The Ison family name is constantly intertwining throughout the history of harness racing in Tamworth.
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The latest addition to the history books will be Tom Ison: the trainer.
The Tamworth driver is about to follow grandfather Sam, father Andy and brother Sam into the training ranks.
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"I'm actually trying to get it now," Tom told The Leader this week when asked about his prospects of becoming a trainer.
"I've sent in my application. Now I've gotta do an afternoon course."
Ison hopes to have his trainer's licence within a month, adding another string to his bow alongside owner and driver.
It's a path Ison was always destined to go down.
He said there was "not a chance" he'd end up doing anything else but something within the harness racing industry.
"When we were growing up, we started with the mini trotters - first driving them when I was about six - and dad always had horses here," Ison said.
The 22-year-old started driving just 10 days after his 16th birthday.
He still remembers the day - he scored a winner to kick-start his career.
"My birthday was the 14th and I raced the 24th," Ison said.
Ison's 2019/2020 season was huge while riding for the Roy Roots Jnr stables.
He finished fourth in the NSW drivers premiership and then kicked the new season off with a bang when he claimed his first Tamworth City Cup.
Ison now has a couple other races in his sights.
"I've always wanted to win the guitar [Golden Guitar Final]," Ison said.
"I won the cup this year and was third in the nugget [Gold Nugget] two years ago... even the Inner City [Pace at Maitland would be great to win]. For this area, they're the biggest races."
At 22, Ison will no doubt get plenty of chances to win a Golden Guitar Final.
He recently settled back in Tamworth before he makes a decision as to where he takes his career.
"I'll hang around here for a while and see what happens - I might go somewhere else," Ison said.
One thing he does know is the support he's had since returning home has been immense.
"It's awesome," he said.
"Knowing everyone since I was a kid and growing up to, sort of, have them putting me on the horses now, that's a good feeling. They want me to drive their horse - that's great."
Ison will likely next race at Tamworth week on Wednesday, March 17. There are six races scheduled for the day meeting at the Tamworth Harness Racing Club.
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Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
