Abstract:
A racing sulky is provided with wheel mounting forks that are angularly orientated rearwardly away from the shafts to locate the wheel axis rearward of the center of mass of the sulky, the angular orientation lying in the range 1° to 40°. A seat mounted on the sulky rearward of the sulky center of mass and the wheel axis allow the center of mass of a rider to substantially balance the sulky center of mass. A corresponding sulky harness connector is also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Benefit of U.S. Provisional Application for Patent Ser. No. 60/623,227, filed on Nov. 1, 2004, is hereby claimed. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention concerns racing sulkies, more particularly to a balanced racing sulky for use with a racehorse.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Lameness represents one of the greatest threats to the health and racing careers of racehorses and is particularly relevant with Standardbreds that are used in harness racing. Harness racing involves connecting a sulky, or bike, to the racehorse, which is driven by a rider sitting rearwardly of the sulky. The sulky typically includes a frame, two wheels, a seat for the rider and two elongate shafts for connecting to a horse harness on either side of the horse. The rider sits on the seat and controls the horse using reins. In harness racing, a generally oval racetrack is used, which is banked upwards and away from the center. During a race, the workload performed by the horse includes transport of its own mass against air resistance, the track surface, centrifugal forces as well as the sulky and rider&#39;s mass. The rider&#39;s center of mass is typically located behind the wheel axles, which causes the sulky to lift upwardly at the sulky shafts and hinder the horse&#39;s natural running gait. Moreover, the horse&#39;s natural running gait causes the horse&#39;s sides lateral torso to move up and down during full forward and rearward limb extensions, with the force of this action being transferred to the sulky wheels via the harness connector and the sulky frame thereby causing the sulky wheels to oscillate left and right with a yaw rotation. The aforesaid factors combine to decrease the efficiency of the horse&#39;s running form, which in turn can significantly reduce the speed and comfort of the horse. Moreover, current sulky designs and the track&#39;s banking combine to cause upper body and lower leg injuries to the horse. This may significantly reduce the racing career of the horse and cause costly veterinarian bills.  
         [0004]     Many designs of sulkies exist, a few examples of which are as follows: 
        U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,367, issued Apr. 27, 1982 to Cashman for “Racing Sulky and Harness”; and     Published PCT application WO 93/19969, published Oct. 14, 1993 to Walsh for “Horse Drawn Sulky”.        
 
         [0007]     The aforesaid designs suffer from a number of important drawbacks. Disadvantageously, Walsh&#39;s design requires that the forks be connected to moveable forks, which appears to require that the rider adjust the position of the axles before racing. Walsh&#39;s design may not be suitable for positioning the axles rearwardly of the sulky frame. In Cashman&#39;s design, the sulky&#39;s orientation relative to the ground and to the horse may cause significant discomfort to the horse and may not provide the horse with sufficient flexibility to enable unhindered running movement. Furthermore, there does not appear to be sufficient flexibility in the harness system to allow the horse&#39;s movements to be independent of the sulky shafts. In addition, many sulkies have significant stress forces placed on the frames during races due to the design of the sulky and sulky connectors.  
         [0008]     Thus there is a need for an improved racing sulky.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The present invention reduces the difficulties and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a balanced racing sulky that allows a racehorse harnessed thereto to reach and maintain maximum speed with a significantly more natural gait. To achieve this, the inventor has unexpectedly discovered that angling two straight wheel-bearing forks rearwardly away from the rear end of the horse locates the rider&#39;s center of mass behind the axles without causing the sulky shafts to lift. Advantageously, this arrangement balances the sulky and significantly reduces the workload placed on the horse during a race. Moreover, this arrangement increases the horse&#39;s athletic performance and significantly reduces injuries to the horse&#39;s upper body and lower legs. In addition, an adjustable seat and foot stirrups are connected to the sulky frame to allow the sulky to be custom fit to compensate for differences in rider height and weight, while maintaining balance.  
         [0010]     Additionally, the sulky horse harness connector of the present invention connecting the sulky arms to the horse harness significantly reduces harmful efforts imparted on the racehorse from the movement of the sulky that could induce injuries to the horse, to increase the horse comfort and speed during race, especially because of the connector design and dynamic self adjustments and impact dampers.  
         [0011]     In accordance with an object of the present invention, there is provided a racing sulky for use with a racehorse, comprising: a pair of forks connected to a cross bar at a rear portion of a racing sulky frame connectable to the racehorse, the cross bar being adjacent a center of mass of the sulky, the forks having respectively two wheels rotatably mounted thereon and the forks being angled rearwardly of the sulky so as to located a wheel axis rearward of the sulky center of mass.  
         [0012]     In one embodiment, the racing sulky further includes a rider seat connected to the sulky frame and located rearward from the cross bar and rearward from the wheel axis so as to have a center of mass of the rider substantially balancing the sulky center of mass.  
         [0013]     Typically, the rider seat is movably connected to the sulky frame so as to have the seat longitudinally adjustably positioned relative to the sulky frame, whereby different weight riders can substantially balancingly ride the sulky.  
         [0014]     Conveniently, the forks are angled rearwardly away from a generally vertical axis at an angle lying in the range of about one to forty degrees (1° to 40°); and preferably at about twenty degrees (20°).  
         [0015]     Conveniently, the forks are connected to the rear portion of the sulky frame such that they are cambered downwardly away at an angle lying in the range of about one half to five degrees (0.5° to 5°) from a vertical plane perpendicular to the cross bar; and preferably about two degrees (2°).  
         [0016]     In accordance with another object of the present invention, there is provided a sulky harness connector for mounting on a front portion of a racing sulky, the harness connector comprising a frame adapted for connection to a horse harness, a body and two shafts, the frame including an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the shafts being connected to and extending between the upper and lower end portions and providing a limited path of travel for the frame relative to the body.  
         [0017]     In one embodiment, the body includes a shaft mounting portion, a sulky shaft receiver portion and a latch receiver portion.  
         [0018]     Typically, the shaft mounting portion is located on a sidewall of the body and faces the frame, the shaft mounting portion further comprising a generally rectangular housing having a horizontal top sidewall, a horizontal bottom sidewall, a first vertical sidewall and second vertical sidewall, the sidewalls defining an interior space, the top and bottom sidewalls having bores for slidably accommodating the shafts, and a resilient biasing means is provided on at least one of the shafts on either side of the top and the bottom sidewalls for biasing the body generally centrally between the upper and lower end portions of the frame.  
         [0019]     Conveniently, the sulky shaft receiver portion defines a socket of generally cylindrical form, the socket forming a concave recess and being relieved to allow access of an end of a sulky shaft connector, and the sulky shaft connector having a spherical end for engagement with the said recess of the socket.  
         [0020]     Typically, the latch receiver portion is contiguous with the shaft receiver portion and is formed of a box-like structure through which a latch passes from the outside thereof into the recess of the shaft receiver section, the latch being resiliently biased into and being arranged in one locking position to extend across the recess in the shaft receiver portion thereby in use to retain the spherical end of the sulky shaft connector within the shaft receiver portion.  
         [0021]     Conveniently, the sulky shaft connector includes a member formed such as to slide into a lumen formed within the end of a sulky shaft.  
         [0022]     Conveniently, the sulky shaft connector member comprises an elongate shaft, a head member, a base member and a biasing member, the head member and the base member being movably mounted on the elongate shaft and biased apart from each other by the biasing member.  
         [0023]     Typically, the head member includes a cylindrical body provided with an axial bore sized to slide over the elongate shaft, the cylindrical body having an outer sidewall provided with a sulky shaft abutment portion and a sulky shaft insertion portion sized and shaped to be locked into the lumen formed in the end of the sulky shaft.  
         [0024]     Conveniently, the base member of the connector member includes a disc member having disc member hole means sized to allow the elongate shaft to slide therethrough, a pair of separator members is connected to the disc member and to a lower end of the cylindrical body, the separator members being axially aligned with the elongate shaft and running parallel alongside the elongate shaft, a guide disc is fixedly mounted on the elongate shaft and is located between the head member and the base member.  
         [0025]     Conveniently, the guide disc has two radially disposed guide grooves adapted to slidingly and axially cooperate with the two separator members.  
         [0026]     Typically, the biasing member includes a pair of resilient biasing means provided either side of the guide disc for biasing the guide disc, preferably generally centrally, between the head member and the base member; and the biasing member preferably comprises an open coil compression spring.  
         [0027]     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0028]     Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the description in association with the following Figures, in which:  
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a simplified side elevation view of a racing sulky of the present invention harnessed to a racehorse;  
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is a simplified perspective exploded view of the sulky, a sulky shaft connector and a harness connector;  
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the harness connector connected to the sulky shaft connector;  
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0033]      FIG. 5  is a side view the harness connector; and  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the harness connector and sulky shaft connector. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0035]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of a racing sulky is shown generally at  10 . Broadly speaking, the sulky  10  includes a frame  12 , a pair of forks  14 , a pair of wheels  16 , two elongate sulky shafts  18  and a seat  20 . A harness  22  and reins  24  respectively provide a means of connecting the sulky  10  to a horse  26  and controlling the horse  26 .  
         [0036]     The frame  12  includes a rear cross connector bar  28  to which the two forks  14  are connected. Typically, the forks  14  are welded to the cross connector bar  28 , but maybe part of a single piece of material which is machined and formed into the two forks  14 . In accordance with the present invention, the forks  14  are angled away from the rear end  30  of the horse  26  and locate the center of mass MS of the sulky  10  generally located adjacent the cross connector bar  28  in front of the wheel&#39;s axles  24  so as to substantially statically balance a rider&#39;s center of mass MR behind the wheel&#39;s axles  24  when harnessed to the horse  26 . Since both forks  14  are essentially identical, only one will be described in detail. The fork  14  includes two spaced apart struts  36 ,  37  that form a gap  38  of sufficient width to allow the wheel  16  to be mounted therebetween on the axle  24 . The wheel  16  is connected to a lower end  34  of the struts  36 ,  37  using conventional fasteners. Preferably, the forks  14  are angled away from a generally vertical y-axis  40  at an angle of from about one to about forty degrees (1° to 40°). More preferably, the forks  14  are angled away from the y-axis  40  at about twenty degrees (20°). The fork  14  is made from a straight, generally elongate rectangular piece of substantially rigid, non-resilient material, such as steel and the like.  
         [0037]     For greater wheel tracking and cornering around a banked racetrack, the forks  14  are also connected to the cross connector bar  28  such that they are cambered downwardly away from the frame  12  at from about one half to about five degrees (0.5° to 5°), more typically at about two degrees (2°) from the y-axis  40  or a vertical plane perpendicular to the cross bar  28  when viewed from the sulky rear.  
         [0038]     As best illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the seat  20  is connected to the cross connector bar  28  and typically is adjustably mounted on two seat support shafts  42  which allow the seat  20  to be adjusted towards or away from the rear end of the horse  26  depending upon the weight of the rider to essentially balance the center of mass of the sulky  10 . Conventional adjustment means (not shown) known to those skilled in the art are typically used. A pair of footrests or stirrups  43  are connected to the cross connector bar  28  are generally orthogonal relative thereto against which the rider rests his heels during operation of the sulky  10 . The stirrups  43  may be adjusted to conform to the rider&#39;s height.  
         [0039]     The two elongate sulky shafts  18  are spaced apart and connected to the end portions  44  of the cross connector bar  28 . Each sulky shaft  18  is angled inwardly towards the sides of the horse  26  so that they may be connected to the harness  22  as will be described in more detail below. Since each sulky shaft  18  is essentially identical, only one will now be described in detail.  
         [0040]     As seen in  FIG. 2 , the sulky shaft  18 , are typically of tubular construction and include a front portion  46  and a rear portion  48 . The front portion  46  includes a lumen  50  sized to slidably receive therein a sulky shaft connector  52 . The front portion  46  is angled such that when the sulky  10  is harnessed, the front portion  46  lies generally parallel to the ground. The rear portion  48  may be connected to the cross connector bar  28  by welding or may be of a unitary construction. The sulky shaft  18  is angled upwardly away from the ground to enable the correct racing form to be achieved once the sulky  10  is connected to the harness  22 .  
         [0041]     A pair of stabilizer bars  54  are connected to the cross connector bar  28  and are located outside of the sulky shaft rear portions  48 . Each stabilizer bar  54  is angled towards a connector point  56  located on the sulky shafts  18 . A connector collar  58  connects the stabilizer bars  54  to their respective sulky shafts  18  in a triangular configuration.  
         [0042]     Each of the lower end  34  of the struts  36 ,  37  is typically machined to be angled away from the ground and includes a strut connector  60 ,  61  to which an inner wheel stabilizer shaft  62  and an outer wheel stabilizer shaft  64  are respectively connected. The outer wheel stabilizer shaft  64  extends from the lower end  34  of the strut  36  and is connected to the sulky shaft  18  at the connector collar  58 . The outer wheel stabilizer shaft  64  is angled inwardly to connect with the connector collar  58 . The inner wheel stabilizer shaft  62  extends from the lower end  34  of the struts  37  and is connected to the outer wheel stabilizer shaft  64  at a connector sleeve  66 .  
         [0043]     Two triangular shaped connector pieces  68  interconnect the sulky shaft  18 , the stabilizer bar  54  and the outer wheel stabilizer shaft  64  and strengthen the sulky  10  and minimizes vertical and lateral movements of the sulky  10  during operation.  
         [0044]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3, 4 ,  5  and  6 , a harness connector  70  is used together with the sulky shaft connector  52  to enable the sulky  10  to be connected to the horse  26 . Since two harness connectors  70  are used on either side of the horse  26  and are essentially identical, only one will be described in detail. Broadly speaking, the harness connector  70  includes a frame  74 , a body  76  and two shafts  79 ,  80 . One skilled in the art will readily understand that while two shafts are illustrated in this embodiment, one will suffice without deviating from the scope of their invention.  
         [0045]     The frame  74  is connected to the harness  22  using a strap  78 . The frame  74  includes two belt connector members  81 ,  82 , although one skilled in the art will recognize that the strap  78  could be connected to the frame  74  at least one connector member without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, one skilled in the art will also recognize that many different types of strap connector are available and may be used with the frame  74  without deviating from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0046]     The frame  74  includes an upper end portion  84  and a lower end portion  86  that are axially spaced apart. The end portions  84 ,  86  are generally flat plate portions that are generally parallel to each other. The frame  74  also includes an short angled intermediate portion  88  and a long angled intermediate portion  90 , both of which angle away from the two flat end portions  84 ,  86  towards the horse&#39;s side. Typically, the upper end portion  84  is wider than the lower end portion  86 . A projection  92  extends from an outwardly disposed frame surface  94  for stabilizing the strap  78  once the strap  78  is connected to the frame  74 .  
         [0047]     The two shafts  79 ,  80  are connected between the upper end portion  84  and the lower end portion  86  and are spaced apart from each other and generally parallel. The shafts  79 ,  80  are connected to their respective flat plates using conventional fasteners such as bolts and the like. One skilled in the art will understand that the shafts  79 ,  80  and the frame  74  may also be a unitary body machined from a single piece of material, without deviating from the scope of the present invention. The two shafts  79 ,  80  between the upper end portion  84  and the lower end portion  86  define a limited path of travel for the frame  74  to move relative to the body  76 . One skilled in the art will also recognize that the body  76  may also move along the path of travel between the upper end portion  84  and the lower end portion  86 .  
         [0048]     The body  76  includes a shaft mounting portion  96 , a sulky shaft receiver portion  98  and a latch receiver portion  100 . The shaft mounting portion  96  is located on a body sidewall  102  and faces the frame surface  94 . The shaft mounting portion  96  includes a generally rectangular housing  104  having a horizontal top sidewall  106 , a horizontal bottom sidewall  108 , a first vertical sidewall  110  and a second vertical sidewall  111 . The sidewalls  106 ,  108 ,  110 , and  111  define an interior space  112 . The sidewalls  106  and  108  each have apart bores  114 ,  116 ,  118  and  120  located therein. The bores  114 ,  116 ,  118 , and  120  are of sufficient dimension to allow the two shafts  78 ,  80  to be slidably mounted thereon. One skilled in the art will recognize that the rectangular housing  104  may also be a solid piece having a single bore located therein without deviating from the scope of the invention to allow one shaft unhindered movement therethrough. Preferably, each of the bores  114 ,  116 ,  118  and  120  includes a bushing  122  that surround the shafts  79 ,  80  and allows unhindered movement though the bores  114 ,  116 ,  118  and  120 . The bushing  122  may be made of a material that reduces friction between the shafts  79 ,  80  and the bores. Examples of such material include, but are not limited to, brass and FREELON™.  
         [0049]     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , two compression springs  124 ,  126  are mounted on the shaft  79 . The upper compression spring  124  is located between the upper end portion  84  of the frame  74  and the horizontal top sidewall  106  of the housing  104 , whereas the lower compression spring  126  is located between the lower end portion  86  of the frame  74  and the horizontal bottom wall sidewall  108  of the housing  104 . The springs  124 ,  126  bias and center the body  76  between the two spaced apart upper and lower end portions  84 ,  86  of the frame  74 . This enables the upper and lower end portions  84 ,  86  of the frame  74 , which is connected directly to the horse harness  22 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , to move independently of the body  76  and relative thereto, along, a generally vertical path of travel. Since the identical arrangement is found on both sides of the horse, the independent movement and cushioning effect of the both harness connectors  70  compensates for the up and down movement of the horse&#39;s sides during the normal running gait and also compensates for the differences in horse&#39;s body positioning when the horse is cornering around the banked track. The harness connector  70  also compensates for increased banking in turns, typically about twelve degrees (12°), while allowing the front portion of the outer sulky shafts, located towards the outer track portion, to rise in direct proportion to the outer wheel, which is raised to a position higher than the inner wheel, which is located towards the inner track portion. While an independent spring and shaft cushioning or suspension system is illustrated, one skilled in the art will readily understand that other independent cushioning or suspension systems may also be employed without deviating from the scope of the invention. Examples of other cushioning or suspension systems include, but are not limited, to hydraulic systems and gas dampers and the like.  
         [0050]     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the sulky shaft receiver portion  98  is located in a proximal body portion  128 . The sulky shaft receiver portion  98  is a socket and includes a generally cylindrical sidewall  130 , having two spaced apart sidewall ends  132 ,  134  that define a gap  136  or a channel there between, and a lower sidewall  138  that closes off the lower end of the cylindrical sidewall  130 . The cylindrical sidewall  130  and the lower sidewall  138  define a concave recess  140 , which is sized and shaped to receive a ball end  142  of the sulky shaft connector  52  therein. The concave recess  140  has a recess axis  146 , which is generally parallel to the shafts  79 ,  80 . A first latch end hole  148  is located in the cylindrical sidewall  130  and is positioned such that a first latch end  150  projects sufficiently through the hole  148  to capture the ball end  142  and to limit vertical movement of the ball end  142 .  
         [0051]     The latch receiver portion  100  is located in a distal body portion  152  and includes a latch housing  154 . The latch housing  154  includes a first latch housing sidewall  156  and a second latch housing sidewall  158 . The latch housing sidewalls  156 ,  158  are interconnected to the cylindrical sidewall  130  and to the second vertical sidewall  112  of the rectangular housing  104  and define a latch housing opening  160 . An inner latch housing sidewall  162  divides the latch housing opening  160  into a wide upper portion  164  and a narrow lower portion  166 , which terminates in a ledge portion  168 . The second latch housing sidewall  158  includes a second latch end hole  170  axially aligned with the first latch end hole  148 . A spring loaded latch  172  is slidably mounted in the first and second latch end holes  148 ,  170  and is biased towards the sulky shaft receiver portion  98  by a biasing spring  174  that is located on a central latch shaft portion  176  between the second latch housing sidewall  158  and the cylindrical sidewall  130 . A first stop member  178  is connected to a second latch end  180  and is shaped to allow an operator to pull the latch  172  away from the ball end  142  to disengage the harness connector  70  from the sulky shaft connector  52 . The first stop member  178  is sized and shaped to be larger than the second latch end hole  170  so that it abuts the second latch housing sidewall  158  when the latch  172  is biased towards the ball end  142 . A second stop member  181  is located between the end of the biasing spring  174  and the cylindrical sidewall  130  and abuts the portion of the cylindrical sidewall  130 , which faces the latch housing opening  160 . In this embodiment, the second stop member  181  is a bar located generally orthogonal to the latch shaft. One skilled in the art will recognize that although a spring loaded latch is described, other types of latching mechanisms may be employed to hold the sulky shaft connector in position, without deviating from the scope of the invention.  
         [0052]     Since two sulky shaft connectors  52  are normally used together with two of the harness connectors  70  and are essentially identical, only one will be described in detail. Referring now to  FIGS. 3, 4 , and  6 , the sulky shaft connector  52  includes an elongate shaft  182  with the ball end  142  connected to a shaft distal end, a head member  184 , a base member  186  and a biasing member  188 . The head member  184  and the base member  186  are both movably mounted on the elongate shaft  182  and biased apart from each other by the biasing member  188 .  
         [0053]     The head member  184  includes a generally cylindrical body  190  that has an axial bore  192  sized to slide over the elongate shaft  182 . The cylindrical body  190  includes an outer sidewall  194  that has a sulky shaft abutment portion  196  and a sulky shaft insertion portion  198 , which is sized and shaped to be locked into the sulky shaft lumen  50  (see  FIG. 2 ) after the insertion portion  198  slides into the lumen  50 . A number of screws  51  are typically used to secure the head member  184  into the sulky shaft lumen  50 .  
         [0054]     The base member  186  includes a disc member  200  having a disc member hole  202  located central thereof and sized to allow the elongate shaft  182  to slide therethrough. A pair of separator members  204 ,  206  are connected to the disc member  200  and to a lower end  208  of the cylindrical body  190 . The separator members  204 ,  206  are axially aligned with the elongate shaft  182  and run parallel alongside the elongate shaft  182 . A guide disc  210  is fixedly mounted on the elongate shaft  182  and is located between the head member  184  and the base member  186 . The guide disc  210  includes two radially disposed guide grooves  214 ,  216 , which are sized and shaped to slidingly cooperate with the two separator members  204 ,  206 .  
         [0055]     The biasing member  188  includes a first compression spring  218  and a second compression spring  220 . The first compression spring  218  is located between the lower end  208  of the cylindrical body  190  and the guide disc  210 . The second compression spring  220  is located between the guide disc  210  and the base member  186 . Once the head member  184  is connected into the sulky shaft lumen  50 , the compression springs  218 ,  220  bias apart the head member  184  and the base member  186  and only allow the guide disc  210  to move relative to the head member when the elongate shaft  182  extends and retracts relative to the head member, depending upon the forces applied thereto. The guide disc  210  also prevents the elongate shaft  182  from disengaging from the head member  184  and the base member  186  by abutting against the head member  184  and stopping the elongate shaft member  182 .  
         [0000]     Operation  
         [0056]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 , a typical operation of the sulky  10  will now be described beginning with the sulky  10  disassembled from the harness  22 . The rider pulls back on the spring loaded latch  172  and inserts the ball end  142  of the sulky shaft connector  52  down into the sulky shaft receiver portion  98  in a ball and socket configuration. The portion of the elongate shaft  182 , which extends away from the head member  184 , loosely engages the gap  136  between the two spaced apart sidewall ends  132 ,  134 . The rider then releases the latch  172  to lock the ball end  142  into the shaft receiver portion  98 . This ball and socket arrangement enables multidirectional pivotal movement of the harness connector  70  relative to the sulky shaft (as illustrated by the arrows in  FIG. 3 ), which compensates for the horse&#39;s movements during racing and significantly reduces or essentially eliminates sulky shaft lateral movement.  
         [0057]     Once assembled, the rider, if desired adjusts the seat  20  and mounts the sulky  10 . During racing, the harness connectors  70  and the sulky shaft connectors  52 , located on each side of the horse, operate as independent suspension and cushioning systems that allow independent extension and retraction of the sulky shafts&#39; length during cornering and also independently compensates for the differences in turning radius between the inner wheels, closest to the track&#39;s center, and the outer wheels, located on the banked portion of the track.  
         [0058]     While a specific embodiment has been described, those skilled in the art will recognize many alterations that could be made within the spirit of the invention, which is defined solely according to the following claims.