Tour de Force. Wisconsin fairs bring horsemen, fans together

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1 Tour de Force Wisconsin fairs bring horsemen, fans together by T.J. Burkett The races have just ended at the Iowa County Fair in Mineral Point, Wis. The crowd in the grandstand still murmurs after Fox Valley Aaron won a winner-take-all early closer in 2:09.2 over four other pacers. Those in attendance begin to file down the steel staircase and through the concrete tunnel to the infield, where the Ferris wheel and fried cheese curds await on the midway. But to their surprise, they are greeted by those drivers they just saw on the 40 HOOF BEATS june 2012 photo by mark hall

2 track, still in their colors and dusted with clay. Thanks for coming to the races today, says driver Amber Sawyer to a young fan as she signs the back of a glossy 3-by-5 inch card of her driving in the black and pink colors that have earned her the nickname of Pink Lady. Girl power! the youngster replies. We were cheering for you in every race. The Iowa County Fair is one of six fairs that comprise the Wisconsin Harness the Stars Tour, an initiative devised HOOF BEATS june

3 Tour de Force by the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association to celebrate the drivers, trainers and horses that make up this circuit in its own little corner of the harness racing world. The efforts of the WHHA to market racing and bring fans closer to those on the track have earned the organization the USTA s 2012 Blue Ribbon Fair Award. Racing in Wisconsin is unique. The horsemen receive no outside funding for purses, so they must raise money themselves through raffles, auctions and entry fees. It s all driven by a passion for racing. We do raffles. We do an auction at our annual banquet. Program sales. Calendar raffles. Donations. Anything we can think of, said Becky Swinehart, WHHA board member. Whatever it takes to get it done. It s all about the passion for the sport. We raise our pennies to put the purses together that way. The WHHA also raised money to show racing fans their appreciation for their attendance, while also convincing local fair boards of harness racing s appeal. Borrowing an idea from Ellen Harvey of the USTA s Harness Racing Communications, the WHHA created a Harness the Stars Tour, a points-based championship for drivers covering 18 all together now: Clockwise from above: A sign outside Mineral Point guides passersby to the races. Gabe Wand, Harness the Stars tour champion, signs autographs for young fans. Rick Tittsler helps with marketing the tour and also shoots photos. The Little Drivers photo board was a big hit with youngsters. Tour drivers along with tour mascot Willie Winnit stand for the National Anthem before the races. race meets at six different fairs. Wisconsin horsemen first tried the idea of bringing horsemen into the stands in Some were leery of the idea s promise, but the response was encouraging. We did it at Wautoma and the drivers were saying, They don t want to meet us. Nobody is going to want to shake our hand, said Susan Schroeder, WHHA board member. But it was amazing how well-received they were. At each stop on the tour, a different driver was featured. At Mineral Point, Sawyer was the star attraction. The gregarious and erudite 30-year-old has raced all over the East and Midwest, but said she enjoys racing in Wisconsin, where she is the only female driver on the tour. We profile a different driver at every race meet, said Gabe Wand, WHHA The drivers were saying, They don t want to meet us. Nobody is going to want to shake our hand. But it was amazing how wellreceived they were. Susan Schroeder, WHHA board member Local Heroes Meet the drivers of the Wisconsin Harness the Stars Tour. Danny Carey Ben DeLong Pat DeLong Ben Gald 42 HOOF BEATS june 2012 carey, ben delong, pat delong, gary magee, mike magee, turnball and yohn by rick tittsler all other photos by mark hall

4 president and a USTA District 4 director. We put some barn notes in the program about them. From there we try to interview drivers in the grandstand. Before the races, we bring the drivers out in their colors for the playing of the National Anthem and to do a T-shirt toss. We ve had a lot of people say how classy that looks. A lot of other sports do it, so we are trying to put it all together. Congratulations to the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association for winning the 2012 Blue Ribbon Fair Award. Hoof Beats presents this collection of photos from last year s tour. Gary Magee Mike Magee John Remley Amber Sawyer Adam Turnbull Gabe Wand Wayne Weaver Robert Yohn HOOF BEATS june

5 Tour de Force Web Base to promote the Harness the Stars Tour year-round, the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association created a special website for the tour, wiharnessracing.com/tour, that: Profiles each of the drivers, trainers and horses on the circuit; Lists a tour schedule and standings; Includes a blog from Willie Winnit, the tour mascot; Offers merchandise for sale for fans to support their favorite drivers; and Displays a photo and video gallery from each tour stop. While the site looks professional, the process is not as involved as it looks, according to the website s webmaster, Nicole Glynn. For a couple hundred bucks, you can get a super website, said the stay-at-home mom who also maintains the WHHA website. Then you can find somebody that can volunteer their time to update it. It s a team effort. People write the blogs for Willie Winnit. People post photos. Different people post the news events. When you get the right team together, it really doesn t take that much time or money. When you get the right team together, it really doesn t take that much time or money. Nicole Glynn, WHHA webmaster race action: Clockwise from above: Horses line up behind the gate at Mineral Point. The Bucket List Stable, a fractional ownership group, gathers for the winner s circle after a victory by Do Me Bliss in the Jerry McIntyre Memorial Pace. Tour driver Amber Sawyer (left) and webmaster Nicole Glynn hand out horses to the crowd. 44 HOOF BEATS june 2012 ipad and t-shirt by ed keys all other photos by mark hall

6 Wish Granted to conduct some of the promotions on the Harness the Stars Tour, the WHHA used monies provided by the USTA Matching Fund Grant Program, a program designed to help county fairs, horsemen s associations and colt racing circuits support a grassroots marketing initiative at the fair level. The WHHA used funds granted by the USTA to purchase several items, including: T-shirts for the drivers to toss into the stands, A video camera that could be mounted to a driver s helmet or racebike, Photo cards for the drivers to sign and give to fans, Vinyl banners that were hung around the towns hosting each fair, Printing of children s activity books and driver profile inserts in race programs, Website expenses, and Little Drivers board for photo opportunities Winners of the Blue Ribbon Fair Award are judged on the most creative and comprehensive use of funds granted by the USTA. For more information on applying for a Matching Fund Grant, or to see promotional ideas for fairs, visit fairs.ustrotting.com/funds.cfm. HOOF BEATS june

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8 If You Go working the crowd: Clockwise from left: Pacers pass in front of the Mineral Point grandstand. The entire midway is contained within the infield. Danny Carey meets the Labor Day crowd. Susan Schroeder was instrumental in forming the Harness the Stars tour. Harness the Stars banners were posted to celebrate the action on the track. the 2012 Harness the Stars Tour begins on June 16 at Elkhorn, Wis. The tour makes 13 stops at six different tracks this year. For more information, visit the Harness the Stars website at wiharnessracing.com/tour. Date Track Post Time June 16 Elkhorn 11 a.m. June 30 Mineral Point (matinee) 1 p.m. July 6 Elkhorn 5 p.m. July 18 Rice Lake 7 p.m. July 19 Rice Lake 7 p.m. July 28 Mineral Point 1 p.m. Aug. 26 Weyauwega 12 p.m. Sept. 1 Elkhorn 12 p.m. Sept. 2 Elkhorn 12 p.m. Sept. 3 Mineral Point 1 p.m. Sept. 9 Richland Center 12 p.m. Sept. 15 Viroqua 1 p.m. Sept. 16 Viroqua 1 p.m. Rice Lake Weyauwega To comment on this story, us at readerforum@ustrotting.com. Viroqua Richland Center Mineral Point Elkhorn photos by mark hall HOOF BEATS june