About Pony Harness Racing

Pony harness racing is an amateur version of professional harness racing. It has avid followers in many countries, including America, Canada, Australia, Italy and Bermuda. Instead of using horse breeds such as the Standardbred, the French trotter, the North Swedish trotter or the Orlov trotter, ponies are used. Otherwise, the rules are the same as for professional harness racing.

  1. History

    • Pony harness racing began in America during the 1950s as a hobby. Any breed of pony was used, provided it could trot or pace and was under 12.5 hands tall or 51 and a half inches from the ground to the top of the withers. Drivers were not allowed to accept pay for racing. Any winnings received are donated to charity. Pony races were usually held as exhibitions at horse harness racing tracks or fairgrounds. In 1964, the International Trotting and Pacing Association was formed in Indiana.

    Breeds

    • By 1960, Standardbred horses were being crossed with ponies in order to create a miniature version of the Standardbred. Pony breeds used in the original stock and still used today are Welsh, American Shetland and hackney ponies. The foundation stallion is considered to be a mixed breed pony named Lothario. The resulting breed was christened the trottingbred in 1977 by the American Horse Council. In Australia, any pony breeds are used, although trottingbreds are among those used.

    Significance

    • Ponies are smaller, hardier, eat less and require less maintenance than a horse. They also can be used for activities other than pulling harness racing sulkies. Trottingbreds can be ridden, do light agricultural work and pull carriages. Their small size and miniature harnesses draw lots of attention from spectators. However, no betting is allowed.

    Race

    • Harness horse races are usually one mile, but pony harness races are usually a half-mile. The racing season is from May to September. Only a few tracks host races and these tracks can change from year to year. There are no tracks just for pony harness racing. During a season, each driver gains points depending on how their ponies finish in a race. They then qualify for a year end championship race, a trophy and an award of $5,000 to be given to charity.

    Speculation

    • This is not an organized sport and runs through volunteer work. Races are getting harder to find and in Italy the sport has almost died. The drivers and pony owners pay for all of the costs and get no financial rewards. Due to economic pressures, it is no longer as easy to keep a pony as it was in the 1985 when “Sports Illustrated” did a feature article on trottingbreds and predicted that this was the next big thing in horse sports. Deaths of people and ponies have occurred on the track.