Where do trainers get their accompanying ponies???

Question

I was wondering because they all have them.

Do they just buy them from the classifieds?

Do they get them from The International Racing Bureau???

Do they request them from The International Racing Bureau??

Also, for the people who lead the horses before the race is this how they also get their lead ponies???

Thanks!

Answer 1

We used to use some of our retired runners for lead ponies if they were geldings.

Other than that any horse can be taught to be a lead pony and many people will use any steady well mannered horse. It takes some training so the lead pony does not get upset if the racers does. But with some time alomst any horse can become a lead pony.

Answer 2

Many trainers have their own pony or ponies (usually obtained from one of their owners breeding farms).

Also when I worked for Gary Contessa and Bright View Farm at the racetrack (Monmouth/Atlantic City/Garden State Park), there was another trainer there Ed Barney who had a barn full of ponies for the pony girls/guys, he had a farm nearby and bred/kept them there and shipped them back and forth from there; same at the Meadowlands; I am presuming most tracks probably have a trainer or another horseman who has a pony barn.

Answer 3

Many trainers with large barns have their own ponies, usually a retired horse from their stable.  But tracks will seldom allow you a stall for a pony unless you have a large stable.  

But there are usually lots of "pony people" at every racetrack who hire out to pony with their own horses, both in the morning, and for the races in the afternoon.  This allows trainers who don't have their own pony to get their horses ponied, and also for trainers who have more pony work than their own pony can handle.

Answer 4

Most trainers own their own ponies, and where they get them from?  Many dif people and places, just as you would.

As for the people you see leading them to the race, and after the race, those are their grooms and walkers.  At a race, the groom leads the horse to the saddling enclosure, where the trainer then saddles the horse...then the groom leads the horse about the ring until the stewards calls for the jockeys to mount with a "Riders up!"...the trainer then helps the jockey mount, gives any last instructions, and the groom then leads the horse to the track where they are met by a pony to lead them to the gate....the pony is to help keep the horse calm.  After the race, the horse is galloped out, and returned to the care of its groom.

This is an "In a nutshell" answer, but I hope it helps.

Good question!

Answer 5

I don't know about all the questions, but I use my own horse for a lead pony.  I have a great big quarter horse gelding I use.  I prefer a gelding because they are the most even tempered and leading a stallion does not affect them.  As I retire the race horses, if they are still in good shape and not injured, I will use them too if they are geldings.

Answer 6

I know that Bruce Headly uses his retired runners. I believe that he rides Kona Gold (ex top sprinter) for his own pony.