by Tom White, publicity director, The Little Brown Jug

Delaware, OH — Standardbred breeder and owner Dr. Ron Fuller of Newark, Ohio, may have started a new trend in training young horses. The Ohio veterinarian began hitching his future trotting star Buck I St Pat to a goat cart at the age of two days! Now, four years later, the $1,001,027 winner is the early favorite for the $116,000 Miss Versatility Trot on September 18 at the Delaware, Ohio County Fair.

Buck I St Pat is the season’s fastest older trotting mare on both a mile and five-eighths-mile tracks. Her time of 1:52.2 at Harrah’s Chester was a world record for older trotting mares on a five-eighths-mile track. Even though Buck I St Pat hasn’t raced on a half-mile track this season, Dr. Fuller says that his mare can “really trot around turns.” Dr. Fuller also knows that Mystical Sunshine trotted the Delaware half-mile track in a world record 1:53.2 in winning the 2007 Miss Versatility Trot.

But first Buck I St Pat must recover from an inflammation of the tendon sheath which has kept her sidelined for about a month. Dr. Fuller is optimistic his mare will be able to race in about six weeks at Delaware.

“We started her back swimming two weeks ago, and she looks like she’s on the mend,” said Dr. Fuller. “But, we are not going to rush her. Hopefully, we will be able to qualify her in a few weeks. Being from Ohio, racing at Delaware means a lot.”

Dr. Fuller decided after 50 years of breeding and racing Standardbreds to try a new approach in working with foals.

“About 10 years ago I learned of a new way to work with young foals. Dr. Robert Miller, a veterinarian from Thousand Oaks, Calif., developed a new system called foal imprinting. I read his book and then attended one of his lectures.”

Two days after Buck I St Pat was born, with the assistance of his two daughters, Dr. Fuller hitched the filly to a goat cart.

“We walked behind her and held the lines and she followed her dam everywhere. We usually worked with her about five minutes. At first, we did this every three days, then once a week, and then every month. She was no longer scared, and she always tried to please,” said Dr. Fuller.

Buck I St Pat’s first serious training sessions came as a yearling in October.

“She took right to the training and after awhile it became a game,” said Dr. Fuller. “We raced her from behind throughout her 2-year-old season and she liked passing other horses.”

Halfway through her 2-year-old season, Dr. Fuller added three partners and a new trainer, Mickey Burke. The other owners are Howard Taylor, Ed Gold and Abe Vasent.

Buck I St Pat has 31 career victories and was voted Ohio’s 3-year-old trotting filly of 2006 and Ohio’s top older trotting mare in 2007 by the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association. Buck I St Pat’s sire is Jailhouse Jesse and her dam is Name It Something.

Buck I St Pat leads the Versatility Series in points earned, followed by Godiva Hall, who has winnings this season of $191,796.