Well, I thought I would begin my blog by describing why I call it "Horse power."

First off, it describes two passions of mine, horses and dirt-track racing.

I was born and raised around horses on a farm outside of Norborne. I have been riding since I was three years old and showing since I was five. I currently have two Belgians, one Paint Horse and four Quarter Horses.

I learned a vast majority of my knowledge for horses from my dad.

After accomplishing a lot through showing, my next feat in the realm of horses was horse judging. I judged horses for the Chase 4-H Club, C.C. Sundowners 4-H Club and the Norborne FFA Chapter. After several years of judging on a competition level, I had the honor of volunteering my time to judge the Saline County Fair's 4-H horse show this past summer. I enjoyed being able to help kids involved in showing by giving a few pointers that will hopefully help them in the future.

Now onto my next passion.... watching people "drive fast and turn left," or at least that is what is written on the back of the 21W's stock car -- Ted Welschmeyer, who races at LA Raceway every Friday night in the summer.

Most people say racing is in my blood as my cousin Kenny Harper, uncle Doug Harper and dad Roger Harper used to let the dirt fly around several central Missouri tracks.

I began acquiring the taste for dirt when I was showing horses at the 4-H horse show during the Missouri State Fair. For many years, they would have racing at the Fairgrounds during that show, which took place about two weeks prior to the start of the fair. I can remember standing in the Coliseum with my dad and staring out the window as the cars went rumbling by.

Then when I went to college at the University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State University) in Warrensburg, I became a regular Saturday night fan out at Central Missouri Speedway, a 1/4-mile high banked track just north of Warrensburg.

One of my new-found friends at the Warrensburg track told me of a small track south of La Monte that was constructed six years ago, basically in the middle of nowhere. So I went for a taste of that 2/3-mile slightly banked track. I have gone every Friday night since.

So, some people already know my name through stories I have written for The Marshall Democrat-News on drivers who raced in the 60s and 70s at Sportsman's Speedway, later named Saline County Speedway, just north of Marshall.

This series came about when I was at the Missouri State Fairground track with my dad when the World of Outlaws came to Sedalia. My dad then introduced me to Roy Hibbard and the rest was history.

Here is a link to my stories that have been published in The Marshall Democrat-News: http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1286849.html.

I have been honored by talking with what I consider some of the racing legends, Roy Hibbard, Jim Jenkins and the famous track announcer John Hughes. I have enjoyed all the knowledge I have compiled from them and look forward to talking with other important people in the racing industry.

A friend of mine, Mark Copas, has worked very hard at putting together a Web site, http://www.sportsmansspeedwaymarshall.com, honoring individuals who made his father's track, Sportsman's Speedway, a success. I hope you visit it and if you know of anyone who raced there and has pictures, I am sure he would be glad to add them to the wonderful gallery he has created.

So in closing this entry, I would like to thank everyone who gave me the mass amount of feedback while the racing series ran through the paper over the summer. That is why I am getting this opportunity to write a blog with my personal experiences.

So as horses and racing have became important pieces of my life, I hope I can reflect the reasons they are so important in my future stories that I will share with you.

I would also like to welcome any comments and any suggestions for future entries.