by Ken Weingartner, Media relations, Harness Racing Communications

Delaware, OH — Sandy Blackburn once considered a career as a jockey, but followed a different path and now is a social worker in California. Her passion for the horses, though, remained.

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Sandy Blackburn came to the USTA Driving School from San Diego.

Blackburn was one of 45 participants in the U.S. Trotting Association’s 13th annual Driving School, held Thursday through Sunday at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in central Ohio. She was one of 20 “students” that had never jogged a horse prior to the school.

The school is open to anyone 16 years or older and each participant gets the chance to jog a horse on the famed half-mile oval at the fairgrounds, which is the home of the Little Brown Jug.

“It was fun,” said Blackburn, who lives in San Diego. “It was interesting. It’s a lot trickier than it seems because you don’t have a direct view in front of you because the horse is right there.”

Blackburn is uncertain about her future in harness racing, but was grateful for the chance to learn more about the sport.

“I just wanted to experience this,” she said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, but it would be fun to drive, if I ever get an opportunity to do so. I wanted to do this, hands on. I wouldn’t get this opportunity in San Diego because we don’t have the harness tracks out there. There are a lot of things that I’m learning.

“(Being a jockey) was a childhood dream. I went to college instead and have my career now, but I look back sometimes and think I should have gotten into it. This is something for fun, and to say I did it again after all those years.”

Topics covered during the school include care and conditioning, stable management, driving and racing strategy, amateur driving, veterinary care, and shoeing. Participants were able to take the written portion of the driver’s and/or trainer’s exam on Sunday.

Instructors included Virgil Morgan Jr., Brian Brown, Jennifer Brown, Jerry Knappenberger, Dr. John Reichert, Kenny Edwards, Ron Taubert, J.D. Wengerd, Dan Noble, Joe Faraldo and Lon Frocione.

USTA photo

Andrew Boucher is a funeral director from Massachusetts.

“This is a great eye-opening experience for me,” said Andrew Boucher, a funeral director from Massachusetts. “Down the road, a friend and I hope to be owners. I’m very green to it all, so I just want to experience this and have some fun.”

Boucher has been involved in showing and driving Morgans, but was new to Standardbreds.

“It was fantastic,” Boucher said about the school. “I’ve been doing Colonial carriage driving for about eight years now, but this is an entirely different discipline for me. It was great to be back in the saddle, so to speak. It was a wonderful experience. It’s something I will enjoy pursuing down the road.”

John Lauritzen, a social worker from Illinois, was an avid rider in his younger days and is a longtime harness racing fan. He read about the Driving School in Hoof Beats magazine and was excited to participate in the program.

“It sounded like so much fun, so I decided to sign up for it,” Lauritzen said. “I really wanted to jog a horse. That was worth the price of admission right there. I think to some extent, listening to the trainers, is going to help my handicapping skills a little bit.

“But driving was a blast. I was ready to get back in line and do it again. I expected to be a little more intimidated, but it was fairly easy. It was nothing but pure pleasure.”