The Riseley name is synonymous within the harness racing industry, having been involved in the sport for more than 35 years across three generations.

Kevin, 70, grew up with horses, but bought his first trotter in his 30s and fell in love with the sport.

Originally from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, Kevin bought a farm at Kialla to get away from his panel beating business, have a break and enjoy the trotters, but never envisaged what would happen next.

His farm has grown to about 200ha, along with the amount of trotters and the amount of trials and tribulations that naturally follows.

Kevin, along with his son Martin, 45, have owned some of the best trotters and gallopers the world has seen with Lennytheshark, the richest stallion pacer in the southern hemisphere, and Lazarus, who is the first four-year-old to earn more than $2million in Australia.

‘‘Everyone asks me and I believe it is the same with the trainers I use, I think we do the one percenters, the hard things, we never leave anything let to rest,’’ Kevin said.

‘‘It is that continual strive to get better.

‘‘You get a good horse, then you want a better horse and then you continue with that trend and luckily over the time we have had some good horses.’’

In 2014, before the complete dominance of Lennytheshark and Lazarus, the Riseleys were proud to be the only breeders in Australia to have bred four Breeders Crown champions — Right Interest, Magic Interest, Tsonga and Spidergirl.

‘‘It is a huge achievement, you win a race because you make it happen, but this was an acknowledgement and a reward to showcase that what you are doing is right and worthwhile,’’ Kevin said.

At a young age, Martin had no real choice but to grow up with harness racing and the likes of the late Vin Knight, and would not have it any way.

‘‘Naturally I grew up with the sport, much like my three boys, and to see Vinnie Knight working alongside my father was something special,’’ Martin said.

‘‘I love my footy and other sports, but I was bound to get involved and once you learn from Vinnie and also my father, there is no turning back.’’

Almost 26 years ago to the day, Knight took his own life and with that rocked the Riseley family’s involvement in the sport.

‘‘When Vinnie died, we stopped racing for a little while, we were close friends and his death had a real big impact on us,’’ Kevin said.

As an adolescent, Martin was one of many in awe of Knight.

‘‘He was an icon of the sport and some would even say he was bigger than the sport itself,’’ Martin said.

Family is a big part of Kevin’s and Martin’s lives and the latter is feeling the same sort of joy his father felt, now teaching his sons — Sam, 9, Zac, 5, and Hugh, 3 — the ins and outs of the industry.

‘‘While our immediate family may be the nucleus of it, there is a big wave of people who are involved on the outside,’’ Martin said.

‘‘It is is an absolute honour to be doing what we love as a family, to be working alongside my father and then for Sam to have such a passion and interest is incredible.’’

Sam is undoubtedly Lennytheshark’s biggest fan and has experienced more highs than most, and more impressively has the knowledge to back it up.

Often travelling around with Kevin and Martin, Sam has attended a few yearling sales in his time, including a recent trip to New Zealand.

‘‘Sam has taken a keen interest in the breeding side of it and I challenge anyone if they see Sam at the races to come and test their own knowledge,’’ Martin said.

‘‘He knows the breedings and crosses better than most and I put my 20¢ on Sam almost outsmarting anyone.

‘‘To be honest, I just hope Sam is as good at school as he is with the sales book.’’

Sam’s favourite horse Lennytheshark has a list of achievements most owners can only dream of, winning the Inter Dominion, Victoria Cup, Miracle Mile and was last year crowned the Australian Harness Horse of the Year.

‘‘He has been incredible, you could not dream of his achievements and to win the Inter Dominion the way he did was exceptional,’’ Kevin said.

The Goulburn Valley will remain a special place in the hearts of the Riseley family, not only have they dominated the race track, but since 1996 they have employed more than 400 people as owners of Heywoods Shepparton Motor Panel.

‘‘We have been around the area for a while now, Shepparton has been special to us and we look forward to continually giving back to the area and the community that has invested so much in us,’’ Martin said.

by Adem Barolli

Reprinted with permission of The Shepparton News