Dear Sir,

The recent controversy over drug-taking within the sport of harness racing, and the subsequent bans imposed on drivers and the ponies finally appears to have brought to the fore the fact that the sport itself is both callous and cruel.

As a horse owner myself, I continue to be appalled by the way in which these racing ponies are treated by many of their owners and drivers.

I cannot imagine how anyone can even vaguely consider this to be anything but a ruthless abuse of an animal.

Why on earth do the members of this pitiful society think they can convince the public that this abuse is anything but a self serving and callous exploitation of these defenceless animals.

We are not blind. We've all seen you take out your ponies on the open road, your troika loaded with the ballast of three or more people, whips in hand, while the pony labours under the weight it is having to pull, eyes bulging, mouth foaming, gasping for breath. Another treat lays in store for it – Cobbs Hill or similar.

Yes, we can all see how much a pony must 'enjoy' that experience.

I would like to know who sanctions the import of these animals. Where is the check to see if the potential owner is a suitable candidate? (even dogs and cats get that privilege from the SPCA). An equally unbearable question – who is the vet that administers the injection to put an end to these poor creatures lives? Don't worry about the killing, just bring in another victim. After all, these are disposable items, right?

Here is what I suggest: attach the harness 'driver' to the troika, load in at least 400lbs of ballast, pin his head back and whip him until he or she enjoys running as much as the pony. This may be the only way to make them understand the impact of their actions.

Anyone up for the challenge? Thought not.

Annie Sousa's letter published in Monday's Royal Gazette borders on the farcical.

For someone who claims to have owned ponies for 20 years or more, she doesn't appear to have learnt a great deal on how these animals should be handled.

She makes a self-serving case that maintains these ponies actually enjoy being raced into the ground, restrained by a harness which leaves them gasping for breath, and made to trot in the most unnatural manner.

Yes, Ms Sousa, I'm sure they're having a ball!

A word to the SPCA. It is crucial that you stop hiding behind the government's 'lack of legislation' regarding the cruelty meted out to the island's 'pets' and get something changed. After all what is the point of having 'PCA' in your title when effectively, you could provide the same contribution by just using the letter 'S'.

SARAH RADFORD

Dear Sir,

I am disgusted that I, once again, have to write to Bermuda's newspapers to set the record straight as The Royal Gazette seems to be unable to get a story and its facts right!

Mr. Robson (sports editor), in your first paragraph you state that the DHPC "largely operates under the radar" and that the people who run it "don't command a huge amount of publicity". This is your first inaccuracy. We do try to command publicity but your newspaper only seems to want to report on negatives and not positives in any sport and therefore, since we have not had anything negative for you to report on thus far I guess you have had no need to report on us at all.

A few years ago, I myself contacted Mr. Colin Thompson to ask him to do a story on the DHPC and to attend our races so to correctly report on our sport. I also know for a fact that Mr. David Lopes has sent in the results every week this season and last season to your newspaper and that they have not been posted but once! Why not Mr. Editor? Are our results un-important or just not negative enough to deserve a space in your weekly paper? Not a problem for us though as Mr. Earl Basden of Island Stats and the Bda Sun has continuously reported on us and our sport. Thank you Island Stats and Bda Sun!

I know all of the DHPC's members personally and would challenge you to find me one member willing to admit to you or your paper that they have had any ponies that they have "put down after they've failed to perform". There are many reasons that an animal may be put down and it is no-one but the owner's business as to why they have to end their beloved pony's life.

Our community is a close one and we all know when an animal is put to sleep. I would get you to question your source that has told you that eight ponies have had to be put down this year and some due to mistreatment or because they have failed to perform as your information is just plain incorrect! You will always be able to find someone negative to give you false information where they have accused their so called "friends" behind their backs of doing such things. I am sure that your "source" did not wish to be named for obvious reasons. I would question their motive; that is, however, if they even exist.

As for your ridiculous comments about the cruel way in which these animals are trained and raced such as "the poor animals sweating profusely and in obvious distress" and "their heads pinned back" and "contorted faces of the ponies as they struggle to release themselves from the harness" are just that, ridiculous. I would ask you how great you think you look when you are running a half-marathon or 10K or training for either.

I have had the pleasure of seeing you run a half-marathon and in my opinion, your face is contorted as if you are in great pain, you are sweating profusely and you look as if you are in obvious distress and in need of immediate medical attention. Would you say that my opinion is correct? Probably not and neither is yours about our ponies. In fact, if a pony does not sweat in this manner it has a serious medical condition called Anhydrosis and needs to be carefully monitored or there could be severe consequences for the pony. Therefore, a pony sweating profusely does not constitute cruelty or abuse.

As for their heads being pinned back, if you had taken the time to research the sport of harness racing you would know that a pony's head is not set higher than their normal head carriage. A check is used for a number of reasons, a few being to avoid tripping and falling or to avoid a pony burying its head and an owner not being able to safely operate it.

As for the comment about their contorted faces and them trying to run out of their harness I would just say this: Until you can get one of the ponies that you have approached to say that they do not enjoy racing and that their facial expressions are an indication of that, please keep your negative and highly offensive opinions to yourself. You are not merely trying to stimulate debate as you have said; you are unnecessarily slamming the DHPC.

Racing ponies are bred to race and they are just as competitive as the drivers who race them. They love to run and they strive to perform at their optimum ability. If you had interviewed any driver at the track they could tell you this. Why hasn't your newspaper interviewed anyone other that their sources who refused to be named and some people involved in the recent drug issue? Looks a little biased to me yet again!

Nick DeCosta did respond to your paper every time he was contacted and he did give the necessary balance that you speak of, however the subsequent reports never reflected that balance. How you can accuse the DHPC of attempting to hide this situation from the public by not contacting the newspaper about the people who tested positive absolutely baffles me. You have never been interested in any aspect of the DHPC either good or bad so why should we put our members business all over your newspaper? We dealt with this situation in the same manner that we have dealt with all disciplinary situations for years, in house, not through the media!

I am disturbed that you would compare dogs and horses. That is like comparing apples and oranges for crying out loud! How many dogs are confiscated on a daily basis for abuse Mr. Robson? Now, let's compare that to how many ponies are! There is no comparison. My husband and I own five racing ponies and I am proud to state for a fact that they are treated better than some people treat their own children.

I could safely say that about all of the people in the DHPC. In fact, our judges are on the lookout for abusive behaviour towards a pony or if a pony is hurt and should not race or if a driver is whipping inappropriately (most first time observers of harness racing actually believe, like you, that the drivers are striking the horse when they whip when in actuality they are hitting either the number pad or the shafts of their race bikes).

The DHPC has covered all aspects of possible cruelty and follows the rules closely! I have seen a member of the SPCA attend our race meets frequently and I can assure you, knowing him personally and how much he loves horses, he would not allow any form of abuse or cruelty to go un-addressed! He could prosecute anyone that displays abusive or cruel behaviour towards a pony. So where you state that the SPCA can do nothing you are again incorrect! More to the point, how can you honestly believe that someone would spend, sometimes in excess of $5,000 for a pony just so that they can pay another $3,000 or more to bring it to Bermuda just so they can abuse it? Come on Mr. Robson.

As for Mr. Colin Thompson, your "senior sports reporter", it appalls me that he would even put his pen to paper and write about the so called allegations of race and financial discrimination. I fully understand why his source, if there is such a source, would only speak on the condition of anonymity as everything that he/she has accused the DHPC of is completely false and actually would make him/her look like a complete idiot in front of their DHPC family, if in fact, they are even a part of the DHPC family!

Some of our top owners/drivers are black and obviously have the financial means to be placed in that category. Some people have expensive ponies, some people have ponies that cost them nothing to obtain but anyone that owns a pony knows how expensive it is, vets, feed, hay, shoeing, trailering, grooming products, stable fees, sawdust, harness, entry fees and much more. No-one that is financially unstable can afford a pony so I would classify all of our owners to be financially sound therefore the allegations are just unfounded.

Furthermore, when the drug rule was put in place three years ago, our membership was 70% white and 30% black so how could we have been targeting the blacks only? Now, 51% of our membership is black and 49% is white. We are racially and financially equal. We do not care who owns ponies or who races ponies – black, white or other. The only thing that we care about is that no-one, including committee or regular members (black or white) races their ponies on drugs of any sort and get away with it. Harness racing is completely drug-free as the ponies are tested randomly throughout the season and our drivers can also be randomly tested anytime by the Bermuda Council for Drug-free Sports. And as for the comment that the drug policy put in place three years ago was introduced specifically to target and discourage the black drivers – totally ludicrous! How can it target one specific group when no one, not even the Executive Committee, knows when the vet will show up for testing? Even the method in selecting who is tested is random as the presiding judge of the day picks from two bags – the first contains the number of the heat and the second contains the number of the pony in that heat. How can someone be targeted with that method?

Mr. Robson, we have never had an issue with race or financial discrimination until Mr. Thompson so generously decided to report on our sport. I would have to question to what depths he would sink to in order to get a story. I think back now and realise that is has been a blessing in disguise that he and your newspaper have tormented my husband and the sport of cricket for years instead of me and my favourite sport of harness racing! The only black cloud over our sport Mr. Robson appears to be your newspaper!

ROBIN MANDERS

DHPC secretary

PS How can you even print "The Gazette has frequently attempted to obtain information on harness racing meets but on each occasion has received no co-operation whatsoever"? I would love to know who The Royal Gazette has supposedly contacted for information on harness racing meets and received no cooperation from or is that just another false statement in your paper Mr. Editor?

SPORTS EDITOR'S NOTE: Much like the letter written by a harness racing enthusiast earlier this week, Mrs. Manders has again used her 'facts' to distort the truth. For the record, the reporting of this sport was discussed before the start of the current season with a member of the DHPC and it was agreed we would print full results and reports if given the relevation information. During November and December, results and reports on harness racing appeared in The Gazette. But information has not been forthcoming since. Photos taken at harness racing meets have also been published on a number of occasions, as witnessed by the archive photos which accompanied last week's drug-related stories which, incidentally, were in no way designed to implicate the drivers. Those stories, written by Colin Thompson, were as result of interviews with a number of harness racing sources who preferred not to be named.