By Olivia Taylor for the Irish Loop Post
“It’s my pride and joy,” says 14-year-old Cole Connolly, his eyes brightening as he speaks about harness racing.
The afternoon sun casts long shadows across Backriver Stable in the Goulds. Dressed in black and yellow silks, a young boy sits on a sulky and coaxes his steed into the turns.
The horse’s four-beat gait, the strain of the harness, and the steady breathing of horse and driver have given life to this family for generations. In an age when most of his peers are glued to screens, at the mall, or have never heard of harness racing, Connolly is an anomaly.
He was practically raised at the Goulds racetrack before it closed. Now, despite the absence of the public track, he practices daily on the track behind his family’s home, perfecting his skills with guidance from uncles Terry and Tony Williams, and pop Hector.
In harness racing, a driver sits in a two-wheeled cart called a sulky that is attached to a standardbred horse. Unlike traditional jockey racing, the horses maintain a specific gait —either trotting or pacing — while pulling the driver. The sport requires precision, communication between horse and driver, and a deep understanding of equine behaviour.
In the Goulds, harness racing once drew crowds. It created a community of racers, trainers, and vested onlookers. When the Goulds track closed in 2016, it left a void in the racing community and threatened the future of the sport in the province.
“It means a lot to us all that he is out on our racetrack when there is no public track anymore. We are all so proud that he’s taking the initiative,” said his aunt Stephanie Williams, who oftentimes looks out her kitchen window and sees Cole working the horses.
Since the public track’s closure, dedicated families of the sport have made sure the tradition lives on by keeping private tracks and training horses that race elsewhere in Canada. Old Home Week in PEI is a big one for the family. Not only have they sent horses to PEI, but they make a trip out of the week-long festivities.
“We’ve had horses since the 1970s,” Cole said.
His uncles were successful racers, while his mother and aunts worked at the track in various capacities before its closure.
Race days were family days, said Williams, with everyone playing a role in the shared passion.
“We were raised and so heavily involved in the racetrack. We spent every Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon there,” she said.
Cole remembers one of the moments that solidified his passion for the sport. A few months before the track closed, his uncle Terry invited him to help haul horses in a trailer. With Cole being so young at the time, his mom was hesitant — like any parent — knowing the risks involved. Of course, that only made him want to go even more. If reverse psychology were a sport, Cole might have gone pro in that, too.
Backriver Stable is located just behind the family’s home in Goulds. It’s the classroom for Cole’s harness racing education. After school, he heads straight to the stables, where he helps with feeding and caring for the horses before beginning to jog them.
“I make sure their shoes are on tight so they don’t throw them, and make sure the bit is on right and hooked up properly so there are no holes or anything, and nothing can break or lose control,” he said.
That attention to detail will do doubt be handy if Cole attains his ambition of one day becoming a large animal veterinarian. He plans to attend the University of Prince Edward Island, where he will also be able to race.
In Atlantic Canada, sulky racers have to be 18 years old to race and must obtain a driver’s license from the Atlantic Provinces Harness Racing Commission (APHRC). This involves meeting specific criteria, including written and practical examinations to prove their knowledge and skills in harness racing.
Cole still has plenty of time to hone his skills, and right now he practices by jogging the horses. Jogging is different from racing them. It’s about exercise and training, for both the horse and driver, teaching them to maintain their gait and build their endurance.
Cole works primarily with “Backriver Jade,” a two-year-old standardbred. Backriver Jade belongs to Backriver Stables, and the two have developed a strong bond over countless hours on the track.
Besides harness racing, Cole has a full schedule which includes curling, hockey, baseball, 4-H, schoolwork, and balancing his social life; it’s amazing how he even has time to eat.
If his dreams of being a harness racer change, he can always fall back on his entrepreneurial skills. In 2020 during the pandemic when other activities slowed down, Connolly expanded a small hobby into a full-fledged business venture.
“Mom and I always grew vegetables along the side of our garage, and I really liked doing it,” Cole said. “Now I have a whole acre where I grow vegetables to sell.”
“Cole’s Vegetable Stand” has become well known in the Goulds, especially for his traditional vegetables used in Jiggs dinner. Around Thanksgiving, he adds his pop’s turkeys to some of the veggie hampers that he makes.
While many teenagers may spend their money on video games or trendy clothes, Connolly has a different goal in mind — a racehorse.
“Next October, my uncle and I are going to PEI for an auction to buy my first horse,” Cole said.
He already owns shares in one horse, but this one will be 75 per cent his and 25 per cent his uncle’s.
Cole has specific plans for his future purchase. He intends to buy a female horse that he’ll keep from October to June before potentially sending her to compete in races. If she doesn’t qualify for racing, he plans to breed her instead.
Connolly represents something special to the harness racing community in Newfoundland —the future. It’s his passion for the sport that helps his family’s legacy live on.
“When I turn 18, oh, I’ll definitely be racing,” said Connolly. “When I grow up, I just want to have maybe an eight-stall barn, have mares that have foals every year, jog them, train them, and keep doing what I love.”
Williams is not surprised. “It’s in his blood. It’s what he’s meant to do,” she said.
