Future of Horsemanship in Ontario

Last month I attended the Annual General Meetings of both the Glanbrook Cadora and the Ontario Cadora. There were not lots of people in attendance but I understand that the Ottawa region has many more attendees which is encouraging. Don Barnes spoke of the declining memberships and the inablilty to fill clinics in our area with auditiors who although they don't ride go a long way to helping pay the costs of the clinic.  

I find this concerning. Where is our sport going to get indiviuals who become excellent and represent our country in the future if people don't participate and don't encourage young people to participate.  

​Yes, there does seem to be a large turnout for the hunter/jumper sports but dressage and flat work is the basis of the sport. Young people should be encouraged to participate in both dressage and hunter/jumper events. 

There are new events happening in the Equestrian world with the inclusion of Western Dressage and Cowboy Dressage. These are popular in the US and their popularity is growing to Canada. This year there were a few competitors and a few events that offered Western Dressage.

Another new event are Obstacle events or Mountain Trail Obstacle Events. These are new events looking to challenge your horsemanship and have a fun day out.  

The future of Horsemanship is looking brighter but people need to participate to grow and learn and enourage the youth to learn and participate! Lets hope 2017 is a better year and more people come out to the events that many volunteers work so hard to organize.