Tag Archives: Ontario
Royal Winter Fair Horse Show Part II: Canadian Show Jumping Finals
Saturday’s event (after The Indoor Eventing Event) was round two (and three) of a competition that started the night before and saw Nicole Walker riding Falco van Spieveld in the lead. Falco van Spieveld is a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding.
A Year of Heros #5: Donkey Sanctuary of Canada
“Ownership is essential,” Lesley Bayne, director of the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada (DSC) says about equine rescue. “We don’t adopt animals out because you never know what happens to them,” she says. The Donkey Sanctuary of Canada located in Puslinch, Ontario about one-hour west of Toronto, does indefinitely foster out several of the donkeys and […]
A Year of Heroes #4: Ralphy’s Retreat Animal Sanctuary, Norfolk, ON
Potbellied pigs are smaller than farmed pigs, and really cute as piglets – that’s the image most people see. However, farm pigs can grow up to 1000 pounds. What many people don’t know is potbellied pigs grown on average to 40 to 200 pounds – technically smaller than a pork pig, but often too big for the living room – which is why Ralphy’s Resort and Animal Sanctuary is at capacity.
A Year of Heroes #1: Horse Rescue Ontario & Sanctuary (for 20 equine)
Everyone loves Spencer, even the goats. He’s literary the poster boy for the Horse Rescue Ontario Sanctuary in Waterdown, Ontario, Canada. Spencer is red Paint rescue horse who oozes personality and charm. After being injured as a yearling and unable to support a rider, Spencer’s spent most of his 18 years here at Horse Rescue […]
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 […]
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.
Travel: Rice Lake, Ontario. Chasing Alpacas at an Eco Lodge
At Island Spirits on Grasshopper Island in Rice Lake, Ontario everything is either solar powered, or rainwater filled. Very little is wasted. There’s no gas-powered anything and roaming animals are an essential part of keeping this place green. It’s a true eco experience.
Toronto, Ontario Royal Fun Part I: Canadian Show Jumping Championships … and Plenty of Horse Love
Another year at the Royal! Once again I was there opening weekend celebrating the best of Canadian show jumping. Jill Henselwood took home the $100,000 Greenhawk Canadian Show Jumping Championship title November 7, 2015 at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 2015 in Toronto, Ontario. After round one Friday, she was leading the event with a […]
Travel Rockton, Ontario: World’s [Greatest Horseshow] Fair
Fall is fleeting. Figures it’s my favourite season. Cool, crisp and country – country fairs that is and every year I attend one (or two) in Southern Ontario because, let’s face it, they’re very similar… except for the horses. Clearly, country fair and horse show combos are the way to go. I figured if I was gioing […]
Lakefield, Ontario: A Horse Named Bear is How Old?
Twenty-two years ago, I rode a horse named Bear at the Irwin Inn in Lakefield, Ontario. Imagine my surprise when I discovered he was still there. I was in my late 20’s, working my first real job at an urban weekly magazine writing about the good things in life: art, theatre, film, books, and editing […]
Hunstville, Ontario: Warm Saddle and Wandering Hooves Cure Winter Blahs
Riding across the snow-covered golf course streaked with cross-country ski tracks astride Static, a Belgian mare apparently crossed with a comfortable couch, is one of the most relaxing things a person can do outside in negative 12 degree Celsius weather. The sun is warming or at least creating the illusion of warmth as the winter trail ride experience at Huntsville, Ontario’s Deerhurst Resort.
Ontario: Wake Up in Ottawa … Ride in Wakefield
A visit to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, doesn’t usually include horses, unless you’re headed to the RCMP stables where the musical ride practices (though in the summer it’s on tour). Yet, there are a number of riding outlets not far from the city and that’s primarily because Ottawa, situated along the Rideau Canal and […]
Global Travel for Horse Lovers 