Ontario Horse Day is Back!

It's all about horses on Saturday, June 1 as Horse Day trots into Toronto and Ottawa to celebrate all things equine while introducing the public to riding in a safe, fun environment.

"If you love horses this is the event for you," says Dianne Graham, executive director of the Ontario Equestrian Federation, the host of Toronto Horse Day. "We want to reach out to aspiring riders and help them turn an interest into a life-long passion. Horse Day is an opportunity for experienced riders to celebrate what they love and for newcomers to get up close to horses and ask questions in a fun, relaxing environment."

Festivities take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. simultaneously at the Horse Palace at Exhibition Place in Toronto and at the site of the former Nepean National Equestrian Park in Ottawa. Featuring breed and discipline demonstrations, interactive exhibits, games, activities, special guests and much more, Horse Day promises to be fun for the whole family. And, best of all, it's free!

"Equine Canada is delighted to partner with the Ontario Equestrian Federation to hold a special day celebrating horses in the nation's capital," says Maggie Harvey, director of marketing and communications with Equine Canada. "Our ultimate goal is to see a nation-wide event every June, with dedicated 'Horse Days' in each province across Canada. Growing more opportunities at the grassroots level for families to expose their children to the wonderful world of horses is a key strategic objective of our federation."

Now in its fifth year, Ontario Horse Day is a province-wide initiative that was started by the Ontario Equestrian Federation (OEF) to introduce the public to horses in a safe, fun environment. The OEF encourages clubs and stables across the province to mark the day by hosting their own activities that coincide with official events in Toronto and Ottawa.

For more information about Horse Day and how you can get involved, visit www.horse.on.ca

Photo by Laurie Haughton, Epona Photography.

www.chrisirwin.com

www.bnrstables.com

May 10, 11 &  12, 2013 in Fenwick, ON.

Elite Equine Centre, owned and operated by Raina Addy in collaboration with husband Sean and daughter Karleen, is a first-class 25-acre equestrian facility in Fenwick, Ontario. It came about following the closure of the Garden City race track in St Catharines, part of which was continued at the new location as a training centre for race and trotting horses. 

They say that in one's life we meet a person who has the ability to change the way we see and do things, and for Raina and Karleen Addy that person was Chris Irwin. They had the good fortune of meeting him some 11 years ago, and did a clinic with him with their spooky pony Cricket. Within 20 minutes everything had changed. "He showed us that there is another way to get the best out of our horses," said Raina. 

After attending Chris's train-the-trainer clinics, Karleen has been able to implement this training with her students. "We continue to utilize this knowledge at the farm on a daily basis," she said.

Chris Irwin will be at the farm in in person on May 10, 11, 12 to share his knowledge and impart his unique expertise.

There will be a demonstration on Friday night from 7 pm until 10 pm and the actual clinic will be held on Saturday and Sunday from 9 am until 5 pm. Warm food and drinks will be offered during the day. Bring your chairs to ensure comfortable seating. 

The centre, which is located at 120 Foss Road, was bought by the Addy family in 2004. Since that time, many improvements and additions have been made, including:

-- A 150 x 70 foot indoor arena with a heated viewing room;

-- A 100 x 300 foot outdoor well-lit sand ring;

-- A 175 x 300 grass jumping ring;

-- 40 stalls and four large brood-mare stalls;

-- Two wash stalls;

-- Six off-season fields;

-- 14 large grass paddocks.

There remains the 3/4-mile race track that was relocated from the Garden City track. 

Karleen Addy is the principal coach, specializing in the teaching of hunter jumping, and the facility is developed and maintained by Sean and his extensive collection of land-management tools and equipment.

Our equine pride and joy is Solisco, a stunning 16.1-hand Belgian warm-blood stallion. Solisco's sire is Olisco, and his dam is Anna. Anna's dam is OEKIE and sire is ETRETAT, the dam and sire of  BIG BEN. 

For more information on breeding or the Chris Irwin Clinic contact Raina at eliteequine@hotmail.com

www.bnrstables.com