n. 
     
    
   
   
    
     t. 
     
    
   
   
    
     _ ‘M‘atheson ’- 
     
     ‘ Results ‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     raining and racing seven two—year— 
     
    

    
     old standardbred horses in the 
     
    

    
     Maritimes is a major undertaking. 
     
     Now add a mixture of 12 older horses to 
     
     the stable and you have some idea of 
     
     what comprises the Ronnie Matheson 
     
     Stable at the Charlottetown Driving Park 
     
     at the beginning of each year. 
     
    
   
   
    
     With all of the uncertainties inherent in 
     
     the beginning of a new harness racing 
     
     season, this hard working trainer/driver 
     
     was philosophic and accurate when he 
     
     stated, “It‘s not a matter of when you get 
     
     them there, it's how good they are when 
     
     they get there." Ronnie was aware that 
     
     variables like the weather, track condi— 
     
     tions, a virus, etc. can play havoc with 
     
     any training schedule; however, this tal— 
     
     ented horseman and his hard—working 
     
     assistants had unceremoniously turned 
     
     the Ronnie Matheson Stable into one of 
     
     the more successful stables in the Atlantic 
     
     provinces in 2008. Each year he contin— 
     
     ued to have success in the development 
     
     of colts and fillies. Each year he contin— 
     
     ued to retain the loyalty of long—term 
     
     owners. These two important attributes 
     
     count for much in harness racing. 
     
    
   
   
    
     At age 15, Ronnie Matheson was intro— 
     
     duced to the Charlottetown Driving Park 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
        
     
    
   
   
    
     l’hotos: Gail i\/1ac1)onald 
     
     and harness racing by Wendell Ford, a 
     
     well-known Island horseman. Because 
     
     Wendell was a good friend of Ronnie‘s 
     
     dad. Roddie, he frequently took the 
     
     youngster to the track and permitted him 
     
     to hang around his barn. For Ronnie, a 
     
     love of horses grew to equal his love of 
     
     stopping pucks. For the next seven 
     
     years, a great deal of Ronnie‘s time was 
     
     divided between the track and the rink. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Ronnie remembered Mr. Buckshot for a 
     
     good reason. He explained, “I used to 
     
     work for Bill Henderson when I was 
     
     younger and he had a horse by the name 
     
     of Mr. Bite/«$170!. I remember jogging that 
     
     horse because he was the first one that I 
     
     ever jogged." Since that memorable 
     
     morning, Ronnie has accumulated over 
     
     79% victories as a driver and over 565 vic— 
     
     tories as a trainer. These are commend— 
     
     able statistics in grassroots harness racing 
     
     that would make a number of horsemen 
     
     very proud. 
     
    
   
   
    
     During his formative years in the indus— 
     
     try, Ronnie received valuable pointers 
     
     from horsemen like Wendell Ford, Bill 
     
     Henderson. Joe Hennessey, jody 
     
     Hennessey and others at the GDP. As a 
     
     youngster and as an adult, there was one 
     
    
   
   
    
     horseman that he admired more than any 
     
    
   
   
    
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