Stettler didn’t become a part of Triple Crown horseracing history, after all.
Just hours after Stettler native Larry (Thumper) Jones worked his hands on “I’ll Have Another” last Friday, the horse was scratched from Saturday’s running of the Belmont Stakes after getting tendonitis in one of its legs.
“I was very disappointed,” said Stettler resident Vernon Jones, whose son is the equine chiropractor for the celebrated Canadian-owned horse that was bidding to complete the Triple Crown hat trick.
“They got so far and then this happened.”
Vernon Jones spoke with his son, who was just as disappointed.
“He actually couldn’t believe it,” the elder Jones said Tuesday.
“It was a big surprise for him.”
With a Canadian owner and Canadian rider, “I’ll Have Another” was in the spotlight across the nation. The horse had been favoured to win the Belmont Stakes and become the first winner of the Triple Crown since 1978.
After the injury was announced, “I’ll Have Another” was retired.
Just last month, the Jones-treated horse won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.
Jones, 53, lives in Morgan Mill, Texas, where he operates Equine Athletes and has practised equine kinetics for more than 25 years.
He’s a 1977 graduate of William E. Hay Composite High School in Stettler. He won the top prize in Canadian major junior hockey, the Memorial Cup, as a member of the New Westminster Bruins.