Children’s equine author Amber Sawyer, a Wisconsin resident, is spending this week in Woodstock where she, harness racing driver/trainer Stacy McLenaghan, and Shenandoah Downs’ Director of Racing Dee Lineweaver are visiting middle schools in the area promoting the sport of harness racing to new young audiences. The four-stop tour will culminate with an additional appearance Saturday during Shenandoah Downs’ “Trunk or Treat” Halloween promotion at the Fairgrounds.
At each stop, Amber has read passages from her book “Love to Race” and has followed that with horseshoe decorating and a meet and greet outside the school with Stacy’s horse Art Nukem — who is racing Saturday. Thanks to administrators and students at North Fork Middle School in Quicksburg, Signal Knob Middle School in Strasburg, Peter Muhlenberg Middle School in Woodstock and at the Woodstock Library for hosting everyone.
In all, Amber has made appearances at ten harness tracks and 75 libraries around the country.
Shenandoah Downs ushers out its fall racing season this Sunday (Oct. 29 with the $802,200 Virginia Breeders Championships beginning at 1 PM. The 14-race program is the richest ever in Virginia harness racing history.
