Motocross star Trey Canard rising in Shawnee
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LifestyleRacing pro Trey Canard, 18, says riding comes naturally - BY
DAVID ZIZZO
For Trey Canard, it’s like walking and breathing.
"It’s kind of natural,” he said. "Just an instinct.”
It figures, since one of his earliest memories is riding a motorcycle.
At age 3, Canard climbed on a tiny dirt bike his father was assembling
for him and pushed it around a circle drive at his grandparents’
house.
Today, despite a tragedy that claimed his father when Trey was 12, the
young man at age 18 is a rising star in the sport of professional
motocross racing, earning enough to buy his own place in Shawnee,
complete with a practice track. Last year he became one of the few
rookies to win the East Coast Lites Supercross circuit, a series of
indoor races.
He’s living his dream.
"It’s been a really cool experience,” he said. "Ever since I can
remember, it’s been a huge part of my life.”
Trey’s father, Roy Canard, who had come from Arkansas in 1981 to work
in the Oklahoma oil fields, was a motocross fanatic. Since his 20s,
Roy had competed in local dirt races. In 1984, he opened a Kawasaki
dealership in Elk City.
"It had always been his dream to own a motorcycle shop,” said his
wife, Kari Canard.
When sons Aaron and Trey were old enough, the Canard guys would hit
the trails — and the racetracks — together.
"We all just did it and had fun, kind of like a family deal,” recalled
Trey, the younger son. "It really kept us close as a family.”
Trey began racing at age 3, riding a 50cc, single-speed that topped
out at 20 mph.
Even then, Kari Canard said, you could tell he had something special.
"I knew he had really good balance. That’s a really big deal.”
It took a couple of years for Trey "to get good,” she recalled. "At
about age 5, we started taking him to national races. He started doing
pretty well on the national scene.”
At age 9, Trey got his first contract with Kawasaki, an agreement that
provided promising riders some free equipment and training that
allowed the best ones to advance to the next level.
"That was my first kind of big step,” he said. "Even then, it was such
a long ways off to be a professional.”
But he was on his way.
Then it happened. On a spring day in 2003, Roy Canard was using a
front-end loader to clear rocks from the small practice track the boys
would practice their turns on.
"I really don’t know what happened,” Kari Canard said. "When I got
there, the tractor was upside down on top of him.”
Roy Canard’s death was a devastating blow. But Trey refused to let it
crush his spirit. His faith helped, he said. He believes his father is
still "with me.”
"Knowing he’s there brings a little comfort,” he said. "I just try to
let it help make me stronger.” Besides, he said, "I know I will see
him again.”
Kari Canard took over the motorcycle shop, and she would become Trey’s
business manager. By 16, Trey had proved his mettle, and he signed his
first pro contract, providing full sponsorship and the opportunity for
lucrative bonuses.
"That’s when the dream really started to come true,” he said. "That’s
when things started to come together for me.”
Success hasn’t been easy, though. Trey had to homeschool because of
his frequent travels, and today he spends months away from home to
race and train with his factory crew. There are the inevitable
injuries, such as the broken femur he suffered last summer. And
motocross is "a very cut-throat industry,” so it takes a grueling
schedule of exercise and practice to stay on top. It also requires
finding "that sweet spot” between dedication and burnout, between
letting your instincts take over and trying too hard.
"There’s a saying: ‘If you think, you stink,’” Trey said.
At best, Trey said, his pro career can last maybe 10 years. But if
successful, a top rider can make enough to retire on. At that point, a
30-ish Trey would love to "break loose” for a change, eat what he
wants and do what he wants.
Still, he’d like to do something related to the motocross sport, which
would just seem natural.
You know, like walking and breathing.
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