Q , o 1. '" fraIg Your I7I”iéhdl}’ Blacksmith or decades. Boh (Iraig \\'as directly inyolyed in one aspect or another ol the harness racing industry. He seryed his time as groom. trainer. clriyer. oyyner. hlacksmith and \yhateyer else you can name. .\lost ol‘ his time was occupied as a blacksmith and he had the right phi— losophy and attitude to he a hlacksmith. \\'ho gets more hlame and less credit at a racetrack than your li‘iendly blacksmith? liohhy (Iraig \yas inyolyed in harness rac— ing hecause he enjoyed training and shoeing horses. Bolt shod mostly stair dardhreds and his little hlack appoint— tnent hook \\;1s always filled

./‘\i,‘cording to this busy and li'iendly hlack-~

smith. "Shoeing is like a good game ol‘

checkers; you haye to he thinking tyyo. or three mo\es ahead all the time" He explained. “ll something doesn‘t work. you must he prepared to try something else. You haye to stop and analyze Mn :1 horse is doing What he is doing 'l'here is a reason for eyerything. ll a horse is crossl‘iring or hearing out. it could he hecause ol‘ the \\rong equipment or any— thing. hut the hlacksmith always gets the hlame.” \eyertheless. Boh carried on

with his positiye attitude and a smile

In 191% at age seyen. liohhy's introduo

l’hoto: Thompson Rapid [ah tion to the equine world \\'as as a helper to Harry _\lac(louhrey deliyering milk by horse and \yagon lor Garden (1in Dairy through the streets of Charlottetown. lie was horse—crazy as a kid and he would go to the track with his older hrother \V'alter \yho stahled horses like Rosa/{e [loo/201‘ and lit/[1' illc'lkrt'. lle remem— hered running across the centerl‘ield at the (I.l).l). l‘or i\lary llooper to buy tickets for her.

ln 1033 Boh \‘entured outside the .\laritimes \\'ttlt hrother \\’alter's stahle, \Valter had nioyed lrom the ()ntario tracks to i\lontre;1l and Bohhy got the opportunity to jog and groom :l trotter l)y the name ol‘ (i/em/(I/eilce. 'l‘his nondo script trotter was to he the Very lirst horse that he really worked. lle prel‘erred trot~ ters ()yer the years perhaps due to the psychic inlluence ol‘ (Ilem/(l/e glce.

in 1930 he rememhered heing in Montreal with S2 in his pocket and not heing sure what the l‘uture held in store l‘or him. He managed to suryiye and eyentually went to work lor llarold .\lcl\'inleyz the head trainer lor the renowned Armstrong Brothers. Boh was hired on as a groom in Brampton,

Ontario. Here he would get his training

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