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PLAINS TWP. — The most difficult part of a busy harness racing experience for Alexis Wesnak was simply staying out of the way.
Of the hind legs of the horses.
During her visit to the Harness Horse Youth Foundation Camp at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono this week, Wesnak learned a most valuable lesson.
“How not to get kicked,” Wesnak said. “A bunch of times, I almost got kicked.”
The 13-year-old Pittston resident was part of a group of 10 campers between the ages of 12 and 14 who attended the week-long harness racing instruction, which returned to The Downs this week after a year’s absence.
“We’ve been welcomed with open arms,” said Ellen Taylor, the director of the Harness Horse Youth Foundation for the past 19 years. “I think they missed us. The trainers, the back side, the front side, everyone’s happy we’re back.”
Especially the kids.
Otherwise, campers like Trinity Bugno wouldn’t have an opportunity to learn how to groom, harness, jog and eventually drive a horse in a harness race at an area track.
“It’s a lot more fun than I expected,” said Bugno, also a 13-year-old from Pittston who, like Wesnak, attends school in the Pittston Area district. “My uncle taught me how to ride on horses. He’s owned a couple.”
But this type of riding is a little different, she said.
And that’s what most of the campers at the Harness Horse Youth Foundation Camp quickly discover, almost as soon as they set foot in the stables.
“Most kids, if they’ve been around horses, they’re on top of the horse,” said Joe Antonelli, one of a handful of Pocono horsemen who volunteered their time to help campers learn how to jog a horse this week. “With this, you’re in a buggy. It’s a little different for them.”
It gets pretty easy, though, pretty fast.
“Some of them are naturals,” Antonelli said. “Others, it takes a little more time. But they pick it up very quickly. It’s funny. The kids, the first day, they’ll be a little timid. The second day, they’re a little more forward about it. By race day, they’re ready to go. “
To teach kids how to be a harness racer, camp instructors go straight to the fundamentals.
“Several may have some horse experience, but not a lot of harness experience,” Taylor said. “We’re doing a lot of educating. We start at the beginning with the very basics — cleaning stables, grooming the horses, putting the harnesses on. We find that even the kids who come from a racing background and think they know an awful lot more than the rest, they don’t know the basics.”
So there’s a little something for everyone in the camp, whether kids come from an experienced harness family or come in with a casual interest in the sport.
“I’ve learned how to get a whole harness on a horse,” said Wesnak, whose uncle, Lou Ferreiro, trains horses at The Downs. “It’s nothing less than what I thought.”
Bugno never thought the camp would be so detailed.
“I’ve learned how to groom a horse,” Bugno said. “I’ve learned how to drive safely. All the work here, I find it a little easy, but some parts can be challenging.”
It all leads up to Saturday night, when the kids get a chance to drive in a race at The Downs under the guidance of leading harness racing drivers Anthony Napolitano, Jim Marohn Jr., Austin Siegelman and Vinny Ginsburg.
“They’re a great group, very smart,” Antonelli said. “There’s a good mix of six girls and four boys, which is nice. The kids seem to be enjoying the camp.
“It’s a good group this year.”
