Interviews & Profiles

Heather Sansom, horse riding fitness, Amy Millar, equine fitness, horse rider fitness, optimal horse riding fitness

In "How the Pros Stay Fit to Ride, Part 1", I interviewed some of our top Canadian dressage riders to see what they did to cross-train for riding. In this article, I am happy to bring you interviews with top Canadian show jumpers Amy Millar and Amanda Hay.

Heather Sansom, horse riding fitness, Ashley Holzer, Danielle Gallagher

You might think that a professional rider can afford to take time to cross-train because they are, after all, a professional athlete. I work with some pros on a weekly basis and I have to tell you, you probably have more personal discretionary time available than they do.

raising kids riding horses, motherhood and horses, juggling children and horse, equine therapys

“Horses will always be waiting for you,” is a well-intentioned reassurance uttered too frequently and exclusively by loved ones who’ve never experienced the isolation of a hiatus from horses. My fiancé offered me the same phrase following the doctor’s orders to stop riding due to minor pregnancy complications that could worsen by the turbulence of a moving horse. This temporary farewell to my lifelong passion served as my first sacrifice of motherhood, and I felt the significance of it at the time.

Amber Marshall Heartland TV Show Interview

CBC’s hit TV series Heartland, a drama set on a ranch in the foothills of southern Alberta, has captured the attention of horse lovers across the country. The series centers on sisters Amy and Lou Fleming who live with their grandfather, Jack, on his horse ranch.

ottb, off the track thoroughbred, jessica phoenix, jessica phoenix off the track, exploring off the track, exponential off the track, world equestrian games, equine guelph, barbara sheridan

Many ex-racehorses are finding second careers once their racing days are over, thanks to the ever increasing awareness of what these multi-talented athletes can do off the track. As a result of this growing movement to retrain the racehorse, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, and Quarter Horses have successfully been transitioning from the track to a new lifestyle as sport horses, show horses or all-around pleasure mounts.

Olympian Gina Smith interview, equestrian gina smith interview, horse rider gina smith interview, horse rider flexibility

I had the privilege of interviewing three-time Olympic dressage team member Gina Smith about her views on equestrians as athletes. Smith and her horse Malte were a part of the Olympic dressage team that won bronze in Seoul, Korea in 1988, with team members Cindy Ishoy, Eva-Maria Pracht, and Ashley Nicoll.

horses used in hollywood movies, the black stallion, seabisquit, national velvet, ben-hur, gladiator, john scott productions, legends of the fall, heartland, war horse, devil's horseman

Hoofbeats Across the Silver Screen - As anyone who has spent real time with horses knows, they are so often the teachers in this journey through life. “As we strive to learn the best ways to motivate our horses, they motivate us to be the best that we can be,” says retired movie stunt rider and double, Martha Crawford-Cantarini.

veterinary simulator industries calgary alberta, equine reproductive system, equine digestive system, simulated horses and cows, model horses for research, margaret evans, learning about horse health

“I used to build props and worked in film and television production, and I had a shop in my garage at home,” says Russ Gray, cofounder of Veterinary Simulator Industries (VSI) in Calgary, Alberta. “My neighbour was the dean for the University of Calgary’s new Veterinary School. He knew that I built weird things, so he asked me if I could build the back end of a cow just to garner some interest for the new school at the agricultural fair in Calgary. He wanted the back end of three cows so that kids could reach up into the rectum and palpate a calf’s head. I contacted my business partner, Bryan Pfahl, and we created them for him. At the time we were doing all kinds of jobs for science centres and things like that during the course of our careers, so we just took it on as another project.”

Soldier On program for injured soldiers and veterans, horse program for trauma survivors

During their training, soldiers learn to work together as a single unit. Effective communication between individuals is necessary for a team to come together and beat the odds. Riding a horse is no different. To be successful, a rider must put aside their emotions and communicate clearly with their horse through the use of body language and voice commands. The ability to separate from personal problems while working with the horses is a big help to those who have experienced traumatic illness or injury.

When Wrangler, an 11-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, bolted at a horse show in 2018, owner Anjanette Nicolazzo knew something was amiss. “I was baffled,” Nicolazzo said. “I had ridden him for eight months prior to this, and he had never done anything of the sort. I knew his bolting was a cry for help because it was so out of character for him.”

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