Clare MacDonald 
     
    
   
   
    
     200%. He had high speed and was ahle 
     
     to heat most colts except (Ilium/1 
     
     Debug/ed. 
     
     hrother and our oldest hoy.“ 
     
    
   
   
    
     He was called after my late 
     
    
   
   
    
     “Dilmnore Skye was a track record hold— 
     
     er and heat all the female trotters in the 
     
     .\laritimes. She was the only mare to heat 
     
     2:00 in the Maritimes. l haye retained her 
     
     as a hroodmare and hope that she will do 
     
    
   
   
    
     us some good." 
     
    
   
   
    
     I asked (,Ilare to select her all time fayorite 
     
     horse. She answered without hesitation. 
     
     arm River lye/MI was my childhood 
     
     fayorite. I kept her until I put her to 
     
     sleep at age 2,". 
     
     what I know ahout horses. \\7’e raised 
     
     and raced a few colts lrom her including 
     
     \Y'esl Riz'er.\'e/(/ie. her grandson. \V'e also 
     
     ha\'e a two—year—old l'illy. \l'es/ Rit‘er 
     
     ()II/oj) who is just a spitting image of her. 
     
     \l'es/ li’i'l'er lye/s11 's inlluence is still in the 
     
     ham and we are still going to the hank 
     
    
   
   
    
     with her." 
     
    
   
   
    
     I asked (Ilare to name her most memo- 
     
     rahle race. She answered. "It is hard to 
     
     narrow it down to one. Killeermn lug/es 
     
     track records are certainly memorable. 
     
     Being in the (Sold (?up and Saucer with 
     
     A'i/lteeri'un lug/e was tremendously memo- 
     
     rahle. (letting track trotting records with 
     
     \l‘es/ li’i't'ei‘ liyollc and Dill/more S/qi'e 
     
     meant a lot to me. l can't put one as the 
     
     hest one. l coulclnt narrow it down and 
     
    
   
   
    
     say that one was it.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     \V'est Riyer Stock l’arm was a lamily yen— 
     
    
   
   
    
     30 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     She taught me a lot of 
     
    
   
   
    
     Behind the Gate 
     
    
   
   
    
     ture. (llare's hushand. lx'en was inyolyed 
     
     on a daily hasis eyen though he had a lull 
     
     time ioh. lle loyed to driye and train and 
     
     did a great ioh with hoth. They had a 
     
     great partnership in the husiness. Neldie. 
     
     their oldest son. was working with hors— 
     
     es in Ontario. ’l’heir other son. Mark was 
     
     not oyerly interested in horses hut 
     
     inquired from time to time. Their 
     
     youngest child llaley was prohahly the 
     
     most interested in the game. She Very 
     
     rarely missed a road trip to any of the 
     
     tracks. Clare said. "I think you will proh— 
     
     ahly see llaley turn her hand to it at 
     
     some point." \Vhat was that ahout the 
     
    
   
   
    
     apple and the tree? 
     
    
   
   
    
     l'nl‘ort’unately. in (Ilare‘s mind. the 
     
     higgest change in harness racing was a 
     
     negatiye one. She explained. "I think 
     
     one oi the higgest changes is a negatiye 
     
     one. There are not as many races and 
     
     not as many people attending. This 
     
     could he counteracted \\ ith more crowds 
     
     at the races. I think we are not that lar 
     
     from seeing a yery positive change like 
     
     what is happening in Ontario and else 
     
     where with the slots and their spinol‘l‘s. 
     
     That would he the positiye change that I 
     
     would look for in the Atlantic p royinces." 
     
    
   
   
    
     What did (Ilare .\lacl)onald like most 
     
     ahout racing horses? ller answer was 
     
     meaninglul. “\V'inning. No. I like the 
     
     horse the hest ahout this game. I really 
     
     like the horse and I don't think there was 
     
     a time that I didn't credit the horse as the 
     
     reason that I am still inyolyed in this 
     
    
   
   
    
     game. I really like the people. too.