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Great drivers in every way. The "trotting man" is quite subjective. These guys were driving the best trotters in the world. Not to diminish their record but, this is not how I would rate a true trotting man. He would be one who was able to get high speed and sure footedness from trotters that all others could not.
Sometimes, yes. But, todays trotter is much safer than those of yesteryear. Back then, you had people who fancied themselves as "trottingmen".
I don't think there has every been anyone that make a trotter look so fluid as Åke Svanstedt. Every single one of his that race look so natural.
There used to be trotting guys and pacing guys…..I find now there are a lot of guys that can go either way…..that’s my kind of trainer.
lost aof drivers now a days go both ways
Bernt Linstedt, Jan Johnson too. Any time there is talk of trotters, Carl Allen should be mentioned. Note the great # of trotters on hopples nowadays, which he invented.
Although Carl raced all of his trotter later in his career with trotting hopples he didn't invent them or was the first to start using them In the 90s. An Australian by the name of Ross Shand was the one that Carl seen using them and adapted them to his stable after seeing them being used.
I stand corrected. Just remember at the time being something that I or people around me had never seen. CR Kay Suzie.
I agree that today there is probably much less separation between the two; however, back in the 70's and early 80's if I had a trotter racing at either Yonkers or Roosevelt I would always try and get John Patterson Jr as first choice and Benny Webster as #2. I owned ONLY trotters for 30 years (with one exception for a pacer I leased) and it was MY OPINION (and shared by several others involved with mostly trotters, including Ron Gurfein) that there were 4 or 5 drivers whose hands seemed to work better with trotters than many of the other drivers. Over the years the drivers whom my trotters had the most success with were Benny Webster, John Campbell, Walter Case, John Patterson Jr., Mike Gagliardi and Ron Waples. These days Yannick seems to have a great feel for the trotters he drives.