60/ MARCH/APRIL 2012 THE RIDER


Cedar Run Horse Park Wants “A Fair Shake


by Janice Wright


Vying for Pan American Games Equestrian Venue


Officially it will go down in history as the 17th, 2015 Pan American Games. From July 10 through to July 25, Toronto Cana- da will be host to the Pan Am frenzy. Over the next three years there will be multiple plans, committees, decisions and structural changes. But when the time arrives, we will be caught up cheering on multi-sport athletes from around the world.


With the games come the equestrian competitions - but most importantly right now, the quest for the equestrian venue is up for scrutiny. Back in early December 2011, an article published in the Toronto Sun was the result of a presentation to the International


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Equine Federation made by the mayors of four municipalities — Town of Blue Mountains, Collingwood, Meaford and Wasaga Beach, along with their Wardens of the Counties of Simcoe & Grey. The presentation was asking that Cedar Run Horse Park be considered before any decision be made on the venue. No one from the Bid Committee inspected Cedar Run, and why is that? Peter Lush, a local developer who owns Cedar Run Horse Park in Thorn- bury, says “All the locals want is an opportunity to be considered as the desig- nated equestrian venue.” In simpler terms, “All we are looking for is a fair shake.”


Now a proposal has been put forth to invite the Federation Equestre Interna- tional “FEI” and the Toronto Organizing Committee “TO2015” board to consider reviewing the utilization of Cedar Run and having an assessment of the facility by way of comparison to any previous suggested venue.


Undoubtedly, the games are really going to be exciting for the horse world. Ontario is beautiful and we have equestri- an competition sites bursting with acres of glorious space. So if we can just for a moment look beyond the perks of local beaches, shopping and golfing, we need to ask: So what’s ideally suited to three days of eventing?


Equestrians arrive weeks before the games. Concentration and perfection will be on the mind of the rider, and the horse instinctively (well, this is their job) gets that. Yet, horses and humans react differ- ently to being away from the norm. Rid- ers and support teams may prefer easier access within their surroundings. For Cedar Run, approximately 10 minutes away is the village of Blue Mountain that will be proposed as the equestrian ath- letes and trainer’s village. Close access makes for less stress when the daily rou- tines are up a notch and competition gets rough. “This makes a lot more sense than busing people back and forth from down- town Toronto. “ said Councilor Michael Martin. In addition, “All disciplines: Show jumping, Dressage and Eventing are provided for on one contiguous cam- pus.” Specifically, there would be no need to move off site to a second location for the “eventing” side of the competi- tion.


The Pan Am Games bring tourism and prosperity to Ontario. So, what’s best for the taxpayers? Caledon Mayor Marolyn Morrison said “Her town is ready for this challenge.” She and coun- cillor Martin contend that to get Cedar Run Horse Park ready for the Pan Am Games would cost something under $4.25 million — $1.7 million of which would come from Lush and private sec- tors. If this is in fact accurate, taxpayers will spend as much as $9-million less from where it is currently under consider- ation to take place.


Peter Lush maintains, this isn’t “sour grapes” as the former premier and Pan Am bid chairman, David Peterson called it in the past. Governments contin- ue cutting budgets. And with top class million dollar horses, the accomplished athletes (who, let’s face it - parent their horses fanatically for obvious reasons) and the somewhat testy tax-payers in mind, why would the committees avoid the opportunity of looking at another exemplary facility that also has potential? In the interim, there’s still time for a critical view of all sites - in a fair way.


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