Telling Your Story: Letting Others Know How Your Life/Work in Harness Racing and with Standardbred Horses has Impacted You, Your Life & Your Family -- Plus the Story of Obrigado

Stories are often never told and if told often forgotten. Memoir writing or telling your stories through writing ensures that your time in the sport of harness racing will be remembered.

To Members of Maine's Harness Racing Community:

The Maine Spirit of the Horse Initiative seeks members of the Maine Harness Racing Community who would be willing to share their memories by sharing their stories. You can tell the stories of how you got involved in harness racing, what motivated you, your best memories, your greatest challenges, and friendships with others over the years. 

If motivated, how would you do this?

Here are some suggestions?

1.Create an outline of what you would like to write. The outline would create a list of topics. These topics would become your writing prompts. Beneath each topic, write a story related to that topic. When done, move onto the next topic.

2. There is a link on losttrottingparks.com called 'Send Stories.' This link lead you to two options. Option One is 'Stories of the Turf.' and Option Two is 'Stories of the Maine Sire Stakes."

Stories of the Turf allows you to write your story with writing prompts or to input your story into a text box,attached a photo

Stories of the Maine Sire Stakes allows you to input your story and attach a photo.

My suggestion is to write your stories in MS Word or another text input program that would then allow you to copy and paste your text into the prompt text boxes or into the large Text Box, enter your story here.

Your link to Stories of the Turf:

Stories of the Turf

Your link to Stories of the Maine Sire Stakes:

Stories of the Maine Sire Stakes

Here might be the simplest suggestion, write your story including a title, attached image and your name to the following e-mail address. 

The Maine Spirit E-Mail Address

These stories will become the content of a special issue of S.Dexter's Maine Spirit of the Turf.

-- A Story Told -- A Horse Not to be Forgotten --

The Story of Obrigado -- A Maine Bred Horse

For Those Who Love to Write -- Links to Websites that Promote Memoir and Creative Writing

I hope that many of you are considering embarking on moments of your time writing your memoir. This is your way to ensure that your family today and in the future will understand your life's experiences. 

You can write about your childhood, growing up, special friends and relationships, experiencing training and education beyond high school, your choice of a career, your adult relationship and your family. Only you can share your reflections on your childhood, your parents and your grandparents. If you choose you can interview your parents and grandparents. If you have an IPAD, even your cell phone, you could video your interviews and then write your memoir as you review the videos.

For those who are engaged in the sport of harness racing or any other horse related sport or competition, you can write how you got started in the sport, what horses mean to you, and then share your most significant moment in the sport. Who have you become friends with in the sport? Where do you stable your horse(s)? What is your daily routine as you work with you horses? Take pictures and write captions for each picture. Let others know you, your love of horses, and your love of competition.

The Maine Spirit's Link to Posts on Memoir Writing

As We are at Home . . .

from Stephen D. Thompson

As Libby and I have been isolated at home for more than twenty days, we have found ways of keeping busy -- being occupied. I have taken the time to work on the Maine 200 Grant that Lost Trotting Parks was awarded by the State of Maine. Libby has been reading books as a member of her book club and attending her Memoir Class through ZOOM. Today for the first time we were outdoors in a neighbor's back yard with our daughter and husband, their three daughters and our son and his girlfriend. We positioned ourselves more than six feet apart and spent two hours talking and enjoying the wonderful day of sunshine, scattered clouds, and a blue sky. We are still questioning when it will be safe for us to gather together inside and holding our grandchildren in our arms. These are difficult times.

I have set time aside to develop this blog, The Maine Spirit and the Horse. My first initiative has focused on the idea of interviewing others and memoir writing. I hope that people and families who work in horse related industries, horse related activities, and for Maine Agricultural Fairs will make time to tell their stories either by writing or by being interviewed by another family member or child who will be the author of your memoir.

On both sides of my Thompson-Dexter families, I seldom heard stories about childhood events and stories of my parent's parents. Knowing this I am motivated to encourage others to set aside time either by themselves or with their families and write their stories.

As the founder and Creative Director, I will help others through the Maine 200 Grant to manage time and review stories that are send to me at the e-mail: themainespirit@gmail.com.

Take the time to think and then believe that this would be your worthwhile endeavor -- a way to bring meaning, value and purpose into your life. You have lived a life. Perhaps it may be time to ask, "What will I do with the rest of my life" When I was thirty nine years old, I was diagnosed with 4th stage Lymphoma. After a major operation and while receiving chemotherapy, Libby and I became members of H.O.P.E Groups (Healing of Persons Exceptional). Even today we are grateful for that experience and our relationship with H.O.P.E's founder, Ken Hamilton, MD.

Everyone can grow and gain personal insight through the process of Memoir Writing. I encourage you to take the time and join with me. 

In 2009, when I started my lost trotting parks experience, I had retired from work for a variety of reasons. For two years I was lost and then curiosity solved my 'what to do dilemma.' I suddenly realized what my next adventure would be. My lost trotting parks works has indeed brought to me a sense of meaning, value and purpose. 

Please join me moving forward!

Stephen D. Thompson

Founder and Creative Director

Maine 200 Grant Administrator
The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center

I Never Knew My Grandfather Raced His Horse on the Town Pond Until . . . A Short Memoir

Racing on the Town Pond in Limestone, Maine

My Dad could tell you jokes one right after another, but he was not a storyteller. At times he would talk about playing baseball in high school and when he played football at Ricker College before going on to the University of Maine. I also do not recall my father's parents telling childhood stories when they were young or even when their three boys, Colby, Keith and Curtis were growing up.My grandfather worked on his father's farm in his teen years, worked  as a store clerk and was part-owner of a hardware store. He sold his share in the store and decided to go into farming. My grandparents were married in 1914 and by 1923 their three sons were born. My grandfather farmed when the horse was still the worker on the farm. The storyboard below show the harvest on his farm and his farm buildings in the background.

In addition to farming potatoes, my grandfather had milking cows and chickens. I am sure that at one time there may have been more animals raised on the farm. Never was I told that he owned a sulky and that he raced on the Town Pond in the winter. It wasn't until I was going through Thompson photos and memorabilia after my father died that I found the image of my grandfather racing on the ice.

Often our parents and grandparents are not storytellers. As I child I may have been too active to even think of asking a question. This is one reason I believe that the process of interviewing and memoir writing is important -- important to share family history and memories. You can find dates of birth and death, but that is not telling your family stories and how your childhood may have shaped your life. Take the time to become a writer -- write your story and the stories of your family!

For Those Interested in Memoir Writing -- Parent, Students, Individuals Who Love to Work with Horses

The Maine Spirit and the Horse is a Maine 200 Grant, celebrating 200 years of statehood. Our history and personal stories and family histories are part of this history. As it has been stated in the past, the horse replaced the ox and the automobile replaced the horse. When I started my lost trotting parks research I was researching Maine's Champion Trotting Stallion, Nelson 4209 out of Waterville, Maine, and his bloodline through the horse Nelson Bingen. As I reviewed newspapers, I found a short article that stated, "In 1925, the automobile surpassed the horse as a means of transportation." This statement represents the importance the horse played in Maine and throughout the United States. People who work in horse related activities need to tell their stories. They need to keep the history alive. People need to know that the tradition of the horse is still a Maine tradition that exists and for many is their way of life.

If anyone is interested in telling their story, please contact Stephen Thompson at the Maine 200 Grant e-mail address: themainespirit@gmail.com.

In addition, if there are any youth group who would like to enter into Memoir Writing through Interviewing, that too would be an activity of interest.

I know these are difficult times. Skill building and writing might be one way to occupy your time in a meaningful way.

My best,

Stephen D. Thompson

Founder and Creative Director

The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center.

Interviewing Skills for Memoir Writing

For students and others who would like to interview their parents, grandparents, other relative, and persons one finds interesting to write memoirs, the following links will allow you to explore interviewing skills. Best of luck in your research, interviews, and writing.

Links to Explore Interviewing Skills

Heather Sellers on Memoir Writing with link to Interviewing

Read Write Think -- Interviews and Memoirs

How to Write Someone Else's Story

Memoir Interviewing

19 Questions to Help You Write a Memoir

For Teachers: Classroom Resources for Memoir Writing

Memoirs -- Telling Your Story -- Sharing Your Memories for Your Children, Your Future Children and Closest Friends

Writing your personal memoir is easy not to do. Making the time and commitment will create a wonderful statement of your life, memorable moments, or even moments you may regret. However, what you write may be significant for one who reads your memoir. 

Once one can write, one can write a memoir. If as a child you write a memoir you may write about a moment that in future years you may not remember.

For many family older generations, for whatever reason, did not tell their stories. I encourage anyone who reads this post to take a look at the links below and make a commitment to tell your story.

Note:    For individuals or families that work in horse related activities: -- Breeders, Trainers, Blacksmiths, Grooms, Farmers, Veterinarians, Photographers, Judges, Statisticians, Announcers, Drivers, Barrel Racers, Show Horses, Jumping, and horse pulls -- Share your story, your memoir of how you became part of horse related activities. Who got you started? How old were you? What were your initial tasks and responsibilities? Where are you today? What have you gotten from being involved with horse related activities. Below are links to websites that may help you write your memoir!

Click on the title and the link will appear

How to Write Your Memoir by Jerry Jenkins 

How to Write a Memoir that People Care About

20 Top Tips for Writing a Memoir

Tell Your Amazing Story in 8 Steps

Creative Writing Skills and Tips -- Includes Tips for Teachers