Grand River staff member for Staff Training day (Iron Horse Photo)
Nicole is a public school teacher in Kitchener and teaches music to kindergarten, and classes from grades 4 - 6. “Becoming a teacher has been the best decision I have made, and I believe I have the best of both worlds when it comes to teaching during the week, and being in the barn on the weekends. My boyfriend, Kyle Fellows and I have a racehorse together named 'Loves A Challenge' so I get to look forward to racing him and being in the barn when I am not at school.”
When she’s not spending time around the barn this summer, Nicole will be working at Grand River Raceway as a mutuel seller and as the track photographer on Friday nights.
Her photography hobby has just developed recently and she purchased her first quality camera last winter. Horses and dogs were her first photography subjects and now she tries to take her camera wherever she goes. She had her first “real” photography gig taking photos at the Grand River Open House on May 24 and is excited about being the track photographer there this summer.