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Happy birthday Summer Rayne Remus!

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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; The most difficult part of a busy harness racing experience for Alexis Wesnak was simply staying out of the way.</p><p>Of the hind legs of the horses.</p><p>During her visit to the Harness Horse Youth Foundation Camp at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono this week, Wesnak learned a most valuable lesson.</p><p>&#8220;How not to get kicked,&#8221; Wesnak said. &#8220;A bunch of times, I almost got kicked.&#8221;</p><p>The 13-year-old Pittston resident was part of a group of 10 campers between the ages of 12 and 14 who attended the week-long harness racing instruction, which returned to The Downs this week after a year&#8217;s absence.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been welcomed with open arms,&#8221; said Ellen Taylor, the director of the Harness Horse Youth Foundation for the past 19 years. &#8220;I think they missed us. The trainers, the back side, the front side, everyone&#8217;s happy we&#8217;re back.&#8221;</p><p>Especially the kids.</p><p>Otherwise, campers like Trinity Bugno wouldn&#8217;t have an opportunity to learn how to groom, harness, jog and eventually drive a horse in a harness race at an area track.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a lot more fun than I expected,&#8221; said Bugno, also a 13-year-old from Pittston who, like Wesnak, attends school in the Pittston Area district. &#8220;My uncle taught me how to ride on horses. He&#8217;s owned a couple.&#8221;</p><p>But this type of riding is a little different, she said.</p><p>And that&#8217;s what most of the campers at the Harness Horse Youth Foundation Camp quickly discover, almost as soon as they set foot in the stables.</p><p>&#8220;Most kids, if they&#8217;ve been around horses, they&#8217;re on top of the horse,&#8221; said Joe Antonelli, one of a handful of Pocono horsemen who volunteered their time to help campers learn how to jog a horse this week. &#8220;With this, you&#8217;re in a buggy. It&#8217;s a little different for them.&#8221;</p><p>It gets pretty easy, though, pretty fast.</p><p>&#8220;Some of them are naturals,&#8221; Antonelli said. &#8220;Others, it takes a little more time. But they pick it up very quickly. It&#8217;s funny. The kids, the first day, they&#8217;ll be a little timid. The second day, they&#8217;re a little more forward about it. By race day, they&#8217;re ready to go. &#8220;</p><p>To teach kids how to be a harness racer, camp instructors go straight to the fundamentals.</p><p>&#8220;Several may have some horse experience, but not a lot of harness experience,&#8221; Taylor said. &#8220;We&#8217;re doing a lot of educating. We start at the beginning with the very basics &#8212; cleaning stables, grooming the horses, putting the harnesses on. We find that even the kids who come from a racing background and think they know an awful lot more than the rest, they don&#8217;t know the basics.&#8221;</p><p>So there&#8217;s a little something for everyone in the camp, whether kids come from an experienced harness family or come in with a casual interest in the sport.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve learned how to get a whole harness on a horse,&#8221; said Wesnak, whose uncle, Lou Ferreiro, trains horses at The Downs. &#8220;It&#8217;s nothing less than what I thought.&#8221;</p><p>Bugno never thought the camp would be so detailed.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve learned how to groom a horse,&#8221; Bugno said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve learned how to drive safely. All the work here, I find it a little easy, but some parts can be challenging.&#8221;</p><p>It all leads up to Saturday night, when the kids get a chance to drive in a race at The Downs under the guidance of leading harness racing drivers Anthony Napolitano, Jim Marohn Jr., Austin Siegelman and Vinny Ginsburg.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re a great group, very smart,&#8221; Antonelli said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a good mix of six girls and four boys, which is nice. The kids seem to be enjoying the camp.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a good group this year.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Emma Caruthers 14, of West Pittston walks Rose the pony to be readied for jogging during the Youth Harness Racing Camp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Emma Caruthers 14, of West Pittston walks Rose the pony to be readied for jogging during the Youth Harness Racing Camp. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Trinity Bugno 13, of Pittston, hooks up Pokie the pony to a sulkie. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Trinity Bugno 13, of Pittston, hooks up Pokie the pony to a sulkie. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Alexis Wesnak 13, of Pittston helps put a bridle on Pokie the pony. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Alexis Wesnak 13, of Pittston helps put a bridle on Pokie the pony. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Logan Symons, 12, Aiden Gregorowicz, 13, and Connor Lutz, 12, prepare for jogging at youth harness racing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Logan Symons, 12, Aiden Gregorowicz, 13, and Connor Lutz, 12, prepare for jogging at youth harness racing. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Campers in the Youth Harness Racing at Mohegan Sun jog along the paddock on Thursday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117youthHarness5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Campers in the Youth Harness Racing at Mohegan Sun jog along the paddock on Thursday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Kids take the reins at Pocono Downs harness camp