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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-07-28, Page 13Trainer of record -breaker in business for 20 years By Fred Groves T -A staff EXETER - The mare at the end of the lead wants some attention. Holding the lead and speaking to a visitor in a gentle voice is Jack Parsons, the co -trainer of the fastest standardbred horse, Staying To- gether. While the mare is not the fa- mous Staying Togeth er, Par- sons treats her with the same care and understanding. Since 1973, when Parsons bought his first mare, he has trained many horses On his farm in Hay Town- ship just outside of Exeter. But what has brought him North American recognition is the work he has done with Staying Together, owned by Exeter's Bob Hamather. Parsons has always been around horses, before he got into standard- breds, he had race ponies and even before that, it was quarterhorses. "I got hurt at the old rodeo grounds, I got bucked off a steer and split my pelvis," said Parsons of why he stopped riding quarte- rhorses. He raced the ponies but than he bought his fust mare and the peak of his career is definitely his time training Staying Together. On Thursday morning, Parsons was awaiting the arrival to his farm of Staying Together. "I'm just a small guy with a few homebred horses. I never dreamed of anything like thio:" ---- . Staying Together broke the record earlier this month at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, with a time of 1:48.2. A week later with both Hamather and Parsons in the crowd, the now -famous horse matched the second fastest time ever at the Governor Driscoll race at 1:49.2. "He's just a super all around horse. He takes care of himself, he's just like an athlete." Big money winner: Staying To- gether, bought for the sum of $19,000 has earned over $800,000 in prize money. While racing in the United States, the horse is under the watchful eye of trainer Bob McIntosh from Windsor. In fact, Parsons released Staying Together to McIntosh just three days before the record was set. "My style of training and Bob McIntosh's style, with Staying To- gether, is so close." That takes out any possibility of the horse getting confused and be- ing trained differently. Parsons explained that Staying Together goes through a series of deep breathing exercises, like an athlete, in preparation for each race. This horse has a true desire to run as Parsons says he has worked the record breaker at 9:30 a.m. and by 4 p.m. it was ready for a full workout again. When Hamather bought the horse, now racing as a four year- old, it was kind of mean. Parsons said they took the horse to Hamath- er s farm in Zurich where it was put in with a bunch of brood mares and soon changed its temperament. Staying Together soon became a gelding, and after working the win- ter with Parsons started to show a lot of promise. "In December of his second year he ran on the frozen ground and you couldn't hear him touching the ground," said Parsons of the horse's early speed. Does not drive: Parsons loves training horses, you can tell just by the way he answers questions and the way he treats the standardbred racers. Whenever he goes to a race track with the horses, it's Jack who climbs into the sulky and puts them through their paces. However, you "tfe's just a super all around horse. He takes care of himself, he's just like an athlete."' won't see him putting on the col- ours and going for the money. "I had a back operation 14 years ago. The doctor told me never to drive. He said if I went down with a Horse, I'd be crippled for life. Life is too short so I hand the lines over to the drivers." Usually there are several horses in the Parsons's stable but last week there were only a few. He said he got rid of a few two year-olds be- cause, basically they didn't have a lot of future. "I don't like racing two year-olds. I'm in the business to race horses and two year-olds aren't developed enough. You hardly see a two year- old that's made a lot of money, come back as a three year-old and make much." The mare pulling playfully on the lead in Parson's hand is another Ha- mather owned horse, this one is called Sharka. And although Shar- ka's future won't be as bright as that of Staying Together, Parsons keeps dreaming. Gibbon says goodbye to Exeter Mohawks fter eight years, Dale Gibbon is say- ing goodbye to Ex- eter. A member of the Exeter Senior 'A' Mohawks since the start of the 1985-86 season, Gibbon is on his way to Washington State where he will work and continue his education in physiotherapy. For those who have met this gentle giant, it's tough to meet a nicer guy. I've chatted with him after a game and recently, we spent a few hours together here at the office. Last week we went through old back issues of the T -A and reflected back on his years with the Mohawks which began with a team which played in the OHA Intermediate 'C' league. "We had mostly Exeter players which meant we drew a lot more players to the game," said Gibbon. The London native, who captained the London Junior 'B' ponds and skated a few shifts with the Knights of the On- tario Hockey League, said things have changed in eight years. "The quality of hockey was a lot lower but it was more fun because it was a team atmosphere." Gibbon said there would be 23 players out to a practice. This past year, often the Mohawks played with only a dozen. "I remember Quincy Wilker said every night was like New Year's Eve after a Mohawks game." But those days are gone - players have come and gone and so have the coaches. The only players which remain from the 1985-86 team when Gibbon started are defensemen Barry Baynham and Ron Elliott. If you have ever had the chance to watch the big rightwing- er play the game, you will notice he puts everything in to it. As a kid in Byron he would score goals because he was big and got a lot of ice time. As he got older, it was apparent his specialty would be knocking the opponent down, getting the puck and shoving it up to his linemates. The past few years when the Mohawks have battled the Dunnville Mudcats in the playoffs, Gibbon and Mudcats' de- fenseman Rod Minor would be the feature attraction in the hitting contest. "It was old-time hockey, lot's of heavy hitting. Neither one of us threw a stick." Gibbon will be missed by the Mohawks and no doubt their fans. He has a lot of memories which he will tuck under his arm, in the form of a weighty scrap book but words in a scrap book aren't like the actual feeling of what really happened. "Ever since we went to the Hardy Cup in New Brunswick, we never have had as good a team per se with the effort and intensity." If the intensity dropped off, why did he stick around? Gib- bon was a wanted commodity as Lambeth had their sights set on him. But he felt a sense of loyalty to the Mohawks. Doc Campbell, Stew Taylor, Gabby Mol and John Pryde late 3itst a handful of the people 'whose efforts-kept•Gibban coming back. "Tose are the guys that kept me coming back and I like playing for a winning team. I didn't want to go to a lower quality organization or a lower playing team." Early in the -1989 season, Gibbon suffered a broken leg and reports said he would be out for the season. He came back five months later but it took a while for him to work back into laying condition. "It took two or three years before I got back to being my- self." Coach Dave Revington was fair with Gibbon saying it would take some time before he could count on his big wing- er. A guy who has put 100 percent into his hockey (giving 100 percent in anything is a pet peeve of his), big number 5 will no longer be banging the boards of the South Huron Recrea- tion Centre on Sunday nights, but the imprints of people he has checked will always remain. sidelines by Fred Groves Jack Parsons of Exeter is the co -trainer of Staying Together which recently set a world record. Here on his farm where he has been training and raising standardbred race horses for 20 years, he takes care of Sharka. ZZXZXXXXXTZZZZZXXXXXXXxIMXZZZZZZZZZZZZXXXXXXZ (uir) KONGSKILDE RESTILL ® 3500 Series... high residue field cultivator... THE INTEGRAL PART OF YOUR RESIDUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Enlarge family or team photos to 8-112x11 or even 11x17 instantly with outstanding results. 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