The Pan Ams are Coming!
Given that the games are officially starting this weekend, I thought it would be a timely topic for the weekly blog. I understand that they are still thinking about who the flag bearer should be and that Ian Millar is in the final running – I hope they give it to him; no one has done more in our sport or competed in more international events than Captain Canada. That’s the nice thing about riding – it truly is a sport for the ageless!
My problem with the Pan Ams is that advertising has been minimal and somehow the entire organization of the events has been disjointed. It almost seems as if the left hand doesn’t really know what the right is doing. We applied to be vendors in the equestrian park over a year ago, no one responded, we followed up and were told there would be no vendor area. Then a couple of weeks ago they said there was one, but that all the spots were already taken.
Oh well – it’s not sour grapes; we’re close enough to the Caledon Equestrian Park that anyone who wants to come and see us can easily make the short drive. Speaking of which, we are involved in the Horse Experience tours – on July 17, from 10:00-11:30 we are opening our doors to the public to see how one of the last true Canadian Manufacturers works. The tour will be in conjunction with the celebration of the start of our 30th year in business (which is actually July 15) and will encompass a bit of Schleese history, a tour of the production shop to see how saddles are built, and ends with a piece of our anniversary cake and refreshments. You can sign up and we would love to welcome you if you’re in the area!
But I do have another legitimate issue and that is with the three letter acronyms that you may have seen on the 400 highways…for example, what the heck or where the heck is “ANG”? And don’t even get me started on those new HOV lanes – does anyone care to wager that they will probably stay after the games are over? (Maybe going back down to 2 person occupancy, but I’ll bet they will stick around!) Unfortunately, we will probably hear less about the performances of these top level athletes than we will about the enormous frustrations experienced by the traffic congestions and difficulties encountered by commuters who still have to get to work each day…
We are happy to announce the winners of our Pan Am ticket giveaways (which is another issue – apparently they haven’t sold nearly what the expectations were, and are now discounting ticket prices to speed up purchases – is this fair to those of us who bought our tickets months ago?) just sayin’…
(From left to right) Andrea Mauro of Huntsville won two dressage tickets as did Brooke Koppeser of Winterbourne, ON, and two tickets to the jump final of the three day event were won by Alexandra Heilbron of Stouffville, ON.
(We had opened this draw only to our Ontario clients, in case you were wondering why everyone who won was from Ontario). Congratulations to these ladies and hope you enjoy!
As part of the Horse Experience, we are also involved with the “dinner and a movie” event being held at the Orangeville arena on July 17 – where ‘The Power of 2: On The Road To Gold’ is being shown. This movie is a real-life “drama-doc” revealing the ‘behind-the-scenes’ inner workings of the sport of dressage and the ‘struggle’ of a Canadian team to rise to a medal. Schleese was a sponsor for the movie and attended the official premiere in November at the Bell TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. As part of this evening in July, attendees will have a chance to mingle with some of the Canadian riders. Schleese works very closely with Jaimey and Tina Irwin, who are featured in this movie.
We are also very proud of working with American Kim Herslow, who is competing here in dressage with the US team. She has earned her USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold medals, and has also shown and trained horses extensively in the hunter/jumper arenas. Kim continues her education by training with noted professionals such as Debbie MacDonald, Lars Peterson, and Robert Dover. She is located in NJ at www.kimherslowdressage.com and hopes to continue her exemplary successful Florida season at these Pan Am Games.
So here’s hoping that Canada has a great showing in the events and wins lots of medals – but in the interest of good sportsmanship – winning isn’t everything. Let’s think about the health and well-being of the horses, as they really don’t have much say in the matter. Hopefully the weather will be nice and not too hot, and hopefully there will be no major incidents or accidents!
Pan Am horse fever is in the air, and hopefully you have tickets to some of the equestrian competitions. Even if you do not, you can still celebrate the Pan American Games with Horse Experience 2015, a showcase of opportunities to see, touch and experience horses.
… and this just in from Strategic Equine via Equine Canada.
The links below will take you to Equine Canada’s Horse Experience website, where details of these events (and many others) can be found. The events below take place at the Orangeville Fairgrounds July 11th-17th where camping and shuttle service is also available.
Saturday, July 11 – KX Country BBQ and Concert with Beverly Mahood and Leah Daniels
Sunday, July 12 – Big Screen Movie Magic: Buck – The Movie
Monday, July 13 – Dinner with the Long Rider and a Celebration of the Canadian Horse
Tuesday, July 14 – Movie Night at the Races: 50 to 1 and Exhibition Drive
Wednesday, July 15 – Big Screen Movie Magic: Unbranded
Thursday, July 16 – An Evening With Stefan Morel: Blind Spot – Moments Unseen & A Century of Horses
Friday, July 17 – Celebrating the Power of Two