Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-10-11, Page 14Pr Page 14 Times -Advocate, October 11, 1995 This Week in Sports... • Hawks win home opener - page 15 • Cadets test physical fitness - page 16 Senior girls basketball World's fastest standardbred race lose to Goderich GODERICH - The South Huron senior girls basketball team lost to Goderich 27-16 last Wednesday. Despite a valiant effort the young South Huron team suc- cumbed to the much taller Goderich team. Solid perfor- mances on the court were executed by Heather Davies, Stephanie Pearson, Helen Theophilopou- los and Julie Roose- boom. The senior girls next play Oct. 11 when they host Madill. SH junior volleyball team crush Seaforth SEAFORTH -1'he South Hu- ron Seniors and Junior volley- ball teams visited Seaforth in a double match up on Thursday with both South Huron teams winning all three games. The seniors needed to go into extra points to defeat Seaforth 16-14, and 16-14 before pump- ing up their defence shutting out Seaforth 15-0 in the third game. It was a different story for the Juniors who handed Seaforth's juniors three easy defeats 15-4, 15-3 and 15-3. Junior coach Scott Halpenny credited setter Derek Ethering- ton for running the offense by setting power hitters Luke Sims and Darryl Romphf with per- fect passes. Last year the juniors were eliminated from playoff conten- tion in the Huron Perth finals with a team full of rookies. This year, they're sitting at a 9-0 record with both rookies and vets playing well. "All of them are working really hard. They know this year they have the opportunity to really do well," said Halpen- ny. Sports- Lite horse `Staying Together' retires Staying Together's 1:48.2 world record time still remains to be beaten Chris Skalkos T -A staff EXETER - Staying Together, the fastest horse in the world, was re- tired from standardbred horse rac- ing last month after being inducted in the Hall of Chainpiops. Owner, Bob Hamather from Hen- sall, reluctantly acting on the ad- vice �f area trainer Jack Parsons, shipped the six year old racehorse to the Kentucky Horse Palace in Lexington ending its successful five year career. The sport of kings has yielded many champions over the years but none as prolific as the world record holding champion Staying Together. In two years and three months Staying Together won 46 out of 95 races finishing in the money for all but six races winning a total of $1,692,832. He still holds the title as the fastest horse in the world after set- ting a new record in a free-for-all pace at the Mead owl ands in 1993 clocking in at 1 min- ute and 48.2 seconds. That same year Staying Together won an in- credible 21 out of 26 races bringing in over one million dollars in eight months. "Having a record like that is a dream, it will be quite a while be- fore anyone can defeat this horse," said Parsons who was the first trainer. Hamather bought Staying To- gether as a yearling in 1990 for $19,000 US currency After the horse was broken he immediately sent him to long-time horseman and Exeter resident, Parsons for training. After a successful first year win- ning 18 out of 30 races and earning $222,362 Hamathe= and Parsons decided to intensify the training program and sent the horse to Rob- ert McIntosh in Windsor for his four year-old campaign as Parsons was unable to travel due to other commitments at home. Under McIntosh, Staying Togeth- er broke speed records at every track he raced in Canada and the United States. His 1:48.2 record still remains to be beaten today. "He's danced in every dance from one end of the US to the other end of Canada," said Hamather of the horse's journey to the top. After being named Horse of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Aged Pacer of the Year by the United States Trotting Association it seemed only fitting the Association would ask Hamather if he would allow them to induct Staying To- gether in the Hall of Champions making him a permanent resident of the horse park. "After careful consideration with Jack, we decided the horse had earned the recognition," said Ha- mather admitting it wasn't an easy decision. "It took four weeks for me to make up my mind but Jack convinced me he deserved to be there." A torn muscle in his right hind leg sustained in a race last spring, and a veterinarian's suggestion to stall -rest the horse also. helped Ha- mather make the decision. Housed in a 20 by 20 foot oak stall with windows adjacent to a grassed exercise area, Staying To- gether is now living in what Ha- mather describes as a horse luxury hotel. The horse park is open to the public and an estimated 1,300 peo- ple who visit daily, will now be able to view the famous horse and hear about his life accomplish- ments. Staying Together replaced the previous world record holder, Rambling Willie who died last Au- gust. The offspring of Panorama and Happily Involved, Staying Togeth- er was unable to carry on his blood lines. The rambunctious horse was gelded early to fix a small attitude problem he had. Hamather said that was a main factor in the horse's forthcoming success. "After being gelded he changed his direction of thinking and was content to race," Hamather said. "He had a mind of his own and he was temperamental at first but he was the smartest horse I have ever trained. He seemed to have an inner desire to win," said Parsons who described how the horse would prepare himself for a race. "He knew by the training sched- ule when he was going to race and he would go into deep breathing for 15 or 20 minutes before his race...it was just amazing, I've nev- er had a horse that's come close to him," said Parsons who has been training horses since 1973. Hamather watched his horse cross the finish line the day he shattered the world record pre- viously set by Artsplace by one second. "It felt like winning the world se- ies," said Hamather. This year the Stewart Fraser Northland Park in Edmonton of- fered a $100,000 bonus to the own- er of the horse who could match or beat the record. The fastest time at the track was not even close leav- ing Staying Together as the reign- ing champion. "I've had champion horses before but none as consistent as Staying Together. He seemed to have a nat- ural desire to win...he took on the best in the world and he beat them all," said Hamather. tay ng Together - he six year-old standardbred was re- tired from racing last month. During his five year career, Staying Together won 46 out of 95 races winning over $1.6 million dollars and setting a new record for the fast- est racehorse in the world. Wayne Ingram, Expert marksman Chris Skalkos T -A staff HENSALL - When Wayne Ingram from Hensall joined the Huron Park Cadet Core six years ago he heard about a rifle competition that took cadets to Risley England. Without giving it much thought Ingram took up rifle shooting in hopes of getting a chance to travel to the British Isles. "When 1 first heard about Bisley I thought 1 would like to do that...I just wanted to go to England I didn't care about shooting at first," said Ingram. Ingram soon discovered it wasn't going to be easy. "I didn't realize how hard it was. I was really overwhelmed at the style of shooting and I was horrible at first," he said. Not one to give up easily Ingram kept practicing and attended a train- ing program in Canaught Ottawa. His shooting skills improved and when the training program was over Ingram placed 12th out of120 cadets in the course. His performance caught the atten- tion of the Canaught staff who asked him to tryout for the Bisley team. Ingram placed within the top 13 and earned a spot on the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Bisley for the last 10 years. The Canadians lost to the British team. The shooting match was so close the scoring judges had to go to a v -hull count (a smaller hull's eye within the target's bulls eye). "We lost by such a narrow margin. It was like losing a hockey game by 1/800 of a point," explained Ingram. It was a tough loss for the Canadian Cadets who had their hearts set on being the first Canadian team to win the event in 10 years. "Everybody on the team had been training three to four years just for that one competition which amounted to about two hours of shooting. It was very dis- appointing," said Ingram. After a brief sightseeing tour of England, Ingram returned to Canada and continued to com- pete. His last competitive shoot- ing match was at at the Canadian Nationals held last August where Ingram shot a 75.14 out of 75.15 in one of his events, a near per- fect score and a personal best for Ingram who placed in the top 10 on his team and 80th overall in Canada. An impressive feat for the SHDHS student who has only been shooting competitively for six years. shooting team competing in England in 1994. After an average performance in Bisley, Ingram returned to Canada and kept competing. He placed first on his team at the Canadian Na- tional Competition and as a result, was asked to return to the Bisley team the following year as one of the three team captains. Competing against other commonwealth countries,.the Canadian Cadet Bisley team won every team competition except for the A.G. Bell competition. An event that has eluded the Canadian Cadet team Of all the sporting events that require total control over mind and body, target shooting demands both to the highest degree. The circular target has a bull's eye that is only five to 18 inches wide. The distance from shooter to target varies from 300 to 900 metres and at that range, Ingram said the bull's eye is not visible through the rifle's sights. The shooter must go through a series of physical and mental stages in order to shoot accurately. Ingram said shooters must he able to con- trol their heart rate in order to hold the rifle completely still. They can't afford to get excited over their performance. "At 800 metres, if you move the barrel slightly, it's magnified by the range and you can miss the target by a few feet," he said. Shooters must also he able to quickly calculate shooting conditions and make last minute adjustments. "You have to be able to adjust your technique in between matches al- most every time," said Ingram explaining that shooters rely on in- tuition that only comes with experience and years of mental condi- tioning. "It's like teaching your subconscious how to shoot. You get to a point where you don't even think about pulling the trigger. It becomes a reflex. You calculate the wind speed by how it feels on your face and your body automatically adjusts the sights," he added. Ingram admits the secret to becoming a successful marksman is com- mitting yourself to a lot of hard work with the desire to' compete. "It's like any other sport, you have to practice and you have to com- pete with other people to better yourself," he said. The rifle competitors use has a fiberglass stock with•asingle bolt ac- tion and a long 32 inch barrel. The highly accurate. rifles range from $1,000 to $4,000 and are only used as target guns. Ingram plans on continuing to shoot competitively and has secured a position as a first spare on the Canadian under 25 national shooting team. Even though he is no longer in the military cadets, Ingram credits the cadets, not only for launching his career, but for instilling in him the self-discipline needed to keep up with a sport that puts a great deal of pressure on competitors. "Imagine training for four years just for a two hour competition. You have to be able to keep a positive attitude," said Ingram. Winning is the objective for any competitor in any sport, but In - gram's reward is having the opportunity to represent his country. "Winning is great but it really is an honor to shoot for Canada," he said.