Trotting True
By Jamie Coffy, Administrator of the USTA's Standardbred Equestrian Program.
Some Standardbreds are world-beaters on the track, while others are duds. While Smokey KB fell somewhere in the middle, he now holds his own as a roadster show horse.
Bred in Michigan, the bay raced 10 times as a 3-year-old at tracks in the Wolverine state for owners John and Ella Blake of Imlay City. He earned $462 from two second-place finishes and took a mark of 2:08f in a qualifier at Sports Creek Raceway.
As a 4-year-old, he earned $1,188 in his 15 starts for the Blakes, but never found the winner’s circle. The lack of wins may have prompted the Blakes to sell him to Clifford Soles of Pleasant Lake in March 1988. For Soles, the bay trotter brought him four victories in two years and approximately $8,000 in earnings from 71 races.
February 1990 found the trotter with a new owner, David Zell of Clio. Continuing his campaign at Michigan tracks and fairs, the son of Smokeys Baldy won one of 22 races and $1,813 that year. His last month of racing, the trotter raced for Mark Allen of South Lyon, making only a few starts for him before his last race November 15, 1990 at Sports Creek. He ended his career with five wins from 118 starts, a mark of 2:05.2f at age 6 and $12,350 earned.
Although not fast by track standards, the bay caught the eye of roadster trainer Edwin Freeman of Harrodsburg. In April 1991, Freeman purchased the horse as a road horse show prospect, since good looks and a snappy trot are as important as speed in the show arena.
Over the next several years, Smokey KB changed hands several times, until, in 1998, A.J. Bender saw the horse at Highland Stables in Omaha, Neb. Bender’s instructor, Jonnie Surland, introduced the 15-year-old horse to 16-year-old young man.
"My sister shows American Saddlebreds, but I prefer speed," Bender said. The pair were a good match.
Today, Bender shows the bay under the name Desert Storm in road horse classes in harness and under saddle. One of his favorite accomplishments was at the American Royal Horse Show in Kansas City, Kan.
"It was a big show, and we placed 4th against some of the big Kentucky guys," Bender explained.
Although the trotter has been off the track for more than nine years, he still knows how to turn on the speed, according to his teenage owner. In the show ring, "he really flattens out and wants to go!"