Blackie's Jordie Fike is getting ready to hit the road for this years WPCA tour.

Fike says he starts training in his team in late March, putting the veteran horses on the training truck while the rookies get hooked up to the wagon. The rookies are put on the wagon because it is easiest way for them to learn and get used to the sounds and feelings that go along with racing.

He says he starts the horses off easy, like training any athlete you start their training easy and slow with slow miles then you gradually build them up to the hard and fast training.

"In early May we go to the race track and let them run a little bit, that is when they start to really enjoy it because that is what they were born to do and you start to see them enjoy being a team."

When it comes to choosing wagon teams for the season, Fike believes while there is some trial and error that occurs, drivers usually know their horses.

"You spend all year with them so figure them out by the way they act, drive, their personalities and how they will react to a certain position," Fike says.

He heads up North to Grande Prairie for the Stompede which runs May 25-29.

Fike is taking up 22 horses which give him four teams of wagon horses and six outriders.

He says that he wants the horses to be healthy and in good shape before heading out.

"They have to be feeling good to make that trip, and when we start exercising up there I get to see how they react to other wagons and a crowd." Fike says.

Fike says that by the time the circuit comes to High River the drivers will be getting amped up for the season, and getting their two main outfits primed.

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