Interviews & Profiles

Hickstead: “He was the Best Horse in the World”

Updated:

July 4, 2020

Hickstead Olympic Horse, Eric Lamaze at Spruce Meadows riding Hickstead

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - Why does Hickstead deserve to be recognized as one of Canada’s 10 most remarkable horses and people? “Because,” as Henry Swierenga of Smithville, Ontario, succinctly put it, “he was Hickstead.” The legendary stallion became a Canadian icon in 2008 when, with rider Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, Ontario, he won the Individual Gold and Team Silver medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Dianne Tidball: Matriarch of Thunderbird Show Park

Updated:

July 4, 2020

2012 canadian horse journal readers choice awards, dianne tidball, thunderbird show park

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner, outstanding horsewoman, entrepreneur, and mother turned great-grandmother, Dianne Tidball takes on everything at a full gallop. Her love of horses was kindled in childhood, when, growing up in 1930’s Shanghai, she took to riding a polo pony. During the Second World War, her Polish mother and British father relocated the family to Canada.

Somebeachsomewhere: Racehorse of the Decade

Updated:

July 4, 2020

2012 readers choice awards, somebeachsomewhere, brent mcgrath nova scotia

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - The word “Remarkable” nicely sums up Somebeachsomehwere, a whirlwind dynamo who took the Canadian harness racing world by storm in 2007 and 2008, and who now looks to pass on his talent to the next generation of Standardbreds. Trainer and part-owner, Brent MacGrath, of Truro, Nova Scotia, calls him simply “the horse of a lifetime.”

Grated Coconut: Born to Buck

Updated:

July 4, 2020

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - Not many horses are fondly remembered for their ability to dump a rider in the dirt. But whether you’re for rodeo or against it, there’s no denying that Grated Coconut, one of the greatest bucking horses of all time, was a superstar.

Duane Latimer: Canada’s Reining Royalty

Updated:

July 4, 2020

Duane Latimer 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - As a National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) millionaire (having surpassed the $1 million rider NRHA lifetime earnings mark), NRHA Futurity Champion, the winner of six American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Championships, and two-time World Equestrian Game (WEG) individual medalist, Duane Latimer is a member of Canada’s reining royalty.

Karen Brain: Anything is Possible

Updated:

July 4, 2020

Karen Brain Athens Dressage Paralympian, Athens Olympics

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - In early September 2001, Karen Brain was one of Canada’s most promising eventing riders, with Olympic aspirations, until she fell from her horse, sustaining injuries that left her an incomplete paraplegic. Just three years later Karen represented Canada in the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, winning Individual and Team Bronze Medals. Her dedication and determination are truly remarkable.

In Memorium - Mara Coote Freeman - April 19, 1945 - April 8, 2020

Updated:

April 19, 2020

mara coote freeman passing, in memorium mara coote freeman

Mara's love for the horse and volunteerism within the horse industry was legendary. For six years, Mara was Vice President on the Canadian Equestrian Federation Board responsible for Breeds and Industry, founding member of the Canadian Horse Council, initiator of the Horse Industry Association of Alberta, regional representative and Board member of International Arabian Horse Association Half and Anglo Arabian Registry, and more.

The Bishop Family Business: 100 Years of Wild West Shows

Updated:

March 31, 2020

Bishop family business, Wild West performer Bishops, Tom Bishop Wild West Show, Thomas W. Bishop, Buffalo Bill's Wild West, Sally Bishop, 4B Productions

Ordinarily, when you’re talking about a family business that has been passed down through the generations, with the parents eventually handing the reins over to their children, the “reins” are figurative. But then, the Bishop family business – consisting of daring feats on horseback, fancy roping tricks, and knife throwing – is anything but ordinary.

Flexibility: Interview with Yoga for Riders Specialist Louise Sattler

Updated:

March 27, 2020

horse rider flexibility, horse rider-specific yoga, equestrian flexibility, yoga Louise Sattler, yoga for horse riders

For this article, I interviewed yoga for riders specialist Louise Sattler of Galloping Yoga. We discussed various concepts and exercises that come from the yoga tradition and align very nicely with sport and conditioning practices for developing flexibility. For a busy rider, the exercises below are accessible and easy to do almost anywhere.

Tani Zeidler - Inspired by the Love of Horses

Updated:

March 24, 2020

tani zeidler horse farm zeidler breeding horses, zf bloodlines, julia tops show jumping

Tani Zeidler was 14 years old when she first discovered a farmer’s Quarter Horses living behind the lake cabin where her family spent its summers. Soon after, she began to frequently visit her four-legged neighbours. Before long, spending time with the horses had progressed to riding, and by the end of that summer, she was jumping over hay bales in the farmer’s field.