This year's Canadian Derby champion was developed on a property in Mountain View County.Freedoms Traveller rocketed to a come-from-behind win at the high profile horse race in Edmonton Aug. 20. The three-year-old thoroughbred owned by Carstairs couple, Donna and Randy Feddema, was broken on a property west of Didsbury.Veteran horseman Bill Boyd, who has been breaking horses for the past 30 years, took Freedoms Traveller through his 30-day program of responding to commands and cues.ìIt's kind of nice to say that you broke one that can do something like that,î Boyd said of the horse that bolted to a win measured at five-and-a-half lengths.ìI like to see them do good.îBoyd's had his hands on a number of horses that have proven high-end performers in major races.ìI've had other ones go from here up to Edmonton and win quite a bit of money,î he said.ìThere's a lot of them that I don't hear about and don't know where they go. A lot of them, I don't know their names and don't keep track of them very close.ìIt's always nice to see something turn into something after you get them going.îWhen the Feddemas brought Freedoms Traveller to Boyd's property, one thing stood out about the would-be champion ñ aggression.ìHe was a little bit more aggressive than some of the horses that I've had here,î Boyd said with a laugh.ìObviously he was the other day.îAlong with that came Freedoms Traveller's unwillingness to fall behind.ìHe didn't like to get dirt in his face,î Boyd said, adding that some don't mind galloping at any point in the pack. But when working with other horses, the last thing Freedoms Traveller wanted was to be a follower.ìHe wanted to be in front,î Boyd added.Those early instincts to battle to the front of the line proved true in this year's derby race. Freedoms Traveller spent much of the race near the back, but at three-eighths of a mile left to go in the race, he blazed to the lead.In terms of the differences in breaking racehorses, Boyd said they're few and far between.ìI start them all the same way as if they're going to be saddle horses,î he said.ìThey learn to stop, turn and back up and respond to whatever I ask them to do.îBut once the horse has advanced to a certain level, a career in racing calls for a certain skill set.ìI take them here to run into the bit a little bit more,î Boyd said.ìAt the racetrack they need them to do that.îFreedoms Traveller was the only Alberta-bred horse in this year's derby, taking on competition from British Columbia, Ontario and parts of the United States.Overall, for the Mountain View County man, there's much to enjoy about breaking horses. Boyd's three-decade commitment to the work can be summed up by the satisfaction he feels from watching a horse change under his watch.ìI find it very rewarding,î he said. ìThey come and lots of times they're not even halter broke. To see the changes in them in a month, you go from chasing them around to riding them around.îFreedoms Traveller's connection to the Boyd family doesn't end there. The prizewinner is stabled at Bill's brother Albert Boyd's residence, which is a short ways away.
