IF it were not for a case of a rogue horse and an unpaid debt, harness racing may have missed out on one of the sport's leading families.
Forty-five years ago, Ross Weidemann, from the Darling Downs, was attempting to recover some money he had loaned.
Unable to repay the debt, the man proposed something else to Ross instead.
"There's this horse here," he said. "Do you want a trotter?"
Though Ross had experience in hack horses, he had never tried his hand at harness racing.
"'I'll give it a go," Ross replied, accepting the man's offer as payment. As it turned out, the horse Ross received, named Nicky Peter, was a bit of a rogue with a mind of its own.
None-the-less, Nicky Peter won a few races and Ross soon fell in love with the sport.
His passion was passed on to his wife Marion, daughters Julie and Lola, and granddaughter Stacy - three generations of Weidemann women who are proving they are hot to trot.
Of the women, Lola does the majority of the driving and has driven more than 2700 winners in her career.
Her older sister Julie has trained more than 2200 winners. Julie's skill saw her recognised with the Harness Racing Australia JD Watts Award for Australia's leading trainer in 1998. She was also named Queensland's leading trainer in 2004 and 2005.
At 23 years old, Stacey Weidemann is quickly making her mark on the industry, guided by her aunts.
Show trotting returned to the Ekka last year after a 13-year hiatus. This is where Stacey began her harness-racing career, driving her first unofficial winner in front of a cheering crowd.
Amid the screaming fans was her grandfather Ross, who sadly passed away in March this year.
The whole family was pleased to see racing return to the Ekka.
"We have been racing for as long as I can remember and coming to the Ekka since I was a little girl," Lola said.
The atmosphere in show arenas was something to be contended with, she said.
"At the Brisbane show, it definitely feels a little special. It is your royal country, your top-notch show - you get a buzz.
"It's a different feeling at shows to your normal races every week. You don't hear any excitement at regular tracks when you win, but in the grandstand at show, the crowd fully backs you."
Lola said the Ekka was a great introduction to competitive racing for Stacey.
"The Ekka is the perfect time as she not only learns about racing, but gets used to a busy show and how to cope with lots of people."
Harness racing's return to Ekka has seen a resurgence in the sport at agricultural shows across Queensland.
Brett Rail, Queensland Racing's chief handicapper for harness racing, said they were pleased to be in the "early stages of a show racing comeback".
Since Ekka 2014, the trots returned to Toowoomba Royal Show in March, Nanango in April and Gympie in May, with Caboolture and Nambour shows in June.
"I think the crowds who have been to some of these shows have been fantastic," Mr Rail said.
"The racing brings a lot of entertainment and excitement to the shows. There's been a lot of crowd involvement."
But despite the many awards, trophies and prizemoney they have won, trotting triumph is about much more to the Weidemann family than simply crossing the line first.
"Years ago, you could buy cheap horses, improve them and win money. You'd race them, turn them out," Lola said.
"It was a personal achievement to get something out of that horse that others couldn't."
The family will return to the show in 2015 and Ekka guests can watch on as the Weidemann women compete for $10,000 in prizemoney.
- The trots will be on daily in the Energex Community Arena from 12-12.45pm, with finals each night from 6.30pm as part of the spectacular EkkaNITES entertainment.