"He was running like a wild stallion and the other three were following him, I just sat down in the grass to watch them and take pictures when he decided that he needed to come over and check out what I was doing."
Christa Patriquin of Lower Onslow, N.S., is the Heart of Harness Racing’s Calendar photographer for April. Christa captured this image of Aaronel (aka Moosey) when she and her husband, Keith were moving colts down to a pasture.
Aaronel, who was born and raised on the family farm, was nicknamed 'Moosey' because as a baby he was like a bull moose, always pushing the other horses around, always wanted attention and would do anything to get it.
“He gives these amazing hugs, he wraps his head tight around your neck and kinda gives it a squeeze and just as he was backing away from giving me a squeeze, I snapped his picture. You couldn't ask for a nicer horse, he is a true gentleman.”
Christa has had the racing gene passed down from both sides of her family. “From the start, my great grandfather Don Macaulay use to race out of Pugwash, Nova Scotia, for many years while the Patriquins have been racing for several years as well. My grandfather Glen Patriquin use to have horses when I was a child and my Aunt and Uncle Shelley and Roy Burton have been racing for as long as I can remember. Most of my summers were spent travelling to stakes races with my Uncle Wesley Patriquin or spent in the fields brushing horses or taking their pictures.”
Christa met her husband, Keith Driscoll, when her Uncle Wesley purchased a horse from him and she then married into another racing family. Keith’s Dad is one of Atlantic Canada’s outstanding horsemen, Phil Pinkney. Keith’s mother Rosanne Langille, stepfather Dwayne Langille, along with his brother Paul Langille and his girlfriend Chantel Gillis, are also involved in racing. Everyone works together as a team on the family farm, where they have four three-year-olds and two two-year-olds in training. Her hometown track is Truro Raceway and it’s also her favourite because of the sense of family and community she feels there.
Christa admits that her horses are like her kids and she captures memories by taking photos. “Almost every picture and video on my computer, iPhone or iPad is of a horse at various stages of their life, but there are always those that steal a little more of your heart then others.”
“When it comes to racing, Charlottetown and the Gold Cup & Saucer have to be my favourite part of summer, but we are so lucky in this sport because everyone you meet in this game truly loves what they do and the animals they do it with. Horses get into your soul, your blood...it becomes a part of who you are.”