Racing, training and even experimental sulkies: R.J. Walsh & Son have a bike for everyone!
Racing:
Training:
Experimental:
A superb blend of performance and economy, the Mustang is the first choice in symmetrical race sulkies.
The Mustang comes with T304 stainless steel shafts, stays and back bend, a chrome plated steel undercarriage and cross bars. It features the famous Regal quick-release seat assembly, making your seat removeable or replaceable in seconds without undoing a single nut or screw.
Best of all, the Mustang comes with 28 inch wheels for no extra charge!
This sulky features the same precision pre-drilled quick-change shaft, point and back bend system made famous on the Ireland Special, plus the innovative upswept back bend introduced on the same model and now being copied—not always successfully—by our competitors. In common with all other symmetrical sulkies, it lacks the sheer speed of the offset Ireland Special, but its 10cm less width is exactly what you need if your horse typically works its way up from the second half of the field after the start.
Unlike some other brands, the points on a Mustang are less than 25cm long in the parallel end section. This avoids the problem typical of 70cm long drop points, which dig into the horse's rib cage when the sulky is hitched right back in the harness.
Length: 3.05 metres (10 feet)
Width: 1.2 metres (47 1/4 inches - Just under 4 feet)Note: The width of Australasian sulkies is their maximum outside width at any point. By comparison, a US sulky's width is typically measured as the gap between the inside of the wheel axles. The difference between the two systems being in the order of 300mm (about one foot). In other words, a US sulky of the same nominal width as an Australian sulky would be 0.3 metres wider.
The astonishing performance of this offset sulky was dramatically illustrated when horses racing in it won an unprecedented eight of the nine races on the card at the 1993 Inter Dominion, and broke Classic Garry's 13 year-old State mile record in 1996!
Never before in Australia has one sulky so clearly and unequivocally demonstrated its superiority over the best sulkies of all other manufacturers.
The sideways (lateral) movement of a horse's hooves as he negotiates a full circuit of an oval race track is 'asymmetric'. Simply put, his hooves move more to the offside than to the nearside, unless the track is perfectly banked for the speed at which the horse is travelling.No tracks of 1000 metres or less (5/8 mile) in Australia or the USA are perfectly banked for speeds in excess of a 2:00.0 mile rate.
Thus, on such tracks the horse's hoof motion is asymmetric and if we wish to construct the narrowest and shortest possible sulky, we must centre the wheels about the lateral movement of the horse's rear hooves, while retaining the driver exactly aligned with the horse's longitudinal axis.
An offset sulky achieves both purposes and the proof of concept is the fact that such sulkies have set speed records unprecedented in Australian racing, and in one case, that of Rowleyalla, unequalled by any other sulky design in the 20th century.
Length: Available in three overall lengths: 3.05 metres, 2.91 metres and 2.77 metresWidth: 1.3 metres.
Note: The width of Australasian sulkies is their maximum outside width at any point. By comparison, a US sulky's width is typically measured as the gap between the inside of the wheel axles. The difference between the two systems being in the order of 300 mm (about one foot). In other words, a US sulky of the same nominal width as an Australian sulky would be 0.3 metres wider.
Uniquely among sulkies anywhere, the Ireland Special was the first to utilise hard-drawn stainless steel shafts. This material has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal presently used in sulky construction anywhere in the world. The Regal Ireland Special carries the Patent number 580409.
Every day, trainers endure wear on the discs and facet joints in their backs due to the rough handling of old jog carts. This spinal damage often leads to lumbar pain, neck pain, and even serious injuries.
Section 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 states that an employer "must ensure the health, safety, and welfare at work of all the employees." Failure to fulfill this 'duty of care' can lead to prosecution and penalties ranging from $2,200 to $27,500 (data from WorkCover NSW).
The independent suspension of the Regal Brumby training sulky absorbs the impacts and vibrations of rough tracks, protecting the spines of trainers and giving them a longer, healthier training career.
Our competitors' suspension carts weigh 45kg (99lb) upwards. When you need to lift your work sulky onto a truck or horse float, the last thing you need is a struggle with a heavy cart, which is another risk to your back on top of the vibration caused by daily training.
At only 30 kilos, a standard Brumby is the lightest and smoothest-riding training sulky in the world today.The Brumby has a unique, patented suspension system designed specifically for the needs of a light training sulky. This system was independently judged to be world-leading technology and awarded membership of the exclusive Australian Technology Showcase, created by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development.
"I imported a special sulky from Australia called a Regal Brumby, which has got an independent suspension system and Koni shock absorbers. It's brilliant, and I don't feel hardly any discomfort after being in this new sulky!" Kevin Townley, New Zealand"I'll be back for another one next month—I can't get the first one off my trainer!" John Morrison, Dural, Australia.
"Very pleased with it. I broke my back and pelvis 18 months ago and I can train more than twice as long in the Brumby." Lisa Heatherington, Australia.
"I had the pleasure of trying a new jog cart today [26/4/1998] and I was totally blown away by it...the aptly named Floating Link Suspension system gives the trainer the smoothest ride I have ever experienced in a jog cart...it is amazing. Even at Showplace Farm on the sand jogging track, which is notoriously bumpy, the the ride was smooth. It is beautifully engineered and pleasing to the eye." - Luca Derrico, Clarksburg, New Jersey, USA.
"It has helped Kevin's back majorly. It's a race in the morning to get to the Brumby first!" Michelle Moore, New Zealand
"The Brumby's capability to reduce the jarring of the track was wonderful. ...The cart even damps the forward/back swaying when a horse starts to surge....In the cart on the sloppy track we had two horses pace their fastest training miles of the year, when we figured we'd have to slow things down due to off-track conditions. We are very happy with it!" James Nesselroad, Wataga, Illinois, USA.
"The faster it goes the better it feels—it handles like a Mercedes!" Mike Doltoff, Sydney, Australia.
Regal's Apollo Chariot is the latest version of a vehicle that dates back to the time of the Roman Empire. It features R.J. Walsh & Son's independent suspension system, Ikon shock absorbers, and all stainless steel construction.
At right you see the Regal Apollo Chariot setting a world record for the mile for a single pacing horse of 2:06.7 at the 2000 Brisbane Expo, held on August 27 at Albion Park Paceway. The driver is Barry Hoare, and the horse Wenzelle. The Apollo is fitted with jog wheels. In April 2001, behind the pacer Ultra Chic, the Apollo reduced its best mile rate to 2:01.6.
We believe the Apollo Chariot has tremendous potential as a training vehicle for harness horses, as up to four horses can be safely harnessed to it at once. It is ideal for the 'Interval Training' method, in which teams of two or more horses are run together, and the comfortable standing posture protects the driver's back and provides extra stability in the event a horse stumbles or bolts.
The most sophisticated pairs sulky the world has seen, the Regal Hittite Special combines the efficiency of the dorsal hitch harness system with the most advanced suspension for light horse-drawn vehicles.The original Regal pairs sulky, the Gemini, was built specifically to break speed records, and succeeded brilliantly at that task. It was the first dorsal-hitch pairs sulky built, and combined the efficiency of the dorsal hitch with the negative balance which has been a race-winning edge for Regal sulkies since 1979.
The Gemini was redesigned with the more efficient Hittite hitching method and re-named the Regal Hittite Special after the ancient race of master charioteers whose pole and yoke design it borrows. The Gemini/Hittite Special set eleven world speed records over the mile between 1992 and 1999.
Right, the Hittite Special is shown collecting yet another world record, this time for a half mile track, of 2:01.7, at Young, New South Wales, on November 29, 1997. It is the only world mile record of any type ever established at Young. The driver was Ken Smith and the horses Black Baldy (owned by Ken and Sue Smith) and Tambarra Glen (owned by Sue's father)
The Hittites (1600 - 717 BC) were an Indo-European race who inhabited ancient Anatolia (modern Turkey) and were the first ancient people to melt iron—a feat only achieved in the West in the 14th century AD. Their existence became known to the modern world in 1906 with the discovery of the royal archives at Bogasky in modern Turkey. The Hittites were master horsemen, and left the first known text on training horses for greater strength and endurance. That text was the first to introduce what has come to be known as interval training.
