by Chris Lomon

Alyssa Cummings has somehow come up with a way to keep her love of horses rolling along at a steady pace.

The demands of her full-time role, that of registered nurse, require an unyielding dedication in putting others first: a calm demeanor, steady hand, long hours and no shortage of stressful situations.

Yet, despite all of the challenges that come with the territory, Cummings somehow always finds time for a long-time passion.

“I’ve basically been in the standardbred business since I was born,” Cummings said. “My parents, Todd and Tammy, both drove and trained. Mom is still training. I was probably around 6 or 7 when I started in the barn with the horses. I’ve been a groom most of my life and occasionally I’ll jog and rarely, I’ll train. These days, I help out when I’m not at my full-time job. I work as a groom and lately, I have been jogging because we have so many horses.”

Alyssa is also a horse owner.

Currently, she owns a pair of racehorses: Fomor with her brother Kyle and Candy’s Desire with her parents.

“I technically own three, but one that Kyle and I have together, Lucky King, we decided we wanted to give him a good home and we were able to find him one,” she said. “We’ll look for another one.”

Ain’t No Stoppin’, a now 17-year-old son of Dream Away who was a private purchase, gave the siblings one of their biggest highlights to date.

On April 5, 2019, the pacer, trained by Tammy, eked out a neck victory at 11-1 at Buffalo Raceway.

“In Kyle’s first year of driving, we bought Ain’t No Stoppin’ together,” Alyssa said. “I wasn’t able to be in the winner’s
circle for Kyle’s first win because I was in nursing school and living in Pennsylvania, but I was able to make it when he won that night. I think that will always be one of my favorite memories.”

Since making the move to Western New York, Alyssa has been afforded more time to spend with her family and at the racetrack.

Despite the hectic nature of her nursing career, she has been able to find a balance between life at the hospital and life with the horses.

What’s the secret to finding the energy for both?

“Minimal sleep and lots of coffee,” she said jokingly. “I’m definitely all-in when it comes to the horses and the racing. From a young age, it’s always been a dream for Kyle and I to own horses together and race together. We’ve always been very close and when Kyle decided he was going to do this full-time, I decided I was going to be all-in with him.

“I keep track of all his stats and I try to keep him on his toes. I’m sure I annoy the crap out of him. I’m living the dream I guess you could say. We’ve always loved the sport and the horses since we were both very young.”

Alyssa is equally grateful for the support of other family members.

“My mom and dad, they taught me everything and if I ever need advice, I will ask my grandma Cindy — my mom’s mom who has been around horses a long time — or my parents,” Alyssa said. “My whole family has helped me get to where I am today.”

And where she wants to be is anywhere the horses are.

Even on the days when she’s exhausted, mentally and physically, Alyssa finds the energy to lend a helping hand in her mother’s barn.

“I’ll go to the barn in the morning and will stay for about three or four hours, helping out however I can,” Alyssa said. “I’ll come home, take a shower, take a nap and then go to work. When I get off work on Tuesdays, I come home, change, go to the barn and help for a little while and then do it all over again. On Wednesday, which is a race day, I’ll come home, shower, sleep and since it’s 2:30 post, I’ll wake up at noon, then head to the races to help and watch. If I do my three-in-a-row nights, I’m usually pretty spent. I think when I go to the barn on the days off, my body is like, ‘Wait, we’re supposed to be up now.’ Sometimes it makes it a little hard to fall asleep.”

Time with the pacers and trotters is often quite therapeutic, , Alyssa said.

“I feel like I’m able to do my nursing job better because of the horses,” she said. “It’s hard to deal with people in different situations every day, so I feel like they make it much more bearable for me.”

So, too, does the opportunity to partake in some of her favorite pastimes, including a pair of outdoor pursuits, one on the greens, the other on the water.

With warmer weather now the norm, Alyssa is getting into the swing of things on the golf course and riding the waves with her kayak.

“Now that it’s getting to be that nicer weather I’m getting outside more,” she said. “It’s going to mean more jam-packed days, but golfing and kayaking are things I like to do to have some fun. I go out with family and friends on the weekends too, which is nice, just to be able to hang out with everyone. I make time to do everything I can.”

Alyssa is also looking to add more horses to her stable.

Teaming with her family to win a stakes race is a goal, but whether it happens or not, she’s simply enjoying the opportunity to be part of a world she continues to have a great affinity for.

“I would like to get some more horses,” she said. “It’s what everyone dreams of, to get a really nice one. We’ll see if we can get there, but I’m happy with where I’m at. To get to go to the big dances and do that with Kyle and my family, that would be the big dream.”

Odds are Alyssa will somehow find the time to chase that dream.

“Usually, I try to not be scheduled to work on race days so that I can be at the barn around the horses,” she said. “I’m always happy there.”