by Charlene Sharpe, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Charlene Sharpe

Seaford, DE — The harness racing industry is full of dynamic women. They spend their days emptying wheelbarrows, filling water buckets, jogging and training horses just like their male counterparts. You’ll rarely find them in the sulky though.

The Ohio Ladies Pace series is working on changing that. The series, in its second year, provides a summer full of races for women drivers at fairs throughout the state.

“The Ohio Ladies Pace gives us a chance to show fans and everyday people that we are here and we are extremely capable of driving competitively,” said Tabby Canarr, currently the points leader in this summer’s series. “It’s very refreshing to have people want you to drive their horses and the long drives to these fairs becomes absolutely worth it when you hear the grandstands cheering you on.”

Photo courtesy of Ohio Ladies Pace

Ohio Ladies Pace participants at the London Fair included (from left to right) Jayne Weller, Mandy Jones, Tabby Canarr, Mary Birkhold and Ulrika Fox.

Canarr won Sunday’s (July 31) Ohio Ladies Pace at Eaton with Chai-Five Racing’s Royal Meeting in 1:58.4 and just last week came within two-fifths of a second of the track record at Marysville, winning with Cindy Austen and Steve Livingston’s Northwesterndreams in 1:57.

“My favorite part so far with doing these races is seeing young ladies at the fence smiling and cheering,” Canarr said. “Knowing that they see women out there and thinking they can do it too someday. I love driving horses.”

Canarr is just one of close to 20 women competing in this year’s Ohio Ladies Pace series. Created by Tim Harless and Emily Hay, the series now includes races at roughly 30 Ohio fairs. The top nine drivers in the series will be invited to a series final at Delaware during Little Brown Jug week.

“The girls get really pumped up because they want to race Jug Week at Delaware,” Hay said.

Hay said the series came about after she and Harless, who were each organizing a women’s race at their respective fairs, joined forces and invited other fairs to host races for women. In its first year the Ohio Ladies Pace offered events at 16 fairs and that number has grown to 28 this year.

“Some of the fairs have told us it’s their biggest betting race of the night,” Hay said.

In addition to showing their skills on the track, the women who take part in the Ohio Ladies Pace also make an effort to visit with the fans at every fair. They often bring school supplies to donate to local children.

“You don’t see the guys doing that,” Hay said.

The women involved say they’re eager to promote harness racing, particularly to female fans.

“This isn’t just a male sport and we want women and young teens to see that if you want it enough and work hard enough you can achieve anything,” said Meredith Noble. “We want to help empower women and teens to be drivers, trainers, owners, grooms, whatever their passion is.”

Noble, who you’ll find working in a dentist’s office during the week, loves the fact that the Ohio Ladies Pace gives her a chance to stay involved in the industry that’s so important to her family. The daughter of the late Sam “Chip” Noble III, Meredith Noble loved the time she spent helping her father with his stable. Driving allows her to stay in touch with that part of her past.

“I like the adrenaline rush,” she said. “I like seeing what I can learn from one week to the next. Most of all I like that I am carrying on the family tradition and keeping my dad’s spirit alive.”

The Ohio Ladies Pace will continue through the summer with the next events coming Aug. 3 at Wapakoneta and Xenia.

For more information, look up the Ohio Ladies Pace on Facebook or simply talk to one of the women involved.

“All the drivers involved are a family now,” Canarr said. “We root for each other in one way or another, to do good, to do better, to learn and grow as competitive drivers. The drive to win is there but the drive to promote our sport is bigger.”