Interviews & Profiles

Interviewed by Karen Robinson - For Lisa Coulter, Princeton is a place she will always be proud to call home. The fact that she has broken into the upper echelon of international reining is something Coulter hopes will be an inspiration to young riders from across the country, no matter what their discipline.

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In 2017, we celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary with stories of 20 exceptional horses that have reflected our values and fired our national pride. One of those horses was Big Ben.

Paralympian Lauren Barwick, disabled horse rider, canadian paralympic rider, fei para-equestrian, para-dressage lauren barwick

A hay bale that launched a journey…In May 2014 Canadian para-equestrian dressage rider Lauren Barwick, gold and silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, was ranked by the Federation Equestre International (FEI) as the number one para-equestrian rider in the world. She topped the standings at a score of 1264 and remained in that position for eight weeks. The rankings are consistently compiled on a monthly basis and that year included results from January 1, 2014.

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A Veteran Looks At Life Through His Horse’s Ears - “I joined the PPCLI cadet corps at the age of 12 and soon realized that a career in the army was what I wanted to do,” says McEachern. “At 17 I enlisted in the reserves and did my first tour overseas as a peacekeeper in Croatia (former republic of Yugoslavia) with 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. After the tour I transferred to the regular force with the same battalion I served with overseas. In 1995 I was sent to Central Africa with the Disaster Assistance Relief team as security for the medics, headquarters, etc.

Cavalia's Normand Latourelle, Cavalia Odysseo Carousel

It began when Normand Latourelle, one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil, decided to incorporate a horse into Légendes Fantastiques, the show he’d created based in Drummondville, Quebec. But he quickly realized that the horse was stealing focus from the performers.

Jaimey Irwin, dressage rider, Tina Busse-Irwin, Stoney Lake Equestrian, Grand Prix dressage, Lindor’s Finest, horse trainer

Growing up in Lakefield, Ontario, Jaimey Irwin always knew he would ride and train horses professionally, settling on dressage as his discipline of choice at age 16. Today, at 35, he has become one of the most successful Grand Prix dressage riders representing Canada on the international stage. The highlight of Jaimey’s riding career to date occurred this past April at the 2013 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final in Gothenburg, Sweden. Competing against the best dressage riders from around the world, Jaimey achieved an impressive 16th place finish riding Lindor’s Finest (Lindor), a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding.

GreenScene Agritek Inc

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - In 2004, the Canadian government asked soil remediation expert Phil Wilford to help develop a strategy for confronting an outbreak of Avian Influenza in the Fraser Valley of BC. He recalls that, “At one of the meetings, somebody said: ‘If you want to look at something that’s a real problem, look at horse manure because we have no way of getting rid of it and we can’t find quality bedding.’” So Wilford started looking at potential solutions to the problems of increasingly expensive waste disposal and a shortage of fresh bedding material which are affecting the horse community on a global scale. His solution: a revolutionary new technology that recycles horse manure and used bedding (MUB), converting it into clean, dry, odorless, pathogen-free bedding. And so, in 2007, Wilford founded GreenScene Agritek Inc.

Pico - Vancouver Police Department Mounted Unit

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - Last fall, the Vancouver Police Department bid a fond farewell to a friend and retired colleague. Pico, a tall, Dutch Warmblood gelding, served the City of Vancouver for nearly two decades, first as a police horse, then as a therapeutic riding horse, before returning to the VPD stables in Stanley Park in 2011 to live out the remainder of his retirement. He was humanely euthanized on October 21, 2012, at the ripe old age of 31, having enjoyed a long, full life.

Whiz N Tag Chex

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - Sired by the only National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Nine Million Dollar Sire Topsail Whiz, ridden in his younger days by NRHA Million Dollar Rider Duane Latimer, and owned by the first ever NRHA Million Dollar Owner Lance Griffin, Whiz N Tag Chex seems to have been destined for greatness. And now the 1999 stallion can boast a NRHA Million Dollar title himself – in August 2012 the earnings of his offspring surpassed the $1 million milestone, making Whiz N Tag Chex the fourth son of Topsail Whiz to achieve the NRHA Million Dollar Sire accolade.

Walter White - BC Provincial Wish Trail Ride

2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - Seventeen years ago, Walter White had a vision. A lifelong rider, he dreamed of combining his love of horses with his dedication to community service. And so, in 1996, Walter founded the Okanagan Wish Trail Ride in Kelowna, British Columbia, benefitting the BC & Yukon Chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.

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