Hallett’s heart for horses powering impactful year

Jessica Hallett is making a name for herself in harness racing through her outstanding media work, but what shines through most, and what drives her above all, is her love of the horses.

The 24-year-old Margate, Fla. native has been Saratoga Raceway’s track photographer since February 2023. When she’s done her day’s work there, she’s at the online editor’s desk for Standardbred Canada. She grew up in the industry, so it’s no surprise that her career course eventually landed her where she is today.

“My parents are both trainers, so I’ve been in it my whole life,” Hallett said. “My grandfather (Bruce Aldrich Sr.) and my uncles had horses, too. It’s like a whole family business.”

Hallett’s career in the racing media started early, and her work has led to a variety of roles and a growing reputation.

“I wrote for Harnesslink through high school and part of college, and right after Pompano closed in April 2022, I started working for Standardbred Canada, and I’ve been working for them ever since,” she said. “Last night, for example, I started working right after our races ended around 9 p.m., and I worked until 1 a.m.

“I typically work nights, so the hours are usually 7:30 at night until 1 or 1:30 in the morning. I pretty much run their news desk. I write stories, I edit other stories that are sent in, I publish, edit photos. Whatever comes across the desk, I have to handle.” Hallett also runs her own website where her harness racing photos can be purchased.

If you recognize Hallett’s name, it might be because you noticed her tireless work assisting with fundraising for the horsepeople affected by the Tioga Downs fire last month. Thirty horses perished and all the trainers equipment was destroyed in a blaze set by an arsonist. Hallett was very active on several social media platforms, and she wrote a moving story that gave voice to the people directly impacted by the fire.

She said the media coverage of the tragedy was upsetting.

“My mom called me and told me that there was a fire at Tioga, and she wanted to let me know before I found out on social media,” she said. “All these stories were coming out on social media saying it was 30 horses, 40 horses (that perished). For a while there it was 31. Even TMZ and news stations picked it up and they said it was two dozen thoroughbreds. So, they didn’t even have it right.”

The magnitude of the loss and how it affected the horsepeople pushed Hallett to act.

“I thought, ‘All these people are just saying “horses,”‘” she said. “But they are more than horses. I have two of my own and my parents have nine and they all have their own personalities and their own behaviors. You go into your barn, and you know who’s who. It’s not just a horse, it’s not just a money maker, it’s not just a business. They are your whole life.

“I thought I’d reach out to the horsepeople, and I messaged them that night and the next morning. I worked at Tioga. I had many jobs there. We were stabled at Tioga for 18 years, so I knew all of them and had ties to them. I said to them ‘if you’re comfortable, I’d love for you to just tell me about your horses. Tell me who they were, if they had nicknames and special personalities. I want to feature them.”

Hallett said that she got some quick responses from several of the affected horse people that were willing to participate, but some were too overcome with grief.

“Dan Harvey flew out of Florida, and I called him, but he had to hang up because it was too much to talk about, which is understandable,” she said. “Just hearing people talk about their horses — we were saying that you hear about those horses’ personalities, and you can walk into our barn and match the horses to some of ours that have similar traits and behaviors.”

So, Hallett wrote In tribute to Tioga Downs, which received acclaim throughout the industry. She said that after a little prodding, she submitted her story for a John Hervey Award, which recognizes written media excellence in the harness racing press annually at the Dan Patch Awards.

“You know, I didn’t write the story for an award,” she said. “I submitted it on behalf of the horses, because maybe that will get their story told more and maybe more people will read it. Even Trot Magazine asked me to write a story because, their point was, hopefully it would raise awareness for the horsemen. Nothing is going to replace the horses, but they just lost so much.”

To date, more than $193,000 has been raised in for the horsepeople in the GoFundMe from an initial goal of $50,000. The OnGait auction of stallion breeding’s, donated by the site and industry members, raised more than $300,000.

Hallett and her family got a scare recently when there was a fire in their Saratoga barn, but luckily there were no casualties.

“It was a freak accident, and I honestly don’t know what really happened,” she said. “Just the day before we were talking about the horses because I was writing the Trot Magazine story, and I got a call from my mom at 9 a.m. “

It was a call she never wanted to get.

“The barn’s on fire!” she remembered hearing from her mom. “You could hear it in her voice, she was crying and terrified.”

Hallett asked whose barn it was.

“’Our barn,’ she replied then hung up,” Hallett said, adding that her mom was in the middle of evacuating the barn when she made the call.

Hallett jumped in an Uber and headed to the barn. There was no shortage of help coming to aid the horses.

“My parents yelled ‘fire’ and went to open the doors to the barn, and instantly there were about 30 horsemen there waiting to help,” she said. “We handed our horses off one by one to them, and some horses were loose. People were catching horses or helping put the fire out. They put the fire out before the fire department arrived.”

The fire luckily did only minor damage other than to the contents of the tack room, where it started. Hallett said the room has already been rebuilt.

The multi-talented Florida native recently published a book that is a celebration of the final year of Pompano Park, which she describes as a “magazine-style book.”

“I wanted to highlight the final year, what happened, who was there, and the major events and any photos I could add to it,” she said. “I wanted something to remember my final year as track photographer and my final year at my home.”

Hallett said anyone interested in purchasing the book can contact her on Facebook Messenger.

It’s been established that Hallett spends most of her time working. What about leisure time and hobbies?

“Truthfully, I think everything I do in harness racing is fun,” she said. “Growing up and going to college, I was always on a path to go to medical school, and it was a very intense program being pre-med and doing everything else. Switching to this, it feels leisurely. I get to shoot pictures outside and spend time outdoors. I do write on the side too, for Hoofbeats. Leisure? This morning I went to the gym and spent the morning in the pool. That’s fun for me, and I like traveling, too. I get to do that, and I pretty much work my career around things that I enjoy doing.”

Hallett’s decision to pivot and dedicate her career aspirations to the sport may be a loss for the medical field, but it sure looks like that decision has turned into a major gain for the harness racing industry.

by Garnet Barnsdale, for Harnesslink