by Victoria Howard

You may not be familiar with Ellen Bartley. She reigns from the other side of the world — Australia.

“I was born in Kyabram, Victoria, but now reside in Narrandera, New South Wales,” Bartley said. “My father and grandfather were both involved in harness racing, thus I followed their footsteps.

“Currently, I have 18 horses that my partner, Blake Jones and I, own and train. The majority of the time we race our ‘kids’ at Wagga Wagga, but also head to Sydney, and up the interstate to Melbourne.”

The ‘kids’ she’s talking about are: Tygerphinn, Ella’s Reason, Major Thinker NZ, Dun Me Up Fancy, Hy Proactive, Red Shores, Bolanalong, Pirani Princess, Hereshecomessassy, Admirable NZ, Be My Girl, Manhattan Bridge, Miki Pins NZ, Brooklyn Bridge Resume NZ and Island Bouhenia.

Bartley has been training standardbreds for nine years and driving them for 10. Her best horse to date is Miss Chantilly NZ, who had a personal best time of 1:51.6 before being sold and shipped to her new owners in America.

“Although my fiancé, Blake, does 90 per cent of our driving, I still hop in the gig if we have a double up or if he has a drive for another stable,” Bartley said. “My biggest win as a driver was in the TAB regional championships. It was so thrilling as it was a pretty big race with the purse of $100,000.”

Bartley shared her thoughts on the differences between harness racing in the United States versus Australia.

“The style of racing can be quite tactical here for we race over a lot of half-mile tracks,” she said. “We tend to race over longer distance, and tactics and race styles are very different here than those in the States. A lot of times, the tactic is that when you’re on top to back off the speed through the middle half and then sprint home, which can encourage other tactics like horses making a move three wide from the half and trying to catch the leader napping.

“The Wagga Wagga track we race at is a 1,000 [meter] track, which is one of two 1,000 [meter] tracks in our region. From where our stable is located there are seven different racetracks we can race at — all within 2 ½ hours apart — so we have quite a selection to choose from.”

Bartley is not only an accomplished horsewoman, but also a qualified equine sports massage therapist.

“Sports massage is something I’m very passionate about,” she said. “Racehorses are pro-athletes and need to be treated as such. I’m a firm believer in pre- and post-race massage therapies and stretching exercises.”

Presently, Bartley breeds several horses each year and has recently added to her family a Captain Crunch filly she purchased at a sale.

“We have had quite a few Sweet Lou’s come through our stable and loved them all for they have been nice, honest horses,” she said. “We also have had a couple by Captaintreacherous.”

Trainers Down Under either breed or purchase standardbreds from the U.S. or go to one of the many horse sales that are available to them.

One sale is the NZB Standardbred’s National Yearling Sale that is held at Karaka and Canterbury Agricultural Park that offers many well-bred yearlings.

“Some of the ‘more popular’ horses at the sales are Art Major and Bettor’s Delight yearlings. Also offered are hopefuls by Captaintreacherous, Downbytheseaside, and Majestic Son.”

Note: Lately there’s been a lot of news about the successful women who have made their mark in the sport of horse racing.

Although women have always been instrumental in contributing to the progression and advancement of the sport, horse racing remains a largely male-dominated world. Women continue to break down barriers as successful drivers, trainers, breeders, caretakers and managers.

In the world of harness racing, Sandy Fisher, Jacqueline Ingrassia, Kerryn Manning and Bea Farber are just some of the women who made a name as top drivers; and there are some very notable female trainers such as Casie Coleman, Linda Toscano and Nancy Takter to name just a few.

The female drivers may not have gotten the breaks, top horses and driving opportunities that the men get, but they deserve the same praise, honor and recognition as their male counterparts.

Thanks to HRU this column continues to be one place where they will always get their due.