by Dean A. Hoffman

Dean Hoffman

Columbus, OH — As Thanksgiving arrives, I could write thousands of words to say why I’m thankful. I hope you can, too.

Certainly I’m thankful that I’ll have my daughters home from college and that we’ll have family and neighbors with us around the dinner table tomorrow.

I’m also thankful for small favors that may not resonate with everyone. Just being around horses at a fairgrounds in the fall is reason for me to give thanks. A fairgrounds in the fall may seem forlorn to many people. The leaves have fallen from the trees, the skies are often gray, and there’s a distinctly winter chill in the air.

For me, however, it’s a tonic. Or at least it was recently when I paid a visit to the Madison County Fairgrounds in London, Ohio.

As you enter the city limits, a sign says: London — A proud tradition of agriculture. Then you spot the obligatory Wal-Mart Super Center, a mark of distinction in small-town America.

This is real harness horse country. People around London know about harness racing. It’s part of their heritage. I doubt if any other daily paper in North America devoted a full page to harness racing not once, but twice this summer. But the daily paper in London sure did.

One was a lengthy article and photo essay on “A Night In The Life Of A Racehorse” about a locally-owned horse named Herestheconnection.

The second time the sport got a full page of coverage this summer was when the London daily ran a long feature about Somebeachsomewhere, who was bred by Madison County resident Stephanie Smith-Rothaug. The rest of the page was a feature on London horseman Darin Mouser, who was seriously injured in a racing accident just as the article appeared.

Many good horsemen have come from this part of Ohio and many good horses have come off this fairgrounds, but now the winter training colony is limited to about 45-50 horses.

I went to see my longtime friend John Eades. He’s started horses in the Hambletonian and in some of the biggest races in Europe, but presently he’s got a trio of trotters: a Credit Winner filly, a colt by the European superstar Daguet Rapide, and an SJ’s Caviar yearling colt he’s just now starting in harness.

John works patiently with each horse, giving it some time in a nearby round pen while he meticulously cleans stalls. His horses get the old-fashioned care seldom seen in the sport today. Stalls are fluffed with fresh straw.

When John takes his Credit Winner filly to the track, he slips his lines under the neck strap of the Buxton martingale. It’s one of the many tips on horsemanship he acquired while training in Italy for several seasons. This practice, however, has caused some consternation when his horses go to the track.

As John was taking a horse to the track once, a well-meaning horseman said, “Hey, wait! You gotta line under the martingale strap!”

John corrected him by saying, “No, I’ve got two lines under the straps” and let it be known it was intentional.

His brother David Eades, mayor of London for many years, was out on the track when I arrived, checking the new material put on the track a day earlier to help cushion it for winter. Hizzoner likes horses and yet city business is never far from his mind.

We spent most of the time in the barn, and indulging in some good-natured kidding and jokes. Even at a county fairgrounds in Ohio, they talk about what horses brought what prices at Harrisburg or what’s in the book at the Blooded Horse Sale.

We were joined by a couple other horsemen and soon the barn looked like Horsethieves Row as the conversation roamed from horses and hunting to the prospects for slots in the Buckeye State.

Some solitary joggers circle the track periodically, but many of the horses don’t get out until later in the day when their owners get off their day jobs. These guys are the night riders who fight to get their jog miles in before the sun sets.

Thanksgiving is a time when America slows down — if only for a day — from its frenetic lifestyle to ponder our many blessings. Yes, my investments have taken a beating, but my family is healthy and happy and that’s more important. And I’m thankful for small blessings, such as the chance to spend a morning at a fairgrounds in the fall.