Home / Equestrian sports / Harness racing
Racing
Harness racing is a race for trotters pulling a light two-wheeled cart, the sulky, with a driver. The horse must stay at the trot rather than gallop.
| Group | Racing |
|---|---|
| Also called | trotting, trotting races, pacing, trot racing |
| Olympic | no |
| Governing body | European Trotting Union (UET); national trotting authorities |
| Where it is popular | Harness racing is very popular in France, Sweden, Italy, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in Russia, where trotting races date back to the early 19th century. |
The driver sits in the sulky and steers with the reins. If the horse breaks into a gallop, it must be slowed and moved to the outside until it trots again. Most races start behind a moving car with folding wings (the mobile gate), and some European races use a standing start. Almost all North American races are one mile, while European distances vary, for example from 1,640 to 3,140 m in Sweden. The first horse home wins.
Special trotting breeds are used: Orlov and Russian Trotters in Russia, Standardbreds in the USA, French Trotters in France and coldblood trotters in Scandinavia.
The driver wears a helmet and goggles and sits in a light sulky; the horse wears racing harness. Pacers wear special leg straps (hobbles) that help them hold their gait.
The most famous races are the Prix d'Amerique at Vincennes in Paris (January), the Elitloppet in Stockholm (May) and the Hambletonian in the USA. In Russia it is the Grand All-Russian Prize (Derby) for trotters at the Central Moscow Hippodrome.
Drivers qualify through training and a licence. Some countries run pony trotting for children: in the Australian state of Victoria, for example, ages 6 to 17 take part wearing a helmet, eye protection and a body protector.
The grey stallion Bars I, foaled in 1784 at Count Alexei Orlov's stud, is considered the first Orlov Trotter. A trotting society was founded in Moscow in 1834, and regular races began.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, thetrots.com.au, en.wikipedia.org