Pacing Away In Bermuda
C
arriage Association of America (CAA) members traveled to Bermuda in February. Their trip included tours of several private and public carriage collections. In addition, they visited the National Equestrian Center where Trottingbred races were arranged for them by Arnold and Robin Manders of the Bermuda Driving Horse & Pony Club.
In Bermuda the race season runs from August through January. The club was nice enough to arrange a special series of races specifically for Carriage Association of America members. The CAA members greatly enjoyed watching the ponies on the small track. Some members were even allowed the opportunity to ride in the start car. Many expressed surprise that nearly all the ponies were stallions, they were very well behaved.
In the 1960s, Trottingbreds were developed by crossing Welsh, Hackney and Shetland Ponies with Standardbred horses. Trottingbreds are now half to seven-eighths Standardbreds and are officially recognized as a breed of horse by the American Horse Council. To qualify for racing, they may not measure more than 51 1/2 inches (shod) at the top of the withers. They typically can be found in the United States, Italy, Canada and Bermuda.
The track record of 1:01/4 is held by a pacer, Big Red Machine, for 5/16 of a mile. Although many Trottingbreds do trot, all of the races for the CAA’s visit were pacing races. The fastest pony of the day was awarded a special prize on behalf of the CAA. Thank you to CAA for this glimpse into racing in Bermuda and Michael Rider for the photos.