Honoring Our Horse Culture

We are carrying a story this week in our paper that says horse racing will not return to the Touchet Valley for the second year in a row.

In 2011, the races didn't come to the area because all of the racing dates were given to a track in Kennewick.

This year, Dayton and Waitsburg didn't even ask for dates because the insurance premiums that protect the jockeys went skyhigh after some recent accidents and our Dayton Days and Days of Real Sport groups can't afford to bring the races back.

Speaking with sources while gathering information for this story, it always seemed to come back to money. Last year, the Washington State Horse Racing Commission couldn't give money to our local events to race. This year again there's no money from the state racing commission, but with the small amount of money the groups do have, they are nowhere near close to obtaining the $30,000 or more to cover insurance costs and host a racing event.

It just always comes back to money.

These groups, if they feel enough motivation to do so, could come up with fundraising plans. Dayton Days will be coming up with fundraisers between now and October to find out if they can raise money and determine how much they can raise to bring back Dayton Days in 2013. But that is going to be a lot of work. Do our volunteers have it in them?

And they have some steep competition.

Our schools are always in need of money for one thing or another. They need a new electrical and lighting system for the football field in Waitsburg. Dayton needs money to fund its after-school program. This managing editor donated to Waitsburg Elementary's fifth grade class for ice skating lessons. The school district hopes to raise enough money to send the kids back to ski lessons next year and will be having fundraisers for that cause.

The Lions Club in Waitsburg hosts fundraisers so it can help our community members in need. Our fire departments need new equipment to keep up with emergencies in our towns.

Will residents see bringing back the horse races as a priority?

The loss of racing may not necessarily be a horrible thing. Terry Jacoy, a long-time Days of Real Sport supporter and the last Days of Real Sport Marshall (2010), said in an interview on this topic that the races don't bring a ton of money into our towns. He said he would rather take that $30,000 it would cost to put the races on and walk around to businesses and hand it out. This may be more useful.

The horse culture in the valley should be honored in other ways if we can't have the races. In 2011, both towns had parades to honor these special weekends. What if those parades were equestrian centered? Or what if a horse show was held instead of the horse races?

Horse races are not the only horse events that have been held in our towns throughout the years. Horse shows were held in Waitsburg on Main Street until 1909.

A very popular sport at this time, especially in the Touchet Valley, is barrel racing. Waitsburg and Dayton could host these kinds of racing at our fairgrounds and possibly make a profit. The popularity is already here. Why only hold the competitions in Walla Walla?

The hardest part of tradition is when it has to change.

But, sometimes aspects of our towns can change and be better than ever. Look at the revitalizations of downtown Waitsburg and Dayton. With a little tender love and care and a lot of volunteer hours, both cities pay homage to our pasts and look a lot better. I don't think anyone in our towns regrets these changes.

Maybe it's time to revitalize not the races, but the horse culture in our towns and make it better than ever.

Jillian Beaudry

Managing Editor