As the son of trainer Bruce Haynes, Russell Haynes was riding before he could walk. And now the sport that his father has embraced seems to have the younger Haynes in its grip.

The 18-year-old started racing two years ago, and this year he hopes to be one of the leading apprentice riders.

“It’s one of those things that is hard to explain,” Russell said. “Everyone has something in life that they’re attached to. I can’t describe it, but this feels like the right thing.”

Russell, who just graduated from high school, works full-time for his father. “There’s a ton of advantages [to having your family involved],” he said. “I have a nice selection of horses to get on and ride.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s been easy for Russell. Many of the horses he rides for his father, from their farm in Bristol, Tenn., aren’t the simplest mounts.

“You don’t learn anything by sitting on a horse and letting him do the work,” he said. “It’s made me a better rider [to ride tough horses], and it makes you pay attention. You have to push the whole way and work the whole time. It makes you more confident and better. You have to think and work, and it steps you up to the next level.”

Russell spent time over the winter improving those skills even more with jockey Tom Foley. “We’ve been working on all the little things you’ve got to do,” he said. “He’s helped me step it up a little.”

He’s scored a win in a flat race at a point-to-point and had several second places over fences, but he’s still looking for his first big win. He hopes to ride more over timber this year and is excited to ride his own 5-year-old, Yokozono, in claiming races. In the meantime, he finds victories in other ways.

“Just getting on a challenging horse and giving it a good ride is a victory,” he said. “It feels good at the end of the day to know you made it home.”

And he learns from each experience. One of the more painful learning experiences came at Oak Ridge (Va.), where he was winning until he fell at the last fence. “The fall made the front page of the local paper, and that’s a victory in itself,” he said with a laugh.

But from his first start–at the Middleburg (Va.) Point-to-Point two years ago–Russell was hooked.

“It was a little surreal experience. You’re real nervous, and you want to look good and get home safe and impress Dad. You’re in your own little world for five minutes, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Hard Work And An Open Mind

Russell found that other sports he’d played–soccer, wrestling and football–helped him cope with racing’s demands.

“You’ve got to work hard to be successful and be in good physical shape. Wrestling taught me discipline and to keep my weight down and get in shape, and it helped with balance and movement too.”

And he’s learned to take any help that is offered to him. “A lot of people don’t take advice well, but I appreciate that. At Tom’s, there’s some verbal abuse, but it’s to make me a better rider,” he said. “You’ve got to take advice from as many people as you can and do what works for you.”

Taking criticism from his father hasn’t been a problem, either. “Dad is usually good about it. He was cool when the horse fell at Oak Ridge, which was my fault. He said, ‘Learn your lesson and move on from it.’ When you’re starting, you’re going to make mistakes. It’s even been hard for me to convince my father I can ride a horse sometimes.”

But then, Russell and his father get along better than many teenagers and their parents. “It’s cool to spend time together, and [racing] has given us a lot more time to spend together,” said Russell. “A lot of kids are distant from their parents, but even if we don’t have a lot of time during the week, there’s guaranteed to be a six-hour truck ride that weekend. It brings us closer.”

Russell’s 12-year-old brother, Aaron, doesn’t ride, but his 15-year-old brother, Will, has been galloping and may start riding in flat races next year.

“I’d tell him to go out and have fun, and if you like it, pursue it and take every chance you can,” Russell said. “One good thing is, Dad hasn’t pushed us. If we want to do it, fine. If not, that’s cool. It’s why I still like the sport and horses, and I’m not burned out.”

Bruce Haynes never thought Russell would be interested in racing. When he was younger, his favorite hobby was re-enacting Civil War battles, and Bruce recalled that Russell learned to ride largely on the “battlefield.”

“I let him ride as he wanted to, and I let him learn on his own,” said Bruce. “I’m not big on being too instructive–I resented it when I was that age.”

And while Bruce said his son isn’t the prettiest rider, he has some innate talents that the horses appreciate. “He sits quiet, and he’s very relaxed,” he said. “He’s fearless, in a good way. The horse realizes he’s confident and comfortable. It’s great to have him, because he doesn’t mind getting on any of the horses.”

A Common Bond

The mountains of northern Tennessee surround the Haynes’ farm, and Russell thinks riding on that terrain has prepared him for anything. “The mountains we have here aren’t going to be on any steeplechase course,” he said with a laugh. “It’s made me a more confident rider on all types of terrain. I’m not going to be put off by any course.”

Russell wouldn’t be the first champion to emerge from those hills–Rowdy Irishman, Bruce Haynes’ famous stakes winner from the 1990s, played as much of a role in Russell’s development and attachment to the sport as the land that surrounds him.

“I hope to have another [superstar] come along and get to ride him,” said Russell. “I’d love to get to ride in those big races and be in the presence of greatness. There aren’t words to describe it. We were hard-core Rowdy Irishman fans, always decked out in red and black. No matter where you went, people were cheering for him. Everyone seemed to love him, and that was really cool.”

But Bruce doesn’t worry about whether his son becomes rider of the year.

“I don’t have any expectations or hopes, just that he gets out of it what he’s looking for,” he said. “If he truly wants to, I’d love to see him get to where he’s respected by the other trainers and gets rides on nice horses. But it’s awfully tough. I’d be more likely to push him to go on to college.”

In fact, Russell plans to attend college this fall. “I think about [racing] as a career, but I definitely want something to fall back on,” he said. “It’s a big possibility [to turn professional], and we’ll see how I do this year. This year will be the first time I’ve focused on my riding. I want to try to get on more and more horses and be with the big guys more.”

And Russell has been behind the scenes enough to know that the sport is much more than dramatic photo finishes and win pictures.

“I see what a hard business it is–it’s not a job, it’s your life. It’s a very difficult job to be successful in. But there’s a huge tradition in chasing, and there’s no other sport like it. It’s really rewarding when you cross the finish line or give a horse a good ride. It’s a really good feeling.”

Best of all, he shares that enjoyment with his father. “It’s a common bond we have, that we both really love the sport of steeplechasing,” said Bruce.

“It’s cool to see him that interested in it and keeping up with the people and horses. It’s been really neat, and it’s worked out well. It just sort of fell in my lap; I couldn’t ask for better.”