2013 Readers' Choice Awards Winner - With their intricate choreography, exceptional equestrian skills, and eye-catching costumes, the Canadian Cowgirls elite precision drill team has been delighting audiences across Canada and the U.S. for a decade. Outfitted from hat to hoof in red and white, their maple leaf flags hoisted high as they ride, the Cowgirls are the living embodiment of Canadian pride. “We pride ourselves on promoting patriotism across the country,” says Team Captain Terry Jenkins.

In the previous article, we covered the general principles of a good warm-up and the reasons why it’s an essential part of every ride. Now we’ll continue to focus on the warm-up with a look at some basic exercises designed to prepare your horse physically and mentally for the workout session.

By Jess Hallas-Kilcoyne - It’s that time of year again...time to start thinking about ways to improve your turnout for competition in the coming show season. We asked readers to send in photos of themselves and their horses decked out in their best show duds for our equestrian fashion experts to critique. Here’s what our experts had to say.

It has been nearly one year since the Ontario Liberal government announced their decision to end the Slots at Racetracks program, a revenue sharing agreement that saw a portion of the proceeds from slot machines housed at racetracks go to the horse racing industry. Introduced over a decade ago, at a time when expanding lottery and gaming options were eroding the revenue base of racing, the program offered support to an ailing industry while providing the province with access to facilities where gambling was already taking place.

By Ceileidh Sager - As riders, we often marvel at the placid, seemingly bombproof police horses we encounter on our city streets. Clearly police horses are put through intensive training to prepare them for patrol work, but what about their riders? In speaking with Sargent Kristopher McCarthy of the Toronto Police Mounted Unit, I learned that the city’s mounted unit has taught officers to ride using traditional cavalry methods for over a century. Recently, the Toronto Police Mounted Unit decided to incorporate English equitation standards into their officer training program.