IN A little valley just outside North Bega, harness horses are being trained by a local John “Tommy” Miller of Bega on Jim Hergenhan’s property.
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John, who is nearly 77 years old, trains his horses at Coopers Gully in a pretty quiet fashion.
He has a small rustic track on a little flat surrounded by some beautiful angophora trees and a vegetable and pumpkin patch on the other side.
John started training harness horses with “Pop” Southam in Bega in the fifties.
By 1959 he was training his own horses and working at the Bega Butter factory.
One of his proudest moments was in the early 1970s with a gelding, Hillstead Boy, who won a major race at Harold Park paceway.
Hillstead Boy was the first horse he had bred himself and matured into a winner.
In later years another gelding, Nelson Street, proved to be very good horse, winning prize money of $60,000 before he sold him to another trainer.
John held his racing licence up until two years ago - he now just has a trainers licence.
The horses go too quickly for him now he says with a little chuckle.
Jim and John reminisce about trotting at the Quaama sportsground on an Easter Monday.
They both reminisce about going to the old Bega Racecourse at 5am in the deep frost training harness horses on one track and gallopers on the other.
They would then pack up and go to their normal work for the day.
Other days they would train at the Bega Showground track.
They both talk about the thriving harness industry in the Bega Valley through the years from the fifties to the eighties.
There were many trainers and breeders involved in the industry.
They recall names like McPaul, Rixon, Scanes, Hayes, Whitby, Smith, Jessop, Fletcher, Southam and Beresford to name a few.
If you see John on Brown Mountain with his black shiny ute and his horse float, he is off to a harness race over the mountain.
John regularly goes to Canberra, Wagga Wagga or Goulburn to race his horses.
At the moment, his six-year-old gelding Lombo Convertible (2008) is regularly competing at these paceways.
Lombo Convertible is proving a strong horse, but just hasn’t made the the front line many times.
Another horse owned by John is Pride of Flight.
Pride of Flight is trained at Goulburn by Mick Day.
She has some great ability and won some races last year.
Another little colt in training is two-year-old Romantic Chester owned by Jim Hergenhan, John Miller and his partner, Joan.
He bought Romantic Chester at the Bathurst yearling sales in 2014.
Romantic Chester is entered for a fancy race at the end of 2015.
He has been to Canberra for a couple of practice runs, but hasn’t had a barrier trial as yet - John gives them about 20 minutes training on the track each day.
Another harness horse to keep your eye on is Jerosh.
Jerosh is owned in a partnership by Jim Hergenhan.
He is trained at Dapto by Noel Hatcher.
Jerosh has had numerous starts throughout 2014 with some good placings.
Jerosh is about to hit the paceways again for 2015.
John is all excited about supporting harness racing at the 2015 Bega Show.
Harness racing at the Bega Show will be on the Saturday from 5pm.
Organisers hope to attract horses from Canberra, Camden and Nowra.
Seven races have been nominated, including the $1500 Ray James Memorial Bega Cup sponsored by Jim Hergenhan and family and Insurance Advisernet Merimbula.
Other races have been sponsored by Jim and Madge Salway, Dennis and Brenda Whiffen, the Watling family, Peter and Cindy Rixon, Carmel Rixon, the Hayes/Matthews family, John and Margaret Jessop and Rood and Roberts family and Thornleigh on Newtown.
The show committee is hoping to attract Peter Rixon to the track.
Peter was born in Bega, but has never raced on the Bega Showground.