First, let me address the comment on Michigan trainers. Most of the trainers are honest decent people that care about the health and well being of the horses in their care. As in every other state that has harness racing you have a few bad apples but that doesn't mean that the rest are. I don't know  what state you are looking for a trainer in but  all the states have the good and bad. You can pay the big bucks and send them to a big stable that will get them to the races but it has been my experiencce that if the horse is not stakes quality they get glossed over. The smaller stables have more quality time to spend with the horses because they don't have as many and you won't have to pay as much because you are not paying for the name.  In my area there are a lot of us small trainers. We have anywhere from 3 to as many as 10 horses. Yes, we are from Michigan. Yes, we have to work twice as hard for half the money but we do it because we love it . Look at the track record of some of us. We have pretty good  percentages. Also if you want more hands on or interaction with the horse and the trainer the small stable is the way to go. We don't have a lot of owners so you get a lot more attention. And don't rule out the Michigan trainer. The majority of us have integrity and honestly. We put the welfare of the horse above all else. After all that horse is our bread and butter.