An Enduring Ride For West Grey Bay

OSAS • Photos by Teresa Finnerty • August 26, 2019

August 26, 2019 - Sarah Cuthbertson, a noted equestrian with a decade of endurance riding and training to her credit, had no plans to adopt a Standardbred horse. A charismatic and talented trotter, West Grey Bay, quickly changed her mind.

Sarah has schooled many horses and students including training Standardbreds to compete in the Racing Under Saddle program. Julie Walker, a trainer largely responsible for getting the RUS program established in Ontario, had heard that West Grey Bay – a potential RUS horse – could be finding his way to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society.

“Julie had always thought he would make a great RUS horse. We put the bug in Joanne's (OSAS’s Joanne Colville) ear that we would like to foster him for me to practice RUS on and train him for a second career,” explains Sarah whose day job is Contracts Administrator with an Executive Aviation Management Company.

In June of last year, not long after West Grey Bay was sent to Karen Briggs to foster and Sarah to train, they took him for rides in the Dufferin Forest. At this point he’d only been under saddle for three weeks and the group encountered a few obstacles and interruptions but he handled them like a pro. A very impressed Sarah wrote the following on Facebook following those rides:

“I’m absolutely stunned how wonderful he is to work with. With less than 10 rides under his belt he’s already riding better than a lot of seasoned endurance horses I know (and his fitness improves every day thanks to his great baseline from racing). His work ethic and brains are a real winning combination. I need to figure out a way I can adopt him for myself instead of sending him on.”

And that’s exactly what she did. While a second career racing under saddle didn’t turn out for West Grey Bay, affectionately known as Westie, he did find a permanent home thanks to his RUS training with Sarah.

“Only a few weeks after breaking Westie, he was so cool on trail we decided to enter him in his first OCTRA (Ontario Competitive Trail Riding Association) event which was 15 miles long,” remembers Sarah.

“Within the first mile we heard screaming from the tree line and three horses came galloping out at us. Despite him being incredibly green, I was able to wrangle the loose horses on him without any issue. I was so impressed with his calm demeanour and his willingness to work. My other horse (TrakehnerxArab) is such a drama queen!

“I was so impressed with Westie I told him right then and there he was staying with me!”

Since then West Grey Bay has competed in several endurance races under Sarah’s expert guidance. In just his second sanctioned event, a total of 40 kilometres, he finished second. Earlier this summer he competed in his first 80 kilometre event and was seventh out of 19 starters.

“Westie has now completed an additional two x 25 mile limited distance rides, coming in a very close second place on his first 25 mile attempt. He has also completed two x 50 mile endurance races, placing sixth and seventh once with me piloting him and once with my friend Ashley aboard. I have several endurance students who just love him as well,” praises Sarah who lives in Schomberg, Ontario. Her horses are stabled nearby in Everett.

Part of what has made the transition to endurance horse so smooth for Westie is his versatility, intelligence and work ethic, but a large part is the training he’s receiving from Sarah who has won many OCTRA competitions and has competed in some of the world's longest and most difficult horse races including the Mongol Derby and Race the Wild Coast.

The Mongol Derby is commonly referred to as the world’s longest and most challenging horse race and is on the bucket list of many endurance riders. Part of Sarah’s equine instruction is training students for such events. This year’s race just ended and one of her students participated and finished a very respectable 12th.

While a race like that may not be in his future, West Grey Bay has quickly developed into a talented endurance competitor, his second successful career after eight years as a solid B Track trotter for trainer/breeder Keith Hastie. The now 11 year old trotter raced a total of 114 times with 15 lifetime victories, eight seconds and 20 thirds for $85,615 banked.

A son of Fiesty GG, West Grey Bay’s dam is the Royal Strength daughter Parkside Princess who won $62,693 during her career which included a couple of Ontario Sires Stakes wins. She was also trained and owned by Hastie.

West Grey Bay’s story is another successful transition for a harness horse into a second career and in this case guided by an owner and trainer whose love and admiration for him is heart warming.

KJ Owen Enjoying Retirement

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After a 10 year racing career which saw him face the gate close to 300 times, KJ Owen is now learning the ropes as a riding horse. His lessons are going well, although he did take his trainer, Bert Mollica, for an unexpected ride in the early going. Matthew Loman profiles the 12 year-old gelding in the latest OSAS Pathways which may be read here.

Nutzz N Boltzz And Reven Up Featured

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“Having ridden and owned a variety of horses over the last 35 years, the Standardbreds are the most honest ones out there. They are so loyal, smart, safe and sound, they don’t have many bad or off days it seems. So, for that I will forever be grateful,” notes Fran Brethour when speaking of her OSAS graduates Nutzz N Boltzz and Reven Up. Fran praises her Standardbreds in the latest OSAS Pathways feature by Matthew Loman which may be read through the link below. https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-insider/osas-pathways-nutzz-n-boltzz-reven-up/ 

KJ Owen Joins OSAS

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OSAS is pleased to welcome the iron tough KJ Owen to their roster. A 12 year-old gelding by Roll With Joe, KJ Owen faced the gate an incredible 297 time over his 10 year career. He recorded his 50 th lifetime win in April of last year at Flamboro with Austin Sorrie at the controls. Upon his retirement in January of this year he sported a summary of 52-41-38 for $311,000 banked. The first foal of Winsmith Jess, KJ Owen raced primarily in the US at various racetracks. His first Canadian start was in January of 2025 at Mohawk. He has two brothers with earnings over $200,000 – KJ Hunter and KJ Leo both of whom are still racing at Monticello Raceway. Owen is now at Susan and Bert Mollica’s foster farm where he will be trained for his second career.

Second Career For Steel Reserve

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“I’ve never seen a horse with the emotions he’s shown. When he first arrived, my husband and I were both like, ‘We don’t know what to do.’ We had never seen a horse cry before but there were literal tears in his eyes,” said Susan Mollica of OSAS graduate Steel Reserve. Bert Mollica used a different training technique with the warhorse whose second career will be somewhat unique. His story is profiled in the latest installment of OSAS Pathways by Matthew Loman and may be read here.

OSAS Auction Closed

February 22, 2026
The Ontario Stallion Adoption Society’s 2026 Stallion Auction has now closed. Breedings to 16 sires from Ontario and PEI were offered over the past four days. OSAS extends sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s auction including the stallion owners, the stud farms and everyone who placed a bid. Congratulations to the successful bidders and the best of luck. To view the full list of stallions and buyers please click here.

OSAS Stallion Auction Closes Friday At Noon

February 19, 2026
Please be advised that the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s 2026 Stallion auction will close Friday, February 20 th at noon. It is important to note that the end time can be extended to a maximum of 30 minutes on each of the 16 stallion breedings available if there is continued bidding. You are notified by email and/or text (if you select that option) if you are the winning bidder and if someone has outbid you. This year OSAS is using 32 Auctions as their auction platform site. Here is the explanation of how the extended bidding works: How does Extended Bidding work? If an item receives a bid during the final three (3) minutes of the auction, the item end time will be extended to allow for 3 additional minutes of bidding. This process repeats until no new bids are received during the final 3 minutes of the item bidding window or the auction has been extended for a maximum of 30 minutes beyond the original end time. When an auction is extended, you'll see Extended Bidding messages displayed throughout the auction with a link for easily viewing all of the extended items. For further information on this feature, and an example, please click here. Here is the link to the actual auction site.

OSAS Stallion Auction Starts Today

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The 2026 Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s Stallion Auction begins today at noon. This year we offer 16 top stallions from Ontario and PEI including one stallion, King Of The North, whose book is already closed this year. Use the link below to enter the site and see what stallions are available. Follow the easy steps to register which allows you to bid on any of the stallions. We encourage you to register early. Good luck to all and thanks to everyone for their support of this popular fundraiser again this year. The auction closes on Friday, February 20 starting at noon. Enter the auction site here

2026 OSAS Stallion Auction

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The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is pleased to announce the dates for their 2026 stallion auction. The annual fundraiser will kick off at noon on Tuesday, February 17 and close Friday, February 20 with a staggered close starting at noon. This may be your last opportunity to obtain breedings to popular sires whose books have already closed or are close to closing for the season. Bids will be in Canadian funds. The sires available to date are as follows (in alphabetical order): All Bets Off Betterthancheddar Betting Line Big Jim Century Farroh Control The Moment Dancin Lou Its Academic King Of The North Lawless Shadow Lookslikeachipndale Malicious (PEI) McWicked Shanghai Phil Sportswriter (PEI) OSAS thanks every stallion owner for their generosity and support again this year. Additional sires will be accepted up until February 13. To donate, or if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Joanne Colville at osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. Established in 1996, OSAS is the official adoption agency for Standardbred horses in the province, responsible for spreading the message of the versatility of the breed and finding forever loving homes for retired pacers and trotters.

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After earning more than $350,000 during his racing career, Sweet Deisel is set to embark on the second chapter of his career, as a riding horse. He’ll be leaving Susan and Bert Mollica’s foster farm along side another OSAS trainee, Stetson Seelster, at the end of this month. His story is featured in WEG’ OSAS Pathways this week and may be read https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-news/osas-pathways-sweet-deisel/

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Amrock Major has passed. He was 38. A warrior on the racetrack, the son of River Rouge faced the gate more than 203 times during his career which started as a four-year-old in 1992 and ended during his 10 th year in 1998. Bred by Dennis and Gerald Rock of London, Ontario, the tough performer raced at B tracks and fairs throughout Ontario during the 1990s. His last start was in October of 1998 at the now defunct Elmira Raceway with trainer Gerry Gaynor driving. Gaynor trained Amrock Major for the last four years of his career. Prior to that he was conditioned by Ron Brintnell. A son of Graylin Jean, Major is a half-brother to Amrock Wise Guy who earned a quarter of a million dollars during his racing career four decades ago. Amrock Major came into OSAS after his retirement from racing and he was adopted within a few months. Several years later his owner was facing health issues and Major returned to OSAS. He spent his last years at the farm of Pam Brooker who provided him a wonderful life.
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