The siblings of an American reality television actor were among the harness drivers showcasing their skills during yesterday’s Correia Construction & Keen Limited Best 3 Stakes finals at Bermuda Equestrian Centre.

Lewayne and Dale Miller, who are of Amish descent, were invited to Bermuda to compete in the event by Driving Horse and Pony Club President Arnold Manders.

The Indiana residents are the brothers of Devon Miller, who is a cast member of the reality television series, Breaking Amish: Los Angeles, that airs on the US cable and satellite television network, TLC.

Dale and Devon, 21, are twins who are presently engaged in adolescent rumspringa, the rite of passage in which some young Amish are permitted to experience the outside world and decide whether or not they wish to remain with their home communities. Lewayne, 27, chose not to remain with his Amish community in favour of fulfilling an ambition of racing standard breds for a living.

“I made my decision not to go back because I would not be able to do the standard breds which is something I have always wanted to do since I was a young kid,” Mr Miller told The Royal Gazette. “If I go back Amish I would not be able to have a career in it.”

Mr Miller (IC’s Shakedown) and sibling Dale (Cherokee) both earned a place on the podium after finishing second and third overall in the Best 3 3 & 4 Year Old Stakes final behind Bermudian winner Kenny Mills (Itsallaboutme).

Mr Miller won the first final heat in his division after pipping his sibling at the finish line.

“Being able to get by my brother just at the wire was very exciting,” he said. “The track is smaller than what we are used to back home, so it makes you a little nervous going out there. But the racing was definitely very exciting and something I haven’t experienced before.”

Mr Miller is no stranger to many in the local harness racing community.

“I am very familiar with some of these drivers over here and I actually raced ponies five years before I went to the professional standard bred world so I also recognise some of these ponies here that I used to race against. I used to race against Cherokee Kibbitz which is the mare that I drove today. I remember racing against her in Indiana.

“I know some of the drivers here and we actually used to race a couple of Arnold’s (Manders) ponies (in Indiana). I am very impressed with the harness racing here just by the fun everyone is having. Everyone seems to enjoy it.”

Mr Miller says it is “pretty cool” being the sibling of a television actor.

“At the racetrack where I workout and drive people joke around with me saying my brother is famous or your family is very popular and stuff like that,” he added. “My brother (Devon) went to California to film the Breaking Amish show out there but he is back home now. He’s not back Amish, he is just still kind of living the rumspringa lifestyle.”

The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches and are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology.

The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann.

Many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century.

Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 25. It is a requirement for marriage, and once a person has affiliated with the church, he or she may marry only within the faith.