The United States Harness Writers Association honored the newest Hall of Fame inductees on July 5 with the most influential names in harness racing in attendance. Those honored included Tara Ellen Taylor, the driving force and Executive Director of the Harness Horse Youth Foundation (HHYF). The dynamic and passionate ‘Miss Ellen’, as she is known to her dozens of HHYF campers, was inducted into the Communicators Hall of Fame.
“Growing up I was fourth generation in the horse business,” Ellen explained.
“My great-grandfather was a horse trader, my grandfather and father were trainers. My mom was one of the first women licensed drivers in the country! My brother, well, despises the horses, and I got all the love of the horses. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have talent, it just means he didn’t want to enter into the horse business.”
While some children were playing with toys, she was busy with her first horse. “They (my parents) gave me my first mare when I was six years old. She was an orphan, and her name was Dew. She wasn’t a very successful racehorse, really, but she produced a mare called Design, who was my heart horse. Design was by Legend Hanover, and she absolutely clicked with me. She was born when I was 18 and I was supposed to go to a graduation party, but I skipped the party and went to see her.”
Dew produced many foals, and Ellen named them alphabetically, from Alcazar to the last one, Idea. Although none were particularly successful on the track, she poured her heart into each one, proudly training and caring for them.
Working in just about every capacity with her horses, Ellen admitted, however, that she never drove. “I’m a coward,” she laughed.
In the middle of caring for her own horses and helping her parents, a door opened that led to her destiny. This entailed teaching the youth and the stars of tomorrow about harness racing in the form of a camp where the teens would work hands-on with the horses, learning all about the care and anatomy of horses; their equipment; and the racing business.
“The Harness Horse Youth Foundation (HHYF) started out as a subcommittee of the Ohio Breeders,” she explained. “In 1976, it was incorporated as its own entity. My mom, in 1978, was asked to be the first trustee outside of the state of Ohio, and so she was very involved. She actually wasn’t very maternal, she didn’t particularly like kids, believe it or not, but she believed in the mission. I tagged along to the meetings, and moved up to become involved very early. When I was 16, they hired me as the summer coordinator for the camps.”
At that time, the camps were one-day camps. “We would use other people’s horses, and it was scary, because they could say the horse was very calm and docile, but he wasn’t necessarily.”
Her mom passed away in 1994, and it kind of brought HHYF to a standstill. “She was my cheerleader, and we worked together,” she admitted sadly. “We both believed in it. Then in 1999, Stan Bergstein called me and asked if I would write the curriculum for a harness racing youth league, and I happily said yes. That is what became today’s Harness Horse Youth Foundation.”
Ellen is emphatic in her thanks to Pennsylvania in their support of her mission with HHYF, a 5-1 c 3 charitable organization. “It all started with Anton Lepler and Ron Battoni, because they heard me speak at an expo and they jumped on the bandwagon very early. They have supported us ever since, and we really really appreciate that.”
The HHYF camp has been the starting point for numerous horsemen and women, developing the young people’s interest in training, driving, and marketing the sport of harness racing. And HHYF has also been very helpful in furthering the education of these bright young people’s interest, as well. “We’ve awarded and/or helped administer over $1 million in scholarships since day one. Not necessarily today, because college is different, but back then, it really made a difference to some kids on whether or not they could go to school.”
With more and more women achieving their goals in racing today, Ellen points out that, unlike in years past, they truly can go head-to-head with males in the business and succeed. “I think that soon you’ll see an equality factor that is unequaled. It’s the love of the horse-not ‘women make the best caretakers’ or ‘women do this’. It’s not a characteristic of one’s gender.”
Her strength and positive attitude helped her through cancer treatment and the road to recovery, and she is thankful for her many blessings. “I do think the horse business and the family atmosphere, as well as the personal support and the relationships I’ve built, kept me alive,” she admitted.
Although retirement is on the horizon in 2028, marking her 50 years with HHYF, she doesn’t plan to turn her back on the organization. She plans on continuing her involvement but realizes it is time to pass the torch. “I look forward to doing some writing and statistical/historical updates,” she said.
On a recent chill evening at home with her longtime significant other, Robert ‘Hollywood’ Heyden, legendary longtime handicapper, simulcast personality and statistician, as well as fellow inductee to the Communicators Hall of Fame (2012), Ellen was flipping through the big program book, and she was astounded to find some familiar faces. “I found a HHYF camp graduate working in some capacity, either as an owner, trainer, driver, or racing official at every racetrack in North America! HHYF is very fulfilling on a personal level, but it’s also good for the business.”
Cover Photo: US Harness Writers photo
With Derick Giwner
Mark Hall/USTA photo
