Category Horse Event/Activity
Loving the Fall Trifecta: Horses, Country Fairs, and more Horses
Thursday at the Norfolk Fair, it’s all about the jumping, with some heavy hitch, wagon and junior single-horse hitch driving competitions happening nearby. After 11 am, hordes of school kids flood into the fair to see the livestock, biggest pumpkin competition and poultry barn – including a new category: rainbow chickens.
Horsetrotting’s Top Five Fall (Horse) Fairs in 2017
Giddy Up! It’s Fall Fair Season. And what’s a fall fair without horses? An afternoon at the 163rd Binbrook Fair started my Ontario Fall Fair Tour off last weekend – this year I’ve booked one a weekend and I’m determined to get to each bright and early to catch all the horse shows. (No horse show? […]
When Cavalia comes to town: Journey with Odysseo Horses. Here’s why.
A galloping Palomino plowed into a tumbler knocking him down during the Grand Finale of Cavalia’s Odysseo August 5, 2017, in Mississauga, Ontario. It was a hard reminder that horses are powerful creatures with free will (and fear) that demands respect. Fortuitously, after the first act of Odysseo when nine ‘liberty’ (unsaddled and unbridled) horses […]
War Horse goes to the circus – Circus 1903 in Las Vegas, NV
There’s something charming about classic circus acts. I’d say nostalgic, but nostalgia requires some memory of the original event and the early 20th century predates even me. Everything I know about the classic circus – thick facial hair, puffy trousers, and women in white tights – is through photos, films and now Circus 1903: The […]
A Year of Heroes #2: Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue, Hagersville, Ontario
Let the celebrations begin! For ten years, Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue has saved more than 300 horses, many from dire circumstances, nursed them back to health then either retired them to the Whispering Hearts pasture or rehomed them appropriately with the expectation they will live happily ever after. The rescue celebrated this success on July […]
Travel Louisville, KY: Don’t bet? No problem. Churchill Downs still delivers, especially for horse lovers.
I didn’t know much about thoroughbred racing before I went to Louisville, Kentucky. One day in Derby City and I do now. Churchill Downs historic walking tours run year round, expect on Kentucky Derby weekend when about 160,000 people flood this famous racetrack with a seating capacity of 60,000. Where do the other 100,000 people […]
Travel Louisville, KY: Barns and Backside Tour Electric During Derby Week
Always Dreaming might have won the 143rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6, 2017 taking home approximately 1.6 million dollars in prize money, but I won too accidentally ending up in Louisville, Kentucky the first two days of Derby Week. Of course, like millions of others, I was rooting for Patch, a one-eyed horse and […]
How to Photograph your horse or What we learned at the Can-Am All Breeds Equine Expo Part II
“This is good to know,” the woman standing in front of me turned around and said, “especially if you’re selling a horse.” An image is worth a thousand words apparently. Or in this case, maybe an extra thousand dollars if you get the photo right. I’m not selling a horse, but I do spend time […]
Fitting the Western Saddle or What we learned at Can-Am Equine Expo Part I
Western saddles are designed for Quarter Horses, Hud Roberts of HR Saddles & Tack said at the Western Saddle fitting clinic held at the Can-Am Equine Expo, March 31 to April 2, 2017 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. HR Saddles makes custom saddlery and tack in Frisco, Texas and sells through distributors across North America, including […]
What’s Happening in Markham? The Can-Am All Breeds Equine Expo 2017
If three days of horses, horse people, horse stuff, horse clinics and two evening extravaganzas sounds like heaven, then I’ve got your Nirvana: The Can-Am All Breeds Equine Expo at the Markham Fairgrounds in Markham, Ontario, Canada, a 30-minute drive from Toronto. Why I haven’t attended before, I don’t know. However, I spent the entire […]
Travel Lexington, Kentucky Horse Park Part II: International Museum of the Horse
“The first horse to be tamed changed the world forever.” These are the words written at the entrance of the International Museum of the Horse in the Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington, Kentucky. Truer words couldn’t be posted. Civilization owes its existence to horses. No exaggeration. Horses allowed the world to evolve, as we know […]
2017 – Year of the Horse for Canadian Equine Fans (or a disconcerting milestone…)
Happy New Year! 2017 marks an important milestone in Canada’s history: it’s the country’s 150th anniversary. And horses (at least for me) are a big part of this celebration. That’s right: the country I call home is younger than most of Europe’s historic hotels (and some stables), but the 1867 establishment of confederation marks Canada’s […]
Hagersville, ON: Christmas Open House with Rescue Horses
Pet pics with Santa and horses? How can you resist? If you’re in the Southern Ontario area west of Hamilton head out to Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue in Hagersville, Ontario (near my home) on December 11, 2016 (1 to 4pm). I’ll be heading there with my dog, Victor. In fact, I went out to one […]
Toronto, ON: 8 One-of-a-Kind Horse Finds Just for You (and Me)
If I win big in the lottery, I’m going to fill my new (and larger) house with all the handcrafted artwork I’ve ever admired. It’ll be one heck of a shopping spree, and I’d start at the iconic One-of-a-Kind craft fair in Toronto where I’ve spent upward of six hours a visit mulling over pottery, […]
Toronto: Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Again; Ian Millar Wins Again!
Equestrian show jumper Ian Millar is one of the greatest under-recognized athletes Canada has ever produced. My opinion was confirmed, once again, Saturday, November 5, 2016, after watching the Greenhawk Canadian Show Jumping Championships Round Two at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. Sure, he’s been dubbed decades ago ‘Captain Canada’ by Canadian horse […]
Heavy Horse Hitching – Fall Fair Competitions Demystified Part 1
Heavy Horse Hitching competitions are something I know nothing about, except that those who participate are dedicated. Really dedicated. You have to love driving a team of draft horse around a ring for about 15 minutes in order to transport several large draft horses and a full sized wagon big enough to move the contents […]
Celebrity Alert! Meet Team Millar Canada’s Equine Royal Family
Amy and her father Ian Millar – Captain Canada and equestrian extraordinaire – fielded questions from a packed audience of about 200 horse fans, horse owners and horsey young girls from local barns.
Travel Las Vegas: Tournament of Kings – the Thunder that Rocks Horsey Girls
If you’ve been to Medieval Times, the Tournament of Kings is similar – it opens with feast hosted by a king and attended by a wizard who set the story stage. Actors and dancers fill the arena more than horses, and dinner – Cornish Hen or ravioli if you’re vegetarian.
Southern Ontario Fall Fairs … with Horses. Gotta have horses.
Fall Fairs intended to celebrate the bounty of harvest (even though the food consumed is deep-fried from a truck rather than fresh from the ground), and there are many across the continent.
Most follow the same format: a midway of crazy often over-priced rides, much guilty pleasure unhealthy fried food, barns of competitions for the best cookies, quilting, knitting, wheat … you name it along with competitions for the biggest vegetables grown – one tone or more pumpkins being the most popular.
RCMP Musical Ride: Horses, Heart and Magnificent Hanoverians
You haven’t seen precision riding until you’ve seen the 32 riders of Canada’s RCMP Musical Ride. You haven’t seen beautiful Hannoverian/thoroughbred crosses until you’ve seen the 36 horses that travel with the RCMP Musical Ride. And you really can’t call yourself Canadian until you’ve seen … ok, you get the idea. If you’ve seen the […]
