Ronhfe"Matheson 
     
     Impressive Results 
     
    
   
   
    
     raining and racing seyen two-year- 
     
     old standardbred horses in the 
     
     _\laritimes is a major undertaking. 
     
     \ow add a mixture ol 13 older horses to 
     
     the stable and you haye some idea of 
     
     what eomprises the Ronnie \latheson 
     
     Stable at the (Lharlottetow n l)ri\'ing Park 
     
    
   
   
    
     at the beginning of eaeh year, 
     
    
   
   
    
     \\'ith all ol‘ the uneertainties inherent in 
     
     the beginning ol a new harness raeing 
     
     season. this hard working trainer driyer 
     
     was philosophie and aeeurate when he 
     
     stated. “It‘s not a matter ol‘ when you get 
     
     them there. it‘s how good they are when 
     
     they get there." Ronnie was aware that 
     
     yariables like the weather. traek eondi- 
     
     tions. a \‘irus. ete. ean play hayoe with 
     
     any training sehedule: howe\ er. this tal— 
     
     ented horseman and his hard—working 
     
     assistants had uneerem<)niously turned 
     
     the Ronnie .\latheson Stable into one ol‘ 
     
     the more sueeessl‘ul stables in the Atlantic 
     
     proyinees in 3.008. liaeh year he eontin— 
     
     ued to haye sueeess in the deyelopment 
     
     ol' eolts and l‘illies. liaeh year he eontin— 
     
     tied to retain the loyalty ()l' long—term 
     
     owners. ’l‘hese two important attributes 
     
     eount l‘or mueh in harness raeing 
     
    
   
   
    
     At age 15. Ronnie .\latheson was intro— 
     
     dueed to the Charlottetown l)riying l’ark 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     I’hotos: (iail .\l;1t‘|)on.1ld 
     
     and harness racing by Wendell l-‘ord. a 
     
     well—known Island horseman Beeause 
     
     \\"endell was a good lriend ol Ronnie's 
     
     dad. Roddie. he l‘requently took the 
     
     youngster to the traek and permitted him 
     
     to hang around his barn. For Ronnie. a 
     
     loye of. horses grew to equal his loye ol 
     
     stopping pueks. lior the next seyen 
     
     years. a great deal ol Ronnie‘s time was 
     
     diyided between the traek and the rink. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Ronnie remembered .111: Brides/ml lor a 
     
     good reason. He explained. "I used to 
     
     work [or Bill Henderson when l was 
     
     younger and he had a horse by the name 
     
     ol‘ .111: Nudes/HM. I remember jogging that 
     
     horse beeause he was the first one that l 
     
     eyer jogged." Sinee that 111emorable 
     
     morning. Ronnie has aeeumulaled oyer 
     
     “9% yietories as a driyer and ()\’e1‘§()§ yie- 
     
     tories as a trainer. 'l‘hese are eommend 
     
     able statisties in grassroots harness raeing 
     
     that would make a number ol‘ horsemen 
     
     yery proud. 
     
    
   
   
    
     During his lormatiye years in the indusr 
     
     try. Ronnie reeeiyed yaluable pointers 
     
     from horsemen like \\'endell Ford. Bill 
     
    
   
   
    
     llennesse\'. 
     
    
   
   
    
     llenderson. _]oe _lody 
     
     llennessey and others at the (i.l).l’. .‘\s a 
     
     youngster and as an adult. there was one 
     
    
   
   
    
     horseman that he admired more than any 
     
    
   
   
    
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