One of our posters sent me an email that contained a report on the above topic
but it is really about THE MAJOR PROBLEMS IN AUSTRALIAN HARNESS RACING
It is written by Ray Chaplin, the man behind pedigree matching site Equine Excellence
At the beginning Ray apologizes for its length and suggests that if you are interested pour yourself a stiff scotch and read on - it is 25 pages long
It covers all the states and is alarming reading. It questions whether our administrators know what they are doing and asks why aren't they listening to the owners and fans.
I have contacted Ray since being sent the email and he is happy to forward it onto anyone who wants to email him at
contact@equineexcellence.biz
At the same time, you might like to ask him for his free reports on Harnessing a Dream which are about how to breed a champion. (my plug not his)
His site is
http://www.equineexcellence.biz/
I am sure anyone who participated in our recent 'How do we make harness racing strong' thread, will find it very interesting reading.
I suggest you ask Ray for his report 'No HRA Support for National Owners Forum'
Let me know what you think people.
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
The sports stuffed kev, epecially here in vic. Because its run by people who ant qualifyed nor do they have the skills for the positions they hold. They also refuse to listen to the trainers,drivers and owners.And only ever have self interest at heart.
The rank and file have had victories in the past Jack (read the report) and we cannot just give up. I will not go so far as to say they only have self interest at heart but might question whether they are sufficiently hungry for improvement and seeking the right advice
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
This is a must read people!!! Check your inbox folks, I've just forwarded on to most of my contacts.
Last edited by Richard prior; 07-15-2014 at 09:19 PM.
Recently Hrv hired an external organisation to facilitate an Industry Research Project where invited participants were divided into 4 focus group areas and asked to contribute their thoughts on a range of issues within the industry. The 4 groups were, owners/breeders, trainers, drivers and clubs. No hrv employees were involved in the discussion groups. The results of the 4 focus groups are to be collated and form the basis of an impending industry wide survey which will in turn form the basis of hrv's new 2015 strategic plan. I was invited to be involved in the drivers group. It will be interesting to see the results when it's all said and done.
That was supposedly the groups that Andrew Kelly was printing off and showing our 'How to make Harness strong ....' thread to Nathan. Not a big betting man but I am thinking you never saw it in those groups Nathan. Not that I am saying that thread was special see belowOriginally Posted by Njcstables
I have been involved in many such days as you describe above (but not for harness) and seen some whizz bang facilitators but my biggest concern is that most of them were like massive brainstorming exercises which got collated into aims, goals, policies, objectives, mission statements ....... BUT rarely results
I would much prefer well researched well thought out submissions that may have taken participants (including FANS/CUSTOMERS that I see no mention of) a month or months to ponder.
I am glad to see that you believe the above groups work to be only the basis for a survey but I would like to see some blank pages on those surveys not just choose the alternatives the CEO offers me
Be sure to get a hold of Ray Chaplin's summary of the industry Nathan
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Thats right kev, most of these things are just done so they can be ticked of a list. Then thrown in the back courner and never seen again
The report is a fascinating read Kev - I know of several people locally who would also be eager to read this so I will pass it on.
I am a great supporter of the owners forum.
Ray kindly asked me to support his development of the document.
When it comes to serious reform, our administrators very quickly put issues into the too hard basket.
As an example, this sport needs a National administrative service centre to deal with core processes such as accounting and prizemoney distribution.
The fact is these reforms have benefits - seriously significant benefits.
The response has been that such reforms are continually rejected due to state-wide legislative restrictions.
Sorry but it would be great if we had administrators that pushed a little harder.
Having now read it, I have nothing but admiration for the man who wrote it. Compelling and a must read for anyone in harness racing
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote