Madison, WI — The Wisconsin Harness Horse Association is proud to announce its third and final Hall of Fame inductee for the Class of 2023. Becky Swinehart of Milton, Wis., will be inducted at the Jan. 27 event in Madison, Wis.

Becky Swinehart will be inducted at the Jan. 27 event in Madison, Wis. Provided photo.

Becky has been involved with racing Standardbreds since 1974. Although she had previous horse experience, her first start in racing harness horses began 1976 with a horse named My Zero at Quad City Downs. Her love for the sport has led to 50 years of racing in Illinois and county fair racing in Wisconsin and Illinois. An important part of Becky’s racing experience comes from working with her father, Cliff O’Beirne. Becky and Cliff share the training duties with Cliff driving at the fairs and occasionally at the pari-mutuel tracks.

They have raced several homebred horses under the Bon Eire name along with horses purchased privately and from sales around the country. Some of their favorite race horses have been Bon Eire’s Squire, Boneire’s Boo, Boneire’s Bonanza, Boneire’s Blitz, Becky’s Minx and Boneire’s Bubba (who went on to win $100,000 in his career).

These horses have raced at the fairs in Wisconsin, mainly racing at Elkhorn, Mineral Point, Richland Center and Viroqua as well as racing at Chicago area racetracks. Several of the horses finished the season in the top ten of the WHHA standings.

Bon Eire Stable had trained at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, which at that time was one of the premier training centers in the state. Training at Elkhorn had its advantages as many of the top horsemen were also racing out of the facility and most were more than willing to help the beginners. As the number of horses training at Elkhorn dwindled, Becky and Cliff worked with the Fair Board to keep the track open for training and agreed on a monthly sum which was guaranteed by Bon Eire Stable. When the fairgrounds closed to training in about 2017 due to lack of horses, Bon Eire moved their racehorses down to Marengo, Ill., at Harmony Oaks Training Center.

Becky has been on the WHHA Board of Directors for 20-plus years and has been instrumental in keeping racing alive at the Walworth County Fair. She has acted as Superintendent of Racing for the early race meets and the fair at Elkhorn. Seeing the fair going from two early meets and three days of fair racing down to one day of racing is, as most of us know, no small feat as many fairs across the state are discontinuing racing at their fairs.

Becky has spent countless hours and commitment to the auction at the WHHA annual meeting for many years. This involved contacting individuals and businesses for their donations, collecting those donations, and sending out thank you notes to everyone who donated an item, along with the hard work involved in overseeing both the silent and live auctions the night of the banquet. Because of her dedication to the auction, the association has seen unprecedented amounts of monies raised to enable harness racing to continue in Wisconsin.

Becky helped run the USTA Youth Camp at the Walworth County Fairgrounds for four years, and at the last camp had over 70 kids enrolled. This was a record number of enrollees of any of the previous camps. The kids were treated to jog cart rides with Dave Magee, who at the request of Becky and Susan, graciously gave his time.

Becky and Bon Eire Stable have assisted with the Standardbred Exhibit for 15 years at the annual Horse Fair in Madison, Wis., by supplying the Standardbreds for the driving exhibition.

Through Becky’s accomplishments and dedication to harness racing, not only in Wisconsin but in Illinois as well, she has earned her rightful spot in the WHHA Hall of Fame.

For those wishing to attend the banquet and honor Becky, contact WHHA President Gabe Wand at 608.574.5468 or gabewand@yahoo.com for more information.