Racing Buddies Together Again In Retirement

It seems appropriate to kick off the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s 30 Years, 30 Stories campaign with a profile of Sheila Jopling, a staunch supporter of OSAS for many years and also a customer. Sheila has now had the complete OSAS experience as she recently adopted her first horse from the program, KJ Owen. A volunteer for the organization for many years, Sheila has helped in a wide variety of roles including marketing and monitoring social media. It was on Facebook where she first saw KJ Owen who was being retrained by Susan and Bert Mollica who offer a foster farm and retraining for the majority of the retired Standarbred horses in OSAS’s care. “Being a dedicated volunteer with OSAS, I'm in a position where I can see the new horses coming into the program. When I saw the videos of Owen's arrival at the Mollicas I was instantly drawn to him. I visited their farm and rode him, and the connection was there,” explained Sheila who lives near Peterborough in Buckhorn, Ontario. “Having spent time in the industry, I appreciate and admire the breed, both on and off track,” added Sheila who is well versed with harness horses having worked in the stables of Terry Heffernan, Pete LaRush, Dagfin and Per Henriksen, Steve Nichols, Charlie Peake and Jason Woodward. It was Heffernan who first exposed Sheila to the Standardbred breed. “I was taking riding lessons at an equestrian facility where Terry’s two daughters were also taking lessons. One of them was riding a pacer which quite intrigued me. Terry offered me a job and introduced me to jogging and it’s gone from there,” she remembered. “When I worked for Per it was all trotters, so you’re exposed to a different side of the breed. I loved working with them, when you’re a groom you get to know the horses’ personalities so well. Some are very different at the farm than at the track and you get to know their little quirks and what sets them off.” Sheila’s first harness horse, acquired several years ago, is 22 year-old gelding Hezgothorseshoes. “He was named that after being born severely windswept. He qualified, but never raced,” she noted. A son of Mr Lavec who Sheila calls Mojo, he hails from the immediate family of millionaire Self Possessed. Interestingly, there is an OSAS connection here as Mojo’s dam, Orchard Park, went through the program in 2009. Sheila and Mojo have been a team for many years, and their riding has included leading the post parades at her home track of Kawartha Downs on Canada Day a few years back. They’ve also participated in many horse shows including Hunters and Dressage and she appreciates always having the opportunity to promote the breed when she rides him at various events. Sheila is cognizant of Mojo’s age and realizes that will limit what he is capable and comfortable doing going forward which is why she began to contemplate getting another horse which is what led her to KJ Owen. Unlike Mojo, KJ Owen had a very productive career on the racetrack with close to 300 lifetime starts. The now 12 year-old son of Roll With Joe retired earlier this year with an impressive summary of 52-41-38. He has two half-brothers currently competing at Monticello Raceway in KJ Hunter, a winner of $256,000 lifetime and KJ Leo, who has over $300,000 banked lifetime. The brothers are owned by breeders Scott Woogen and Brenda Messenger and trained by Gary Messenger. Those are the same connections who raced Owen during his first six seasons of racing before losing him in a claiming race in 2021. He would continue to race for five more years, through to age 12, quietly grinding out a decent bankroll of over $311,000 lifetime. At the time of his retirement Owen was owned by Lynn Cameron of New Brunswick who Sheila has connected with over the horse. Lynn donated Owen to OSAS following his final race at Mohawk in January of this year. Susan Mollica recently sent Sheila a horseshoe he was wearing in that last race. “I won’t lie, I was teary-eyed when I opened that, it means a lot,” said Sheila. “I actually cried when I went to meet Owen for the first time. The closer we got to the Mollicas I was getting more excited. When Bert met us, I said ‘please don’t mind, the tears are excitement and joy’, and he said, ‘Susan’s been doing the same’.” After their first meeting, Sheila and her husband Garth, returned a few weeks later to take Owen home for good. Her horses are boarded at Nirvana Animal Sanctuary where she also volunteers. “The sanctuary is operated by two sisters who provide animals of all kinds a safe landing. We’ve become good friends and I’m now on their board of directors. They currently have over 30 horses, a few donkeys, a pony, pigs and cows. “When I got Owen to the farm, he didn’t have a care in the world, he was looking around, he didn’t pay any attention, he settled in really well,” added Sheila who works full time in Lakefield which is a ten minute drive from home and the farm is five minutes away which allows her to spend a lot of time there. “Owen and Mojo have sorted things out, Mojo’s nose was out of joint for a few days, but they’ve become buddies now and Owen is the top of the pack, he quickly established himself. One of the sisters is a farrier who is a barefoot specialist. She noted that Owen was the best horse she has ever trimmed. I love him to bits.” A rider for many years, Sheila has never ridden without using a bit but that is how the Mollicas trained KJ Owen so she’s going to work on riding him with a bitless bridle, in this case a hackamore. “We’ll practice in the indoor arena and work that out but I’m looking forward to learning.” Sheila first started riding with her dad on ponies. “I think I was 10 when I started taking western riding lessons.” She rode for many years but then took some time off when her daughters, Alison and Krista, were young. When they developed an interest in riding it became something they did together, and Sheila is hoping that continues with Owen. “With Mojo I did dressage, hunter jumper; I have championship ribbons from our time competing. I showed him in the western pleasure class at the Orono fair and got first place to my shock. With Owen we will do lots of rides, maybe some western dressage; I’d like to get into reining and clinics not far from the farm. I’m not sure If I’ll teach him to canter, we’ll see. We might enter some shows down the road, I do know I would like to post parade with him if the opportunity arose. “I have been exposed to many breeds of horses and I’m so impressed with Standardbreds. It’s remarkable what they can accomplish, look at the one in the US who was just named Grand Champion (Homicide Hunter). What OSAS does is provide a wonderful opportunity for horses to learn something different and have a whole new career. These horses are so intelligent and don’t forget what they’ve been taught in my experience. “It breaks my heart to think of where some of these horses would end up without a program like OSAS. I’m very happy to contribute to their work any way I can and can’t express how thrilled I am to have my own OSAS horse. I will always be an advocate for them.” Celebrating their 30 th year, OSAS has succeeded throughout that time thanks to dedicated volunteers like Sheila, who give of their time and experience to support and sustain Standardbred horses.

The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is marking its’ 30 th anniversary in 2026 and part of the celebrations include the annual golf tournament which will be held on Wednesday, September 30, at the Granite Ridge Golf Club in Milton, Ontario. The cost per golfer is $180 which includes lunch, dinner, cart, golf and OSAS swag. A foursome is $720. Cost per hole sponsors is $250. Shotgun start is 1 p.m. Please register early as this popular event always fills up quickly. Non golfers are more than welcome to attend and/or contribute by sponsoring a hole or an item for the prize table. Please contact Joanne Colville 905-339-6748 ( osashorses@gmail.com ) to register to play, regarding sponsorship, to donate prizes or for additional information.

“She’s a very social, happy-go-lucky girl,” is how Susan Mollica describes Emilleah, a four-year-old daughter of Dancin Lou who is currently being retrained for her second career. Emilleah is the latest OSAS horse featured in WEG’s OSAS Pathways which may be read through the link below. https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-insider/osas-pathways-emilleah/

“For us, Ares is proof that retirement doesn’t have to mean the end of a horse’s story. Sometimes, it simply means finding the career they were always meant to have,” notes Jessica Abbott regarding her OSAS graduate Isnt He An Angel. The 10 year-old former trotter is enjoying his best life as described by WEG’s Matthew Loman in his latest installment of OSAS pathways which may be read below. OSAS Pathways: Isnt He An Angel - Woodbine Mohawk Park

The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is proud to be celebrating our 30 th anniversary in 2026. Over those three decades we have fostered second careers and found forever homes for hundreds of pacers and trotters. A main component of OSAS’s mandate is to showcase the versatility of the Standardbred horse, a goal which has been reached with so many graduates enjoying second careers as riding horses. Some disciplines include trail or distance riding, dressage, pleasure, etc. One of our graduates, Masseno, is currently a member of the Canadian Cowgirls Precision Drill team. To celebrate this milestone, we have launched our “30 Years, 30 Stories” campaign which will feature horses and people who have contributed to OSAS’s success and will be released throughout the year. These can be read and viewed on our website osas.ca and on our Facebook page. We have also commissioned a limited series of t-shirts featuring the incredibly talented Beau Jangles, one of the best Ontario-bred pacers of all time. These will be available for sale throughout the year at various racetracks and online. To everyone who has supported OSAS, our horses and our volunteers, a very sincere thank you. We look forward to finding forever homes for our wonderful breed for many years to come. Donations at osas.ca are always appreciated.

The star of the most recent OSAS Pathways by Matthew Loman is James Arthur who will be heading to his forever home this week. To read the full story please click OSAS Pathways: James Arthur - Woodbine Mohawk Park

“I would like to thank driver Phil Hudon, Mohawk’s starting gate crew and track maintenance team, OSAS’ financial support, the veterinarians, blacksmiths, caregivers, and, in particular, Joanne Colville, for not giving up on Bettor Notbitter. He deserved the effort,” notes Dr. Julie Ballinger. Her comments are part of the latest installment of OSAS pathways written by Matthew Loman and featuring iron horse Bettor Notbitter who is now enjoying a wonderful retirement after a journeyman career with a scary conclusion. To read the full story please click below. OSAS Pathways: Bettor Notbitter - Woodbine Mohawk Park

Wheels On Fire, a prolific race horse who hails from pacing royalty, is the latest horse profiled in OSAS Pathways by WEG’s Matthew Loman. A winner of over $1 million during his racing career, Wheels is enjoying his training for his second career as a riding horse. The full story may be read: OSAS Pathways: Wheels On Fire - Woodbine Mohawk Park

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.