2003 Eventing Canada [!]'s Young Rider Bursary Winners

Holly Martin -
"I am currently attending R.S. McLaughlin C.V.I. in the French Immersion Program, in the 10th grade. I've been riding for 8 years, and entered the eventing world 4 years ago. My horse, Amazing (a.k.a Zing), and I board and train at Dreamcrest Farm under the instruction of Ian Roberts and Kelly Plitz. Zing is a 6yr old TB who has races and done hunter in his past. This year however, we will be eventing at the Pre-Training level with the hope of going Training by the end of the season. I am very thankful to receive this bursary, as it will enable me to compete at more events this season for my mount and I to gain more experience together .

Jessica Ruppel -
"Thank you so much for selecting me as a recipient of one of the 2003 Youth Bursaries. I am 20 years old, and since graduating from high school I have lived and worked at Checkmate Equestrian Centre, where I am coached by its manager, Nicole Parkin. Here I have the opportunity to ride and assist in the training of a variety of horses, as well as teach riding lessons, and coach novice riders at events. I have been riding at Checkmate since my riding carer began, at age 10. Last summer I participated in the Ontario Young Rider Program for the first time, with Naughty By Nature ("Chance") a 6yr old 15h Morab-Appaloosa whom I started as a 3yr old, and have been riding ever since. Chance is owned by Karen Robinson, a fellow Checkmate staff member, and resident of Flesherton, ON. During the 3 years prior to this, I competed at the Prelim level with 2 other horses which I also brought along from Entry to Prelim, competing at Prelim Horse Trials, as well as eventing several other horses at the Training Level and below. A CCI* was always my aim, but for a variety of reasons, eluded me.

Last summer (2003) was Chance's first year going Prelim. Thanks in part to the support of the Ontario Young Rider Program, in part to the excellent coaching we received from Nicole, but mostly due to Chance's incredible gutsiness, heart and stoicism, we did quite well, winning 2 Horse Trials (Turtle Hill and Headwaters) and placing at two others. Our performance earned us a spot on Ontario's NAYRC CCI* team. It was the first 3-Day either of us had ever competed at, and we had the time of our lives, finishing individual 6th in the CCI*YR division, and ending up top-placed Ontario Prelim Young Rider. (Waylon Roberts and Paleface tied our score, and were top-placed Ontario CCI*JR.) At the awards dinner recently, I was presented with the Top-Placed Ontario Prelim Young Rider Award (tying with Waylon), as well as the Young Rider Sportsmanship Award (which was quite an honour) and the Bobby Greasley Memorial Scholarship (I was nominated for this by Nicole). All of this has been a little overwhelming, as I have been plugging away at this sport for several years now with only limited success. ... Again, many thanks to Eventing Canada(!). "

Joel Hamilton
"Thank you for selecting me as one of the five recipients of the 2003 Youth Bursaries. I am 17 years old and a grade 12 student at Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie. My extra circular activities include being a volunteer Canadian Ski Patroller, Life guard and horses. I began riding at the age of 12 in a summer camp program and I was hooked. I am also a working student at Raynham Stables. I have been training with Lindsay Mahon for the past 2 years and entered my first Eventing competition in the summer of 2002 with "Ringwood Conrad" - a school horse. In the 2003 season "Conrad" and I won at the Glen Oro Horse Trials in the Pre-training Jr. division and placed at 4 others shows. I have a special bond with "Conrad" but knew that if I was to continue in Eventing at higher levels I needed a younger mount and possibly my own horse.

In October of 2003 my Mom & I purchased "Riff Raff", a 5 year old dark bay, thoroughbred originally from the race track. "Riff Raff" and I have entered into a strict training schedule preparing for the upcoming show season. I hope to compete at the PT level in the 2004 season.

The bursary will enable me to purchase needed tack (a cooler blanket, quarter sheet and a portion went towards buying a used jumping saddle) and attend Clinics in the spring as I prepare "Riff Raff" for his first full season of serious competition. I appreciate Ms. Bella White's generosity in making all of this possible and hope that this summer she could see us compete.

Short Term Goals:

When we bought "Riff Raff" he was very thin and our first objective after bringing him to Raynham Stables was to see him gain weight. This is his first year of having his own stall with an individual feeding plan and daily turn out. He has gained approximately 200 lbs. to date and as he develops muscle tone will reach our goal of an approximate 250 lb. weight gain.

I have been seriously training since December 2003 and taking lessons 3 times a week. For now the training consists of: 2 days of flat work and one day of jumping in the indoor arena. I am making sure he is staying round through transitions and being more balanced. "Riff Raff" is challenging me as a rider, he loves to buck and would rather jump then complete his dressage training.

We are planning on taking "Riff Raff" to a Hunter Jumper Show in March at the York Equestrian Centre to see how he reacts to trailoring and the show scene.

We will introduce him to cross country jumping in the spring when the weather allows. He has very little experience even in the area of hacking and I'm looking forward to getting him outdoors in the better weather.

His training schedule will include short trips to local schooling facilities and Clinics.

Long Term Goals

Our Show season plan at this time includes competing at the PT level - Jr. Young Rider ....Depending upon the season we may try to move up to the Training Level for the final show of the season but this decision will be made by my coach.

The main focus for "Riff Raff" this year is to bring him to peak physical condition and introduce him slowly to the world of Eventing.

It is our hope that "Riff Raff" and I will someday compete at the Intermediate level together. I think we are both the perfect age to progress & train towards that goal."

Amelia Jones
Thank you for selecting me as a recipient for the 2003 youth bursary.  I am 20 years old and attending the University of Toronto at Mississauga and Sheridan college in a joint program of art and art history.   For the past 11 years I have ridden at Killusty Farm and have been coached by Caroline Morshead.  My first riding lessons were taken on school ponies and so my love of riding began. I have been a member of the Victoria Pony Club for the past 10 years. Pony Club has given me the opportunity to compete in many disciplines of riding including Prince Phillip Games, Show jumping, Dressage and Rallies. I have learned a great deal about stable management and teamwork from pony club and have passed on my knowledge to younger members of our club.

My first pony, Bluebell taught me many lessons about eventing and took me to the pre-training level. After out growing Bluebell, I purchased my first horse, Resolution. We were always in the ribbons and qualified for the pre-training and training championships each year. We competed in the training 3Day at Glen Oro finishing 9^th overall.

Two years ago I purchased Breezin', a six year old TB/QH/Arab mare. For the past two years I have evented at the training level and this year plan to step up to prelim. Bre is the kind of mare that requires time and patience from me to gain experience and confidence. During the past two years there have been many ups and downs but we are finally working together as a team. In 2002 Bre and I won the Central Canadian Pony Club 3 ft Jumper and were reserve champions in Basic 3 dressage. At the Central Ontario Pony Club year end awards Bre and I were 3 ft Jumper Champions, Basic 3 Reserve Champions and Pre-training Champions.  In 2003 we were reserve champions at the Central Canadians for the 3'3" jumper and at the year end awards we were the Training Champions and we also won the Rally Endurance award.  Bre is an amazing horse with lots of scope and our goal is to compete with Young Riders and complete our first CCI*. Thank you again to Eventing Canada (!) for giving me the opportunity to achieve my goals!

Meghan Hewitt

I am very proud and honored to have been chosen 1 of the 5 recipients for a 2003 Youth Bursary by Eventing Canada. I am 18 years old and live in my home town of Smiths Falls, Ontario. I am an active member of the Land O Lakes pony club and one of two Youth reps in the region of SLOV. I achieved my C1 level in the fall of 2003 and plan to test for my C2 this fall. I have been riding for 8 years and have owned Excalibur Shadow for the past 6. He is a 9 year old 15.2 Percheron Quarter Horse cross. We have been trained as a team for the past 4 years with Mark Isenburg as our coach. I have competed in the disciplines of Eventing, Show Jumping and Dressage for the past three years with success. I am really looking forward to expanding my training this season to include track work and trail training to increase our speed control, timing and endurance to achieve the next level. Having received this bursary&. I have nothing stopping me. I am looking forward to competing in pre-training events starting in June and finally compete at the Training level by the fall. I am planning to attend more competitions and gain the experience of having ridden a wider variety of course types and will be attending two working PC Rallies that concentrate on Eventing. Excalibur is a very solid horse and is so true to the heart I am lucky to have such a willing and able partner!