New Brunswick Report
with Vanessa Packman

 

Countdown to show season

Goodbye winter winds and snowdrifts. Hello foal breath and sweet new grass. Bye-bye frozen ground, and welcome to the warm morning sun. Another cold, dark winter is officially behind us. We've made it!

As we dig out the shedding blades and try to remember where we stashed the flysheets, it's a great feeling to know we can now look forward to six glorious snow-free months. Hardy Canadians that we are, we haven't allowed the snowy season to go to waste. Many have used the winter to enjoy workshops and clinics and to plan for the summer ahead.

Dr. Olivia Harvey of Wicklow discussed some of the finer points of horse health when she addressed New Brunswick Equestrian Association (NBEA) members in the Woodstock area during the Zone 2 January meeting. During the same month, the Greater Moncton Equestrian Club members had fun catching up when they met for their annual banquet.

The New Brunswick Morgan Horse Club had its annual general meeting in Sussex on Feb. 22. The group is once again teaming up with the Hampton Driving Club to bring riding and driving coach Robin Groves of Vermont to New Brunswick for the eighth straight year. The three-day education from one of the region's top competitors will be at Princess Louise Park Show Centre. Contact Melissa MacKenzie at 506-832-5515 to register.

And the January Thaw equine trade show in Fredericton made for a welcome mid-winter break for many of us. With the holiday rush over, it was a fun way to catch up with the neighbors, see some of the latest trends, and spend some of that Christmas money.

Maritime Eventing will host a nationally-sanctioned safety clinic with Peter Gray on Aug. 1-2 at Foshay Farm in Jemseg, N.B. Gray is a three-time Olympian, a two-time WEG competitor, a Pan-Am bronze medal winner, and Canadian Eventing Safety Committee Chair. He is currently adding dressage to his resume and is competing at Grand Prix with his new horse. More information can be found by following the HTNB link at www.AtlanticFarmer.com.

Some of us made the most of the slower months to get in a little traveling and study. Joanne McBride spent nine days in Alberta last November and December, working with Archie Hurst. She soaked up the chance to learn from this National Saddle Seat World Cup Team coach, while getting the chance to teach some of the World Cup students.

Vet fees got a whole lot more expensive this spring. The fees for the provincial vet clinic in Fredericton were to increase by a proposed 185 percent, from $112 to $320 per hour. However, protests by the horse community have cut that April 1 increase to around 100 percent. It's just one way the New Brunswick government is trying to save money in crazy financial times, but it makes us wonder about how to provide quality health care for our horses.

On a brighter note, the countdown is on for the highly popular Maritime Quarter Horse Association Equine Review. Gathering in Sussex for the first weekend in May is becoming the unofficial season launch, as we watch a wide range of breeds and disciplines on display. Organizers are also lining up a strong roster of workshops and classes that weekend. We're all hoping for warm weather on the Review weekend, too!

There's a familiar New Brunswick face at the head of the Equine Canada helm. Saint John's Mike Gallagher was voted this year's president of the national organization in February. Mike has long served Canada's equestrian community in a number of capacities, from his early days with horse trials to most recently serving as the Canadian equestrian team's chef d'equipe for the Beijing and Athens Olympics. Congratulations to Mike and we know you will do us proud.

The dressage community has five shows slotted for this year, beginning at the end of May. Look for the top hats and tails to be centre ring in Sussex on May 23 and 24, then two months later at the end of July. A second set of New Brunswick Gold competitions take place at Donna McInnis' Cap Pele stables this summer, concluding with the provincial championships Thanksgiving weekend.
It's been fun watching the growing interest in this sport and its cousin, the drill team. There was a new influx of interest last year, due in part to some fun shows. Thanks to displays of riding to music and new twists on the classical riding theme, more people are discovering the fun side of what has been seen as a very straight-laced discipline.

Also at the end of May, the barrel racing crowd will work on their own style. Betty Dyer is again lining them up and letting them loose during her May 29 clinic in Perth-Andover. The popular clinician will help riders strengthen their form and shave precious seconds off their times in a session that always proves a good time.

The Valley Horse and Saddle Club will welcome Alan Wedge back to his New Brunswick home for four days in July.

Carriage driving enthusiasts will not want to miss the display of horse-drawn vehicles Kings Landing Historical Settlement will have available during the Father's Day weekend. The June 20 and 21 event in Prince William, just outside Fredericton, is going to be a rare chance to see some of the approximately 140 wagons and working vehicles in the museum's collection. Over the years, Kings Landing has built an impressive arrangement of New Brunswick and New England vehicles, from the everyday to those used only on the most special of occasions. This exhibit will give some of us a chance to see what it was like when horses figured even more so in our daily lives.

Condolences to the family of Lester Carson of Havelock. Lester did a great deal for the local horse community, from helping found the Havelock Horse Show to being a director for the Queens County Fair in Gagetown.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their news. Please have details and photos of your start-of-summer events and shows in by May 2 for the next edition of Horse & Pony. Meanwhile, have a great spring and here's looking forward to seeing you on the trail.

Share your news from New Brunswick: your horse events, news, and nuggets. Phone Vanessa Packman at 506-433-2601, email packmanv@nbnet.nb.ca, or write 1244 Post Road, Sussex Corner, NB E4E 2V5.

SUBSCRIBE NOW TO HORSE & PONY





Copyright 2000 DvL Publishing Inc.

Rural Delivery | Atlantic Beef | Atlantic Forestry | Atlantic Horse & Pony