by Charlene Sharpe, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Charlene Sharpe

Laurel, DE — More than a dozen children got their first glimpse of harness racing with a visit from pacing gelding Broadies Song last week.

On Friday (June 29) the 11-year-old pacer and owner/trainer Brittany Bounds visited a pony camp at Campbell’s Lane Farm in Preston, Md. The children were able to learn first hand about Standardbreds and harness racing.

“It went really well and the kids all acted like they loved it,” Bounds said.

Bounds, who trains a stable of Standardbreds in Seaford, Del., was asked to visit the camp by Jeanmarie Kurowski, a horsewoman and school teacher who helps out at the Campbell’s Lane camp.

“A couple weeks ago they said we want to teach the kids about the different jobs horses do,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Jeanmarie Kurowski

Broadies Song and owner/trainer Brittany Bounds visited a pony camp at Campbell’s Lane Farm in Preston, Md.

While others arranged visits from barrel racers and dressage horses, Kurowski wanted to promote harness racing and went straight to Bounds. She said Bounds, who lost several horses in a barn fire last year, was her first thought because she’d gone from “tragedy to triumph.” Kurowski said Bounds hadn’t given up after the fire, which she talked about with campers Friday.

“Brittany shared her fire story,” Kurowski said. “It was goosebumpy. She was challenging them to have a dream, have a goal, don’t give up.”

Bounds said she was happy to share information on harness racing and answer questions from campers.

“They asked about the different equipment,” she said. “They had never seen things like overchecks or hobbles. We passed out win pictures, programs and calendars so they could see what they look like. They were asking how fast they were and a few kids asked about their training routines. We talked about jogging, training and racing and we also talked about how some people ride them in between races and how they make great riding horses.”

Thanks to the well-behaved Broadies Song, Bounds was able to demonstrate how to put on a harness and then gave jog cart rides to all 17 kids.

“Most of my horses are pullers but he’s really calm and likes attention,” Bounds said.

Kurowski said the campers were thrilled with the opportunity to sit in the jog cart.

“Some of these kids show hunter jumpers and others, this is the only time of year they get near a horse,” she said. “Brittany took time with each and every one of them.”

As for Broadies Song, Friday’s camp workout apparently did him well, as the pacer won his first race of the year Sunday. The 1:58 victory at Ocean Downs took Broadies Song over the $500,000 mark in earnings. The gelding, who took a lifetime mark of 1:50 as a 5-year-old, has now won 35 races and $501,184.

“He’s a good classy old horse,” Bounds said.