Michelle Miller on how she got involved in RUS!
! Ever since I was a little girl I thought Standardbreds should be ridden. But then again if a horse was not available I would settle for sitting on a cow’s back or would climb atop the back of the ceramic cat in our living room. I guess I thought all things should have a passenger on board. !
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The very first horse I remember riding was a black gelded Standardbred named Taffys Count Ed. I took a particular liking to him as a child. Before I could ride alone my father would put me on his back and lead him around the barnyard. I would spend hours in his stall just picking up his feet, petting him and letting him lift me by his halter. He was a gentle giant and at one time I considered him to be my best friend. !
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Having grown up with several family members who owned and trained Standardbreds, one might think I would find it more natural to want to ride in a sulky. However, this was not the case. !
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Don’t get me wrong, I would oftentimes wait at the end of the driveway in order to jump at the chance to be able hitch a ride with my father as he jogged the horses on the road. And as I got older, I would help jog and train - but never did I tell myself that is what I wanted to do when I grew up. In fact, I never once considered becoming a harness racehorse driver. !
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Instead, I would watch Thoroughbred racing on TV and tell my parents I wanted to be a jockey. However, they thought I would become way too tall to do such a thing - as I wore a size 9 shoe in the fifth grade and everyone believed I would eventually fill those shoes. !
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Well the joke was on them, because I stayed pretty small. I’m probably a tad bit heavier than the ideal weight limit for a Thoroughbred jockey though and I certainly had no connections with people involved in that type of racing. !
My father, Terry Miller, leading Taffys Count Ed around the barnyard with me riding bareback.
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As I became older, I gave up on my hopes of one day becoming a jockey. I did not stop riding however. My grandfather had two barns full of race horses and many of those horses had to deal with a little girl crawling on their backs - whether it just be for a short bareback ride after they raced, or as I got older, longer trail rides. !
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It was not until a couple years ago that I ever thought in my wildest dreams that I might possibly be able to race a Standardbred under saddle. I saw my first racing under saddle race at Vernon Downs in 2012 and knew right away it was something I had to learn more about. I convinced my brother to allow me to use one of his horses and with the help of others involved in the sport I was able to obtain my license to ride. !
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My brother thought Cartier Field would be a good horse to try because he is just a great horse to be around and does not get worked up at the track. We did not know if he would ride, but we figured he would because he’s the type of horse who doesn’t do anything wrong.!
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