by Kim French, USTA Internet News Editor

Kim French

Columbus, OH — He has banked $480,157 while competing against some of the highest quality foes in his division and currently is riding an eight-race winning streak, yet Roland N Rock’s name will not be dropped in the box outside Iowa or Minnesota on any occasion in the near future.

That situation is not the result of the 5-year-old’s stride slowing or a nagging physical ailment, but stems from his owners, Connie and Duane Roland, savoring every moment they have with their horse. Especially since Duane can finally sit in the sulky behind him again after a serious farm accident last year significantly damaged his right hand.

“What is the use of having horses if you can’t touch them or see them?” said the 49-year-old Grinnell, Iowa, resident. “People have asked me why he’s here racing at the fairs and at Running Aces instead of being at Yonkers but Connie (his wife) and I really miss him when he’s not home. Also, I only had the opportunity to drive him twice last year and that is one of the best parts about having your own horses.”

Dee Leftwich photo

Roland N Rock was a 1:51.3 winner this past Sunday at Running Aces.

Roland will not be holding the lines when the son of Rocknroll Hanover-Hank’s Chip headlines the $35,000 Dan Patch Free For All Pace at Running Aces on Sunday (July 23). The gelding will have the services of Steve Wiseman when he will commence pacing from post position three. He is the even-money morning line favorite in the field of seven.

“They really treat Rocky great at Running Aces,” Roland said. “When he won his last race there (July 16) the track announcer added on at the end how no one was going to beat him that day and people don’t just do stuff like that for any horse. A lot of people take an interest in Rocky and follow what he does. The people at Running Aces go out of their way to do things for him when he is there.”

Roland N Rock was a perfect 18-for-18 until suffering his first defeat in a 2015 Meadowlands Pace elimination. As a 2-year-old he captured the American-National Stakes.

As the gelding’s career progresses, so does his intensely loyal fan base. As far as the Rolands are concerned, he is the horse they have been waiting for all their lives.

“He is a special horse and yes, this is a business and most people out here when they get a good horse, including us, sell them,” Roland said. “But not this horse. He has brought more to us than just making about $100,000 each year.”

While Roland N Rock has definitely paid his own bills and provided the Rolands with the opportunity to compete in stakes contests like the Meadowlands Pace, the Messenger Stakes and the Progress Pace, he also enables Duane to experience an emotion that is nearly impossible to describe with mere adjectives.

“I was going to move one of our stallions last summer,” he said. “We had him in with a bunch of geldings and for some reason he got really ticked off. I climbed in to get him and I realized when he looked at me he was really torqued and I needed to get out of there. I put my right hand on the gate and went to climb over it but he had my hand in his mouth before I got over it. He dragged me back down and was shaking me up and down until one of the guys helping me feed was able to get my hand free. I knew as soon as I looked down it was going to be a mess.”

Roland was in physical therapy from June until January and although this hand is not 100 percent, he is now able to pilot Roland N Rock again, which he was not quite sure he would be able to do at this time last year.

“I’ll definitely never get anything for whipping,” he said. “I have to take the whip over to my left hand if I want to really use it or do very light cross-overs, but my goal was just to be able to have my hand in good enough shape to hold the reins. My index finger still does not go all the way up and there are some movements I can’t make with my wrist, but I can drive again and it is a major reason we brought Rocky home; I want to drive my horse and most especially this horse.”

Although Duane and Connie are relishing each day Roland N Rock is with them, they are also preparing for him to journey back to Yonkers Raceway for the fall and winter racing season.

“We did kind of the same thing with him last year,” Duane said. “He got a little hard-used out there in the Levy series, so we brought him home for a vacation. We wanted him to get his confidence back and it worked by racing him at the fairs. He also put on 60 pounds and started feeling very good. He did really well when we sent him back out last winter, so we are going to follow the same plan.

“Right now he is just relaxing here and will race at the fairs and Running Aces until October. He is doing great and it’s very cool to see him puff right up when he passes horses. It’s also something great that I can drive him myself again and we have the opportunity to have him home all summer.”

Below is the field for the $35,000 Dan Patch Free For All Pace at Running Aces on Sunday:

PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Line
1. Allmyx’sliventexas-Lemoyne Svendsen-Bob Johnson-20/1
2. S F Donttellonme-Dean Magee-Joe Casagranda-15/1
3. Roland N Rock-Steve Wiseman-Duane Roland-1/1
4. Bestinthebusiness-Gerald Longo-Gene Miller-4/1
5. Firedrake-Nick Roland-Nick Roland-3/1
6. Megatron-James Yoder-Gene Miller-4/1
7. Easy Again-Rick Magee-Dr. Kenneth Rucker-6/1