| Featured
Article - August 2002
In
The Shadow of Equus HORSE
COUNCIL BC'S NEW PRESIDENT | ||
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Dr. Sue Thompson was a busy lady when she was nominated to replace Ken Huber, Horse Council BC's outgoing President. A professor at Kwantlen College, she was also juggling her time working at a treatment centre for women with eating disorders and running her own private practice in sports psychology specializing in equestrian sports. In addition, she was operating her Ladner-based Stoneboat Stables Equestrian Centre where 30 horses, 80 students and a support staff including a barn manager and six instructors occupied every spare moment. The concept of presiding over Horse Council BC was not only daunting but came as a complete surprise. "I was very surprised when Ken (Huber) asked me to step forward," Dr. Thompson said. "I had been a Zone 4 Representative for a number of years. But I felt I could bring a fresh approach to the situations facing the organization." She knew Horse Council BC was facing challenges, none the least of which was, and still is, the appointment of an Executive Director. Other challenges included an urgent need for the organization to more effectively represent itself to the provincial government for funding and for the many equestrian disciplines to unite more cohesively in support of each other to form a strong lobby force. Dr. Thompson was raised in Tsawwassen as a "child of the 60's" and got her first pony when she was nine, a now old-timer who is in his thirties and has a place of honour at Stoneboat Stables. As a child, she rode pony hunters then switched to dressage in her adult years, enjoying the endless pursuit of perfectionism. She took a four-year hiatus from riding to go to university and graduated with a Ph.D in Psychology, her dissertation focusing on the social behaviour of previously institutionalized Romanian orphans adopted to Canada. She returned to the equestrian circuit riding and coaching and opened a private practice to serve the needs of fellow equestrians, working with them in goal-setting, anxiety management and the ability to visualize success, skills that spill into all aspects of life's challenges. Today, Dr. Thompson is a Level II Dressage Coach and rides her own horses with Tom Dvorak.
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Her new position with Horse Council BC is one she takes very seriously. "The BC horse industry contributes more than $700 million annually to the economy," she emphasised. "Yet government cuts are having an impact, especially in backcountry riding and the trail maintenance system." In a changing world, Horse Council BC needs to restructure itself so that it more effectively meets the needs of all the different groups it represents, and become more member-service oriented. To compete for future funding dollars, it will need to become a more powerful lobby for government support. But first on the agenda is a lot of data gathering to see where the organization's strengths lie. Which is where Dr. Thompson feels she can really help. With her strong research background from her years in university, Dr. Thompson is confident that she can assess any data gathering process and pull up the information needed for wise future management decisions. Underscoring the value of blending riding disciplines and bringing people together in an educational forum, this fall's agenda includes the Horse Fest Educational Series, a Horse Council BC Industry Development Initiative to be held at Langley's Kwantlen University College. The Horse Fest is a series of one-day or weekend symposiums and talks to be held from September to December. (See advertisement in the August issue, page 3.) The surprise at being elected President of Horse Council BC still has not left Dr. Thompson's voice. With kind and grateful words for past-president, Ken Huber, and her executive board, Dr. Thompson is excited about the future and a revitalized Horse Council BC serving the needs of riders throughout British Columbia.
Read Margaret Evans' column "In The Shadow Of Equus" each month in The Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal |
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