Air Amateur – your Tuesday smile

There is no better way to start the week than with a smile. This will resonate with everyone who has ever found themselves suddenly without a horse underneath!

I would confess, I’ve booked many a flight on this airline, and in spite of the fact the descents are desperately quick, the landings abrupt and often painful, and the airline highly unsympathetic (and often surprised), I keep going back.

Here’s hoping your ride today is on friendly skies!

In Memoriam – A Farewell to Sea Fox

Ottawa, ON— Equine Canada and the Canadian Equestrian Team extend our heartfelt condolences to Canadian Olympian Leslie Reid and her mother Edith Thomson on the passing of their horse, Sea Fox.

Sea Fox
Photo credit—Cealy Tetley

Sea Fox, a Dutch Warmblood stallion sired by Roemer, was born in the Netherlands in 1982 and imported by Reid as her new dressage partner in 1986. Sea Fox easily moved up the ranks, usually scoring top marks in each outing.

Under the tutelage of Udo Lange and Christilot Boylen, Reid trained in Europe from 1993 to 1996 in order to maximize the development of her handsome and talented stallion.  In 1995, the pair made their debut at the international grand prix level, earning many top 10 finishes at prestigious CDI competitions in Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Donaueschingen. 

Reid was the first Canadian rider to be named to the 1996 Olympic Dressage Team, qualifying after the first two Olympic Trials. In November of 1996, Reid and Sea Fox captured the Volvo World Cup Dressage Canadian League Final held at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Horse Show.

Reid and Sea Fox competed at Grand Prix until he was 17 year of age. For the next few years, Sea Fox taught Reid’s young rider students the ropes of upper level dressage until he was officially retired at the age of 20.

“He was the perfect horse,” said Reid. “Handsome, honest, and the most gentle stallion one could ever have.”

Sea Fox’s well-earned retirement consisted of relaxing in his field until he was almost 30-year-old.

About Equine Canada
Equine Canada is Canada’s national governing body for equestrianism.  A member-driven, charitable institution, it is the executive branch of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and the national authority for equestrian competition; the national voice for recreational riders; and the national association for equine welfare, breeding, and industry.  Equine Canada is recognised by the Government of Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national organisation representing equestrian sport and equine interests. For more information about Equine Canada, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The Pony Express is hot off the stands

The weekly edition of The Pony Express is now available online!

At All About Ponies, we understand that life is better with a horse. Whether you are a serious competitor, a pleasure rider, an instructor, coach, taking riding lessons, or just someone who knows that someday they will have a horse – because they must! – The Pony Express is for you! Every week, The Pony Express rounds up information on the web about horses, and it is the most direct means of getting highlights of the week’s news and events in all areas related to the horse: Equestrian Sports, Wild Horses, Equine-Assisted Therapy, Equine Health, Natural Horsemanship, Horse Rescues, Horse Welfare, Horse Properties, Horses for Sale.

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A Tribute to Woody Stephens

 

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98 years ago today, Woodford (Woody) Cefis Stephens was born in Stanton, Kentucky. Elected into the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame in 1976, Stephens’ career in thoroughbred racing spanned seven decades. He ran Cain Hoy Stable for Harry Guggenheim for 10 years, trained seven Eclipse Award winning race horses, five kentucky Oaks winners, two Kentucky Derby winners (Cannonade ’74, Swale ’84), a Preakness winner (Blue Man ’52), and an unprecedented five straight Belmon Stakes winners (Conquistador Cielo ’82, Caveat ’83, Swale ’84, Creme Fraiche ’85 and Danzig Connection in ’86). In 1983, he won the Eclipse Award as the top trainer in the United States.

As a young racing fan, I spent hours glued to the television watching the Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont, the Queen’s Plate, and any other race that was televised. I poured over a friend’s father’s racing sheets and stud books, tracked races through the newspaper, learned about handicapping. I studied bloodlines, lineage, genetics and picked the horses from the racing sheets in the Globe and Mail that I thought would win, place or show, based on that magical combination of bloodline, talent, rider, trainer and heart, and my own applied “knowledge”. It was a passion that, for a while, bordered on obsession, and my goal ultimately became to breed and own the first filly to ever win the Triple Crown. Woody Stevens was a part of the dream team I wanted to assemble to help me on this quest, along with my long-time hero, racing legend Sandy Hawley. With a great filly, and those two in her court, I was confident it would become a reality.

The dream still lives on, and today it seems fitting to remember the dream, and pay tribute to one of the men who figured so prominently in it.