No reset needed for Lorne House’s talented trotter
The Great Reset is The Raceway at Western Fair District’s Aged Trotting Horse for the second straight year.
by Matthew Lomon
When The Raceway at Western Fair District announced its 2025 award winners earlier this month, do-it-all horseman Lorne House expected to see one of his London oval regulars on the prestigious list of honorees.
While the respected owner/driver/trainer based out of Dutton, ON was spot-on about Royal Flush Magic, who prevailed in the 3-Year-Old Trotting Filly category, he was equally astonished — and delighted — to see The Great Reset defend his Aged Trotting Horse crown.
“He won it last year, and I was sure he was going to win it last year,” House said. “He was pretty dominant in London in 2024.
“I was genuinely surprised this year. It wasn’t even in my mind that he was going to win it. We had a 3-year-old trotting filly [Royal Flush Magic] who won this year as well, and I thought she would, but I was surprised with him. I’m very proud of this little horse.”
In his fourth professional season, The Great Reset finished inside the top three in 18 of 31 appearances (26 at Western Fair), compiling a 3-8-7 line and over $46,000 in prizes.
For House, who drives, trains, and co-owns the 6-year-old son of Resolve—Dont Talk Back with breeder Chantal Ruijs, this past season — though not reaching the heights of 2024 — was a testament to The Great Reset’s signature trait: finding a way.
“He’s going to give you his all every week,” House said. “If you put him in the right class — he can go in the top-level classes around those kinds of tracks — but if you put him in a good spot, he’ll be right there at the end.
“And even if he’s not in the right spot, you’ll always have a good chance of bringing something home.”
Having raised the chestnut gelding from a baby with his girlfriend Angela, House noticed that innate desire to compete from an early age.
“He’s been a really nice horse from day one,” House said. “He really has. Even as a baby running around the field, my girlfriend and I used to joke — there was another one that he grew up with — and I would always say to her, ‘He’s the one that’s going to do something for us.’ And he was.
“Training down, he always did what you asked of him. He had a great attitude and was good-gaited. Tactically in a race, you could use him any way you wanted to.”
The Great Reset’s determined disposition and strategic flexibility was on display throughout the 2025 campaign, as House, who manned the race bike in 30 of the trusty trotter’s 31 starts, was able to get creative when pushing for the podium.
That versatility proved paramount for weathering a sluggish spring that saw The Great Reset need his seventh start to reach the winner’s circle.
“Again, it really didn’t feel like he was going to win it this year,” House said. “I gave him some time off in the summer because he raced pretty steady for a long time, and I didn’t think he really hit his stride yet coming into the fall.”
When the calendar flipped to October, so did a switch inside The Great Reset, who rallied to land inside the money in five of his final eight starts, all at Western Fair.
“He makes all his starts, he rarely misses a check, and when he should win, he usually does,” House said.
House’s belief in his homegrown racehorse never wavered – and for good reason.
During his first award-winning season in 2024, The Great Reset updated the Western Fair history books by posting the fastest trotting mile (1:55.3) the track has ever seen.
While no moment from this past season eclipsed the record-setting feat that House crowned his favorite with The Great Reset, it’s instead how the year came together that stands out most.
“His consistency is one of my favorite things about him,” House said. “He’s very low maintenance, he loves his job and does his job whenever you ask him to. He was a Steady Eddy last year.”
Knowing what to expect from the dependable trotter night in and night out is by no means a recent revelation for House.
“From the time he started racing as a 2-year-old until now, honestly, this horse hasn’t changed a lot – and I’ve raced him pretty steadily,” House said. “He’s had a couple little breaks here and there, but mentally, even as a 2-year-old, the first time we took him away from home it was like, ‘Wow, this horse has done this a hundred times.’ He came ready-made.”
House was quick to credit Ruijs, who bred The Great Reset in May 2020 in Georgian Bluffs, ON, for putting the right pieces together.
“We were lucky enough to get that mare [Dont Talk Back] in foal to Resolve, who had issues getting mares into foal over the years,” House said. “Chantal picked a good cross and it worked out.
“We have a great relationship. She trusts me and I trust her, and it works really well.”
House also praised the third member of The Great Reset’s all-star cast of supporters, his girlfriend Angela, for being a consistent presence on and off the track.
“Angela looks after him every day,” House said. “She’s there for every race – she never misses anything with him. She’s the steady, calming force for both of us.”
With the right people behind him — and a workmanlike attitude to match — The Great Reset quickly rose into one of Western Fair’s finest older competitors.
Now, after one successful title defense, he turns sights to another in 2026.
“We’re hoping to get him off to a good start this year and I really think he’s starting to come back into his 2024 form – he feels that way to me,” House. “So, if he does, then it’s certainly a possibility. It sure would be nice.”
The Great Reset will be recognized along with the other standout performers from Western Fair’s 2025 season during the track’s annual Awards Night on Saturday (Feb. 21) in the Top of the Fair dining room.
