by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Williamsport, PA — She’s always confident her mare will perform well, but co-owner/trainer Sharlene Dufford realizes there is an essential component to Go Get Blanche’s success.

“I told my husband right after we bought her that she would be our open trotter, but there’s not many like Blanche,” said the 57-year-old resident of Meadowlands, Pa. My daughter, Missy Morris, is an outrider here at The Meadows and if it wasn’t for her, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to race her. She’s going out to Las Vegas to get married and I know I can’t race her while (my daughter) is gone.”

The 5-year-old daughter of Go Get Lost-Cayenne Pepper K, co-owned by Phillip Sollon of Canonsburg, Pa., has collected $188,897 throughout her career and owns a lifetime mark of 1:56.1f. Sollon and Dufford purchased Maryland’s 2-year-old filly trotting champion in November of 2007. Since she has changed barns, Go Get Blanche has earned more than $140,000 from 49 starts.

“She had some problems,” Dufford explained. “I run a holistic stable and when I looked at her, I could see her energies were down, but I could feel what was underneath and knew she could be an awesome horse. It took me six weeks to get her lungs, which were totally filled up with mucus, cleaned up, but she’s been great ever since.”

Even if Blanche doesn’t feel on top of the world, it does not affect her antics in the paddock.

“She puts me in a sweat when it’s 10 degrees below zero and that’s even just to jog her,” Dufford chuckled. “I hold her head, while my husband hooks her up and she’s firing at you the whole time. She’s not a mean horse, that’s just her and she’s putting her game face on. You have to walk out checked up and just hope she behaves leaving the barn.”

Blanche is not the first tough mare Dufford has been around.

“My father is John Stark and my brother is John Stark, Jr., who had Bunny Lake,” she said. “My sister Laurie Stark called me and told me this mare was available. I’ve always been around horses and I think I was about seven when my father put blocks down so we could train horses.”

The only time the mare is hard to handle is when it’s time to go to work.

“She’s really very sweet to be around,” said Dufford, who currently cares for 10 head and has earned nearly $500,000 throughout her conditioning career. “Every morning I take my granddaughter out to the barn and she gives (Blanche) ginger snaps. She just loves them and takes them right out of her hand.”

As long as Blanche remains healthy and happy, she will continue to compete, but when it’s time for her to become a mom, Dufford intends to resist her husband’s inclination to keep her as a broodmare and will place her in the Harrisburg Sale.

“I think if anyone else would have bought her, (Blanche) would have been an outlaw because a lot of people would not put up with their behavior, but that’s just her,” Dufford said. “I’m very lucky to have her and to have all my horses. I just love getting up in the morning, working with my horses and my family. I am definitely blessed.”