Nathan Rothwell is a young lad whose parents owned harness racing horses, but weren’t involved hands on in the game as trainers.
He wanted to be, so he enrolled in courses at the Gippsland Training Centre and undertook both theoretical and practical studies designed to furnish him with the skills to achieve his dream to be a harness race driver.
And good on the kid too. We need more young people like Nathan in the sport to keep it alive and vibrant, and secure its future.
On Monday at Maryborough, Nathan Rothwell was having just his 39th race drive.
In a complicated tactical sport in which novices are thrown head first in against world champions like Chris Alford, Nathan is very inexperienced and still very much a learner driver on his L plates. He cannot possibly be expected to drive to the lofty standards of his rivals in this race the Puppet, or Kerryn Manning or James Herbertson. That would be totally unfair and simply ridiculous.
He was though.
The Stewards put him out for a month for this drive below on Bring The Flave.
I reckon it is outrageous, for I can’t see what the kid actually did wrong.
Have a look and see what you think.
He is the one in the bright yellow and red Kingston Town style colours, last in the middle as the video begins.
I home the young man appeals.
This is totally unjust.
