A Millarville resident has found the perfect way to celebrate a decade of living in Canada.
Rob Kroeger moved to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Zimbabwe 10 years ago and will be participating in the 107th running of the Millarville Races on Canada Day, July 1.
“I’m a new Canadian so it’s fantastic for me to be able to join in the celebration and do something that I always enjoyed doing,” Kroeger said.
Kroeger has been a fixture at the Canada Day event since 2009. He said the thrill of competition is what brings him back to the track every year to compete in the stock horse race.
“It’s the excitement of it,” said Kroeger. “I’ve got a fast horse and it’s fun to do the race.”
Holding bragging rights over neighbours and friends in the stock horse race, featuring local riders with their own horses in western saddles and varying degrees of racing experience, is also a big part of what makes the Millarville Races such a unique experience, Kroeger said.
“That would be a pretty big part of it,” he said. “I think pretty much all you win is your name on a cup.”
Kroeger’s quarter horse Elvis has gone lame, which will keep the Millarville resident out of the stock horse race for the first time in four years. However, he will be competing in the team-based pack horse race alongside Ray Giffin and Rick Braun.
The pack horse race is a timed event using bareback horses where competitors throw a pack on their horse, saddle the horse and then chase the packhorse down the track before removing the pack and stacking it neatly at the finish line.
“It was fantastic, a great amount of fun,” said Kroeger of his first experience in pack horse competition. “It’s not something I do very often.”
The Millarville Races veteran advises newcomers to the track to take stock of its brisk nature.
“Get a good start, give it a good shot and enjoy yourself because it’s such a short race that it’s over before you even think you’ve started,” he said.
Malcolm Sills, promotions director for the Millarville Races, said the annual event offers a variety of races and horses for the thousands of attendees.
“Primarily it’s about thoroughbred horse racing with pari-mutuel betting,” Sills said. “One of the things we do that’s a little bit different is we use at least two breeds of horses, you have thoroughbred horse racing and we’re hoping to have two quarter horse races.”
Quarter horse racing features equine who can run at a much faster clip compared to their thoroughbred counterparts.
“Your quarter horses are running 50 to 55 miles an hour whereas your average thoroughbred is running at around 40,” Sills said. “Quarter horse racing is a sprint, it’s from one end of the track right across the front of the stands and finishes at the other end.”
The family-friendly event has a distinct Millarville flavour to it, featuring a partial farmers’ market, the Millarville Musical Ride, a sidesaddle race and children’s races in the infield. The races culminate with the prestigious Millarville Derby to end the festivities with a bang.
Sills said the Millarville Races brings generations of families together on Canada Day.
“People who come to this have been coming for a number of years and you’ll find people whose grandparents had brought them to run in the running races and they’re bringing their kids now,” he said.
Tickets for the Millarville Races are $10 per person or $20 per vehicle with proceeds going towards the Millarville Racing and Agricultural Society.
“This is a not for profit event, we’re not putting this on to make any money,” Sills said. “Obviously we do and anything that we make goes back into the Millarville Ag Society, goes back into Pony Club, 4-H Club. We want to keep the local flavour in it.”
The Millarville Races start at 12 p.m. on July 1. For more information go to www.millarvilleracetrack.com
