Veteran Alberta horse owner/trainer Tim Rycroft is spending his second-consecutive late winter and early spring in Osoyoos. Rycroft is bringing in a huge stable of 60 horses from Alberta and a few from the United States to train for the next several weeks at the Desert Park horse racing facility. Rycroft said being able to train in the warm weather of Osoyoos makes a big difference when the racing season begins at Northlands Racetrack in Edmonton in early May. Rycroft says he and his crew of seven horse groomers and three gallop boys spend a lot of money during their stay in local hotels and restaurants.
KEITH LACEY
Tim Rycroft spends big money and time away from family to train horses in Osoyoos
It takes a great deal of sacrifice, time and money for Tim Rycroft to make the trip to Osoyoos to train his large stable of horses for the racing season in Alberta, but it’s worth it.
“It means a lot when you can train your horses in great conditions and bring them back for the beginning of the racing season in amazing shape,” said Rycroft, who has brought in close to 60 horses over the past couple of weeks to train at the Desert Park training facility in Osoyoos.
“It costs an awful lot of money and I have to spend a significant amount of time away from my wife and 10-year-old daughter, but I’ve been in this game my entire life and this is part of what you have to do to compete with the big boys.”
When he’s not running his huge farm in Winfield, Alberta, Rycroft spends most of his time at Northlands Racetrack in Edmonton, the largest horse racing facility in western Canada.
“I’ve been in this game my entire life,” said Rycroft, a friendly and dedicated horse trainer who is spending his second-consecutive winter and spring training a large stable of horses at Desert Park. “I grew up riding horses and both my wife and dad are trainers. This is what I do.”
Rycroft and two partners from Alberta are co-owners of Riversedge Racing Stables Ltd., based out of Okotoks, Alberta.
They own dozens of horses that train at a huge facility in that community. Most of the horses race out of Northlands in Edmonton, but they make the occasional trip to race at Hastings Park in Vancouver a couple times each year, said Rycroft.
Because the winter weather in Alberta is usually bitter cold and he has such a large stable of horses, he decided last year to finally make the trip to Osoyoos and Desert Park.
“My brother used to race in Osoyoos a long, long time ago back in the 1980s when this place used to be a pretty popular track,” said Rycroft. “He always told me about the good times he had racing in Osoyoos. Everybody on the Alberta circuit knows about this place.”
Many horse owners in Alberta have tried to figure out an economically viable way to train horses in the winter in that province, but it would simply cost too much money to build a proper indoor riding facility so the best option is to go west and the warmer climate in southern B.C., he said.
“The bottom line is the weather is so much nicer here and you have plenty of time to get your horses ready for the beginning of race season in Alberta in early May,” he said.
Rycroft has a large stable of horses from Riversedge as well as many he helps train for American owners.
“I’m a partner in my own business, but I also work as an independent trainer,” he said. “By the time I get all my horses here in the next week or so, I will be a stable of about 60.”
Rycroft arrived in Osoyoos on Feb. 11 and will stay until the end of the second week in April.
He has hired seven experienced groomers and three gallop boys to train the horses in Osoyoos.
Besides staying at local hotels and motels and eating in local restaurants, he will spend a significant amount of money on feed and the daily storage fees at Desert Park, said Rycroft.
“We’ll spend an awful lot of money during our stay,” he said.
He and his crew are kept very busy at the racetrack facility, but they still have plenty of time to see the town and meet local residents, he said.
“Everybody is very friendly in this town,” he said. “The staff in the restaurants and hotels always comment on how much they appreciate us coming to town and supporting local businesses.”
Being away from his wife and daughter is the toughest part about having to train his horses in another province, said Rycroft.
“My little girl is a top-notch barrel racer and I have to miss a lot of her competitions,” he said. “She’s also only 10 years old and I know she misses her daddy, but she knows why I’m here and that we have to leave to train our horses.”
Rycroft said he sees no reason why he won’t return to Osoyoos and Desert Park in the future.
The barns and training track are in very good shape for a small track in a small community like Osoyoos, he said.
“Hastings Park is, by far, the biggest track in British Columbia and all I can tell you is the barns and facilities here are a lot nicer than they are there,” he said. “I know a lot of work has been put into trying to fix this place up and they’ve done a good job.”
While he misses his family, Rycroft said being able to get away from the bitter cold of Alberta and train his large stable of horses in such a warm climate is a nice bonus many of his fellow horsemen can’t afford.
“It’s a beautiful town with really nice weather and it has everything we need to get our horses in good shape,” he said. “You never know in this business and I could be winter racing in California next year, but if that doesn’t happen, I see no reason we won’t be back again next year.”
After spending the past three weeks in Osoyoos, Rycroft said he missed his wife and daughter and planned on returning home this past weekend. But he won’t be staying long before he returns to Osoyoos later this week.
The Desert Park barns are once again full to capacity with horse owners from Alberta and B.C. taking up all 120 stalls.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
