The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club will profile the 12 photographers whose photos were selected for our 2013 edition of the Heart of Harness Racing Calendar.
We start off with Newfoundlander Trish Dooling, who captured her horse Muzzys Wink frolicking in the snow. “Taking snow shots are also a favourite of mine, mainly because we get more then our fair share of snow here and if it’s good for anything, it’s a great backdrop,” explains Trish.
The 30-year-old resident of Paradise, Newfoundland has been working as a hairstylist for over ten years. “It takes up most of my time. I do love my job, and it always makes me pay attention to detail, which helps me with the photos. Outside of work, my life is my horse and in the barn.”
Trish was born into the harness racing industry as both of her parent’s families were heavily involved. She purchased her first horse, Yuste, from Jason Hughes in P.E.I. and was able to track down a harness maker that would make a pink harness for her. Yuste, featured in the Heart of Harness Racing Calendar last year, suffered numerous injuries and had to be euthanized. “It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life, and as hard as it was sometimes you don't know how strong you are until you’re left with no choice.”
Four months later, with some gentle coaxing from her Dad and Grandfather, Trish found herself another horse – Muzzys Wink.
“He trained well but when it came to actually racing he wanted no part of it. After a few starts in 2012 we knew he wasn't for me. I ended up giving Muzzy away to be used as a saddle horse. Muzzy - my father says 'kept me interested.' I could have kept him myself as a saddle horse but that's not what I wanted. In August of 2012, I purchased another horse - Blueberry Tea. A massive free-legged mare that proved herself to us.
"My horse is kept on my grandfather’s farm where I spend all my days off. Mucking stalls and doing the dirty work is something I enjoy. I spend as much time as I can with all the animals there. Most people have Christmas and birthday countdowns, I have first day of training and racing countdowns. Once you have had a taste for this you can't get enough."
As for her love of photography, Trish started out taking photos for her father. When he was training he always wanted to see pictures and video of how the horse looked. “The more pictures I took, the more I found myself capturing some great shots of these beautiful animals. I take about 1,200 shots on any given race day.”
Trish has had photos published in Trot 4 Kids, both editions of the Heart of Harness Racing Calendar and the December cover of Trot. Just look for the horses with the pink halters or harness.
