Ståle Elvekrok, trotting enthusiast, passes at 69

It has been reported by Trav OG Galopp-NYtt in Norway, that Ståle Elvekrok has died, suddenly and unexpectedly only 69 years old. With his passing, one of the sport’s great enthusiasts and eternal game-makers is gone.

Ståle Elvekrok did not want to stand in the middle of things, but he was a strong driving force in trotting from his role as a backer.  He was responsible for a few great horses to travel to and from the USA and Norway.

Ståle was also responsible for significant two-legged exports to the United States. He was employed by and was a close friend of the Antonacci family at Lindy Farms in the United States. When they wanted a Swedish trainer for the stable and asked Ståle to advertise in the Trotting and Gallop Round, Ståle did as he often did. He misheard on purpose. He advertised in Trav og Galopp-Nytt instead, and that’s how Jørn Morten Kvikstad became the trainer for Lindy Farms. That resulted in two Hambletonian victories in as many years for a squad that hadn’t won anything big for many years.

The USA and American trotting were close to Ståle Elvekrok. He knew more about American breeding than most. Although he had a notorious fear of flying, he flew over the “pond” more than 100 times. He had little regard for French blood. “I’ve drunk a lot of strange things, but the only times I get really sick is when I see offspring after Ideal du Gazeau,” is one of his many classic statements.

For Ståle Elvekrok was a cheerful advisor of the very rare. Few could raise the mood in an audience like him with his pertinent comments and humorous analyses, which he presented without a pinch. Ståle was in his own way a stand-up comedian in trotting, with the difference that he preferred to sit, and preferably with a pedigree book in front of him, a roll between his fingers and preferably with his good friend John Begg (a whisky brand) in his glass. “Me and John are sticking down in the apartment, we”, was an original expression from Ståle Elvekrok when he worked at Lindy Farms in Florida.

In the environment around Drammen trotting track, Ståle Elvekrok was a significant figure with great knowledge of the trotting sport and its history. He could make everyone laugh so that tears flowed, and he could with great joy tease those he knew were easily flammable.

His void will not be easy to fill in a sport where seriousness has taken over. Ståle Elvekrok was going on a trip to Sweden today with friends from the trotting community. When he did not show up, they became worried and went to his apartment. There they found Ståle dead on the bathroom floor after feeling unwell.

by Truls G Pedersen, for tgn.no