Howard Short remembers when his son used to ride his dirt bike on dirt lots in Colorado Springs.

“Him and his friends used to build little BMX jumps and just ride around all day,” Short said. “They’d stay out there for hours and come home dog tired, but that’s what he loved to do.”

Little did Howard know that young Andrew would go from jumping little mounds of dirt to soaring over mountains of soil as a professional motocross rider.

Andrew Short sits in third place in the American Motorcyclist Association motocross championship division behind Chad Reed (first) and Mike Alessi. On Saturday, Short will compete in Lakewood at the Toyota AMA Pro National at Thunder Valley, the fifth of the 12-race motocross championship.

Short, who rides for Honda Red Bull racing, has extra motivation for this series stop.

“Out of all the races, this is the one I’d love to win,” the 26-year-old who graduated from Pine Creek High School said. “To come home and win this in front of all my family and friends – I can’t even tell you how big this would be for me.”

Short, who grew up in Black Forest, will compete in the 450 class moto 1 and moto 2 today.

Howard had some words of advice for the people who wanted to follow his son, No. 29, around the track.

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” he said. “Just keep an eye out for the people waving their shirts in the air when he goes around the track. Just being a local kid who made it – everyone will be behind him.”

Fittingly, Howard will be among those cheering Andrew today. If it wasn’t for good old pop, Andrew might never have made it to this level.

“My dad got me my first bike when I was 5,” Andrew said. “He raced, so sometimes he would take me to his races and I would watch him. I got into the sport and I’ve developed a passion for it since then.”

Howard said he was just giving his son an opportunity he never had.

“My dad wouldn’t allow me to ride when I was a kid because he had a bad experience when he was little,” Howard said. “I didn’t get started riding until I got out of dental school. I got (Andrew) a bike when he was young because it was something I knew would make him happy. Every little kid wants to do everything their dad does.”

And father knows best.

Aside from getting Andrew on a bike early on, he also aided him academically. No move had more of an impact in Howard’s eyes than deciding Andrew would stay in public school.

“Many young riders today are being home schooled so they can ride all day,” Howard said. “That wasn’t for Andrew. He went through the school system, did the whole prom thing, the changing in (physical education) in front of everybody – he was never treated differently. I think that’s helped him stay grounded. He’s grown up to be such a respectful and mindful person.”

Andrew’s manners have not gone unnoticed by his team manager at Honda, Erik Kehoe.

“Andrew is a really good role model for kids,” he said. “He’s a professional in every sense of the word. We couldn’t have asked for a better guy to represent us out on the track.”

Pine Creek High School graduate Andrew Short will race Saturday in Lakewood. Photo by COURTESY OF SIMON CUDBY