An Equine Love Story
June 23, 2020
Talented equine artist Michelle Hogan first met iron tough pacer Conrad Seelster when she was in her early 20s and he was a grizzled racetrack veteran with eight years of racing under his harness. Eighteen years later they are still together and Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society graduate Conrad is a beloved member of Michelle’s family.
“He moved in with us when we bought our first home, he was there on our wedding day and now he’s here while my twins grow up. My daughter, Autumn, in particular, loves him dearly,” said Michelle.
Michelle, whose twins Owen and Autumn will be four this August, stays connected to horse racing now through her art. She is a juried member of the American Academy of Equine Art (AAEA) and her first award from AAEA was for “Shady Daisy Shadow Roll”.
“It is most unusual to see Standardbred art hanging in an AAEA show, so to see my racing art not only be accepted, but awarded, is something I am thrilled with. I have worked so hard to get here,” she said at the time.
More recently, Michelle’s beautiful ink drawing of the great trotter San Pail was selected by Owen Sound’s juried art show to be on a banner that is hung on the town’s harbour for a year.
Like San Pail, Conrad Seelster is enjoying retirement surrounded by people who love him. And for both, it is a well-earned retirement. Conrad Seelster may not have been horse of the year in Canada twice, but he was an absolute iron horse throughout his 12 year racing career which saw him face the gate an incredible 445 times. His lifetime summary was 54 wins, 62 seconds and 61 thirds for $310,285 in earnings.
The son of Threefold bred by Seelster Farms never left Ontario during his racing days and he competed at 16 different racetracks in the province including several which are no longer operating (Sudbury, Elmira, Belleville, Barrie and Windsor). He was ultra consistent, averaging 37 starts per year from age three through 14.
Conrad was trained at the start of his career by John Yake of Woodstock, Ontario, who campaigned him until the end of his three-year-old season. Fred Maguire would take over the training responsibilities for a handful of starts. In May of Conrad’s four-year-old season Jeff Houghton claimed him from a race at Elmira for $3,500. It was the only time in his long career that he was claimed and from the age of four until 14 he was owned by trainer Jeff and his wife, Catherine, and it was in the Houghton barn that Michelle first met Conrad.
She grew up close to Flamboro Downs and her love for horses led her to become a caretaker. She worked in the Houghton stable looking after Conrad Seelster from 2002 until 2004.
“Conrad was always a gentleman. He was the barn favourite, of course. Jeff’s boys grew up with him. He could be strong on the track to jog and warm up, he liked to do things his way,” Michelle remembers.
Jeff’s son, Eddie, was two when the horse first came into the stable. “For my brother (Will) and I it was our routine for many years, each week watching Conrad race somewhere. He was such a special horse, he knew how to take care of himself and that’s why I think he raced as long as he did,” Eddie recalled recently.
Conrad’s most successful season was at age eight when he banked just over $70,000 from 44 starts. Jeff Houghton wasn’t afraid to race the consistent pacer throughout the province and Conrad spent quite a bit of time that season in Northern Ontario competing at Sudbury Downs. In late 2000 he had a four race win streak at Sudbury, including two in the $20,000 preferred.
“Dad would race him where he thought he could be the most successful and never touched WEG tracks. He excelled on a half-mile track. I remember racing at Sudbury and we’d eat at a restaurant that would give kids stuffed animals with their breakfast. I choose a horse and named him Conrad and took him everywhere with me for a long time,” said Eddie with a laugh.
The horse would earn his life record of 1:56.3 as a 10 year-old and Eddie remembers the amusing story behind that race at Clinton on July 14, 2002. Trevor Henry was up behind Conrad with the plan to leave with him. Just before the race was about to start the horse beside Conrad fell to the track (he was fine, but taken off the track and scratched).
“Conrad just took off, he ended up winning by five lengths. My dad always said he just wanted to get off the track as fast as he could after he saw that horse fall,” Eddie recalled.
Conrad made headlines at the end of his racing career. On New Year’s Eve, 2006 Rideau Carleton Raceway hosted a ‘Clash of the Iron Horses’ race that pitted Conrad against Kendal Python who was two years younger at 12. At the time Conrad had more lifetime starts than any horse in North America while Kendal Python had the second most. Python would surpass him in that category though, as he retired with 494 lifetime trips behind the gate two years later.
In that Rideau match-up Conrad set the pace, and down the lane his rival swept up the inside and the pair battled down the stretch with Conrad prevailing by a slight margin. It was Conrad’s last racetrack appearance and fittingly Houghton drove him for the first and final time. Many of the extended Houghton family were on hand for his final performance. That race may be watched through this link.
At the end of the race, following the winner’s circle presentation, one of the commentators noted that a horse of his calibre deserved a decent retirement home and Michelle has certainly provided that for him.
After his racing career concluded at the mandatory age of 14, Conrad was part of the OHHA Youth Camps which saw children spending the week learning the basics of harness racing, and working with four retired Standardbred horses. At the end of the week they put their skills to the ultimate test, competing in two four-horse exhibition races while accompanied by professional drivers.
“Conrad hadn’t been off the track for too long and I think they found he was too competitive for those races, he still wanted to compete,” said Eddie.
“I believe he was with the camp for two years before being given to OSAS. I was working as a vet assistant at the time and came across an advertisement in Horse Trader magazine for him. I immediately sent an email saying I would bring him home. He has been with me now since July of 2010,” noted Michelle.
Conrad was part of Michelle’s wedding to her husband Tim Casson and her photographer on that special day, Carrie Clarke Scott, was thrilled to see Conrad. “Carrie was his caretaker while he was with OSAS and she was my wedding photographer and was so happy to see him again.”
He also has other regular visitors. “Jeff and his family come up and stay every so often to have a good visit with him,” explained Michelle.
“I remember the last time I went to visit him with Dad,” said Eddie. “We walked up to the paddock and couldn’t see the horses. Dad called out ‘hey Conrad’ and we hear this nickering and then see the horse come running. I’m sure he remembered Dad’s voice. My dad often says what a relief it is that he’s found a home with Michelle, she is awesome.”
Conrad spends most of his days hanging out with Michelle’s other horse, a paint. He’s been lightly ridden and she’s hoping to let Autumn sit on him this summer.
“He really is a special horse. He has been so lucky to have so many good people in his life,” said Michelle. Judging by the beautiful photo Michelle recently posted of now 28 year-old Conrad Seelster looking fantastic, the feeling is mutual.
The heartwarming and heartbreaking story of the trotting mare Foamy, who was adopted from OSAS as a Christmas gift, is spotlighted in today’s OSAS Pathways feature written by WEG’s Matthew Loman. Julie Kangas, who now lovingly cares for Foamy, was instrumental in ensuring her friend and neighbour had one last horse. The full story is available here.
Once again the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is pleased to present the Christmas Second Chance Raffle named to reflect our mission to give retired Standardbreds a second chance and forever home. To participate please view the baskets being offered this year at the Facebook page Santa's Second Chance Raffles. Select the ones you wish to bid on and purchase however many tickets you want for it. Ticket prices are $2 or $5 depending upon the basket. Here’s how it works. Raffle tickets can be purchased from November 29th 2025 through to midnight on December 13th 2025. Tickets may be paid through e-transfer to santassecondchanceraffles@gmail.com . In the message please indicate how many tickets you are purchasing and for what baskets. You may also pay in cash in person to Emma Christoforou, Joanne Colville or Jean Posthuma. If you wish to pay by credit card please message Emma to set up a convenient time to do so. If you are unable to pick your basket up and would like it shipped, shipping will be at the basket winners’ expense. The winners will be announced on a live stream on Sunday, December 14, 2025, time to be determined. We encourage you to invite as many people as possible to the Facebook page and the raffle. If you have any questions please contact Joanne at 905-339-6748 or email: osashorses@gmail.com . Thanks to everyone who supports this fundraiser, everyone who contributed to a basket and volunteers behind the scenes, it is all very much appreciated. This year there are 24 gift baskets to choose from as follows. To see full descriptions of each basket please go to the Santa’s Second Chance Raffles group on Facebook by clicking here. 2025 Santa’s Second Chance Baskets #1 – Dog Lovers -Grooming Session, various toys & treats. #2 – Date Night – Restaurant Gift Cards #3 – Mast Harness #4 – Beauty Basket #5 – Custom Equine Designs #6 – On The Go #7 – Hopples & Hangers #8 – Coffee Lovers #9 – Chocolate Lover #10 – Lottery Lover - $125 worth of tickets. #11 – Horse Lovers #12 – Girls Night Out #13 – Preserves #14 – Game Night #15 – Family Night #16 – Wine & Cheese collection #17 - Newborn #18 – Self Care #19 – Car Care #20 – Hockey Night – Leaf tickets #21 - Home #22 – Equine Omega Alpha #23 – LZR Wheels (2025) #24 – OSAS Swag Thanks to everyone for their support, good luck and happy shopping.
It’s not often that OSAS has a two-year-old in our program but Naso Hanover is not your average two-year-old. “He’s just an old soul. He’s like a 20-year-old horse that’s been doing it forever,” Susan Mollica told WEG’s Matthew Loman in this week’s installment of OSAS Pathways which may be read through the link below. https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-insider/osas-pathways-naso-hanover/
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society will celebrate its 30 th anniversary next year and over those three decades several people have adopted more than one horse from our program. That’s certainly the case with Julie Wilson and her husband Rod MacLean, both retired police sergeants. The couple operate Northumbria Equine in Port Hope, Ontario, and have adopted four retired Standardbreds thus far from OSAS, the most famous of which is millionaire pacer Easy Lover Hanover. Affectionately referred to by Julie as ‘the boss of the barn,’ Easy Lover is the latest horse featured in WEG’s OSAS Pathway’s feature which may be read through the link below. https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-news/osas-pathways-easy-lover-hanover/
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is pleased to welcome the tough campaigner, Derf Hanover to our program. The talented trotter earned well over half a million dollars the hard way with 234 career starts in 10 seasons at the track. A son of Cantab Hall, Derf earned his life mark of 1:52.3 last year as a 10-year-old while racing at Mohawk. A regular on the WEG circuit for the past few years, Derf started his racing career south of the border under the guidance of trainer Ake Svanstedt. Bred by the renowned Hanover Shoe Farms, Derf sold as a yearling for $45,000. It wasn’t until his four-year-old season that he found his groove and he performed steadily for the next few years earning an average of $87,000 in each of his next six years at the track. From his five-year-old season on he raced in Ontario (with the exception of four starts at Harrahs in 2021). His last full season of racing was spent in the stable of Amanda and Tom Riley who remember him fondly. “Derf is quite the character; he likes to put on that he’s a grumpy old man but with some treats and scratches he melts right into you. He’s great with other horses; usually when he finds his pal he doesn’t let anyone else in his little posse. He’s as tough as they come,” said Tom recently. Derf Hanover is the most talented of his dam’s offspring, but his family is loaded with top performers. His dam is a half-sister to $200,000 winner Cocktail Hour who in turn is the dam of $1.3 million winner Bar Hopping. His second dam is a full sister to the great JEFS Spice. OSAS welcomes Derf Hanover into our program where he will enter training once he’s decompressed from racetrack life.
Iron tough racehorse and well loved retiree Conrad Seelster has passed. He was 33. The son of Threefold made an incredible 445 starts during his racing career with a lifetime summary of 54-61-61 for $310,285 in earnings. He was adopted from the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society at the conclusion of his racing career by noted equine artist Michelle Hogan Casson of Miller Lake, Ontario. Conrad happily spent the last 15 years as part of Michelle’s family. His story was shared by OSAS a few years back and may be read https://www.osas.ca/osas-stories#AnEquineLoveStory
WEG’s Matthew Lemon is spotlighting horses connected to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society in a bi-weekly feature called OSAS Pathways. Playsomthincountry is featured in the latest installment. The 16-year-old pacer hails from two of Canada’s longest running and well known Standardbred nurseries. He was bred by Seelster Farms, a stalwart in the industry for many years now and now operated by the second generation of Van Bussel family. His dam, Daylon Luxury, was bred and raised by Dave and Mary Lemon’s Daylon Farms of Komoka, Ontario. Playsomthincountry is a half-brother to $200,000 winner Luxury Seelster p, 4, 1:53s and another sister, Luxury Vacation, is the dam of a horse currently racing in Ontario, Honolulu Vacation. That four-year-old by Betterthancheddar earned his life mark of 1:53s with a win at Mohawk earlier this year. Honolulu Vacation last raced this past Sunday (October 26) at Flamboro for trainer Cody Hawkins who was also the trainer and owner of Playsomthincountry during his career. To read the story, please use the link below.  https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-news/osas-pathways-playsomthincountry/
Matthew Lomon of Woodbine Entertainment has started a series which will be updated twice a month and feature a horse connected to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society. The feature began this week with Beach Bet the first horse in the spotlight. A five-year-old son of All Bets Off, Beach Bet is currently training at the foster farm of Susan and Bert Mollica before embarking on his second career as a riding horse. Beach Bet, who Susan refers to as an equine Dennis The Menace, has royalty in his bloodlines as his second dam is a half-sister to one of the best pacers of all time, Somebeachsomewhere. The story may be read through this link. OSAS is a charitable organization founded in 1996 to assist in the adoption and relocation of retired and non-racing Standardbred horses and showcases the versatility of the breed.
Reverend Hanover was a star on the track during his racing career but he’s even busier these days representing the Standardbred breed as one of the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s ambassadors. Now 13, the son of Sportswriter’s most recent promotion was an appearance on Breakfast Television on September 18. OSAS’s Joanne Colville brought Reverend to Mohawk Racetrack where she met with CITY TV’s Rick Campanelli along with leading driver Bob McClure. Outfitted in Louis-Philippe Roy’s colours, Rick went for a tour around Mohawk with Bob as they discussed the upcoming incredible night of racing on Saturday night which features two $1 million races – the Mohawk Million and Metro Final for rookie trotters and pacers respectively along with the rich Elengantimage, Shes A Great Lady and Canadian Trotting Classic finals. “As always Rev was a rockstar,” Joanne noted. “He’s always such a professional and today was no different. Part of OSAS’s mandate is to showcase the Standardbred breed and he’s perfect for that role.” A couple of week ago Reverend Hanover participated, along with another OSAS ambassador, The Painted Pony, at Mohawk’s Community Day which encouraged patrons to bring their family to the track and get a close up look at a harness horse. Many of the visitors were able to sit beside a driver and ride behind Reverend as he took guests around the racetrack. Giving folks a new perspective of racing, from the actual driver’s view, is nothing new for Reverend Hanover. For several years now he has served as OSAS’s Drive With Us horse. Throughout the summer he is on hand at the Campbellville track pulling double duty. At the start of the evening he serves as the Meet & Greet horse and then gives folks rides around the oval in between races. During his career Reverend Hanover was a top performer in the Ontario Sires Stakes program. In total he made 27 lifetime starts and earned $551,213. He last raced in 2017 but he still makes lots of trips around the racetrack in his ambassador role. To watch the CITY TV segment please click here.
Iron horse Wheels On Fire has joined the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society where he’ll be trained for a second career after excelling at his first. As a racehorse the now 10 year-old faced the gate 197 times. He retires with an impressive summary of 51-41-29 and $1.2 million in earnings. The son of Somebeachsomewhere began his career as a two-year-old in 2017 and retired in September of 2025. His most productive year was 2022, as a seven-year-old, when he won more than $316,000 racing primarily in the preferred class on the WEG circuit. The previous season he won the O’Brien Award as Canada’s top older male pacer of the year. “He has been a great horse to have as well as a fan favourite for many years. He retires with over $1.2 million on his card as well as an O’Brien Award to his credit,” noted owner Brad Grant when he announced Wheels On Fire’s retirement last month. Wheels On Fire’s dam, Ab Fab, is a sister to three millionaire performers – Ashlees Big Guy, Betterthancheddar and Courtly Choice. She is also a sister to the dam of the fastest harness horse of all time, Bulldog Hanover. OSAS is honoured to assist this talented performer as he transitions into life away from the racetrack.
