22/ SEPTEMBER 2012 THE RIDER On The Road To Harrow 2012 By Kelly Bowers.
Well, when I looked at the map, Harrow was about an inch past London, so I thought, sure we can do that. Well, it was a bit further than that and was not “just of the highway” as the map showed. How- ever, after spending three days at Cider Mill Farms in the small town of Harrow, bunking at the cozy little Adams Golden Acres motel down the road and getting to know the fine people at the event, I have to say it was worth the 4 hour drive. We got to see hunter jumper, derby cross and lots of rodeo plus the Encore Trick Riders and the horse parade. There were pony rides and ven- dors offering more horse stuff like hats and boots. And of course, my daugh- ter and I came with Ontario’s horse newspaper, The Rider. We handed out hundreds of newspapers while meeting so many people at the show and took hundreds of photos which are on my Facebook
page “The Rider’s Photo Gallery”.
On Friday, we got there just in time to catch the rest of the Ram Eques- trian Derby-Cross, which was my first time to see that event. Very cool. The weather was beautiful, not a cloud in sight and seating in the shade was at a pre- mium. The Derby Cross winners were: Pre Entry: Sara Cada and Ruby Tues- day, Entry: Trista Decooman and Over the Rainbow, Pre Training: Hope Moon and Celtic Reign. Just about the time we got back to our motel, music by Blackburn Soundstage featuring Rev. Robert Sexton’s All Star Blues Revue and Jody Raf- foul started but I heard it was a very entertaining and fun night on the farm. On Saturday, we were back for the Cidermill Hunter Team Challenge for Breast Cancer. It was a really warm day for the rid- ers and spectators alike and the sunny blue skies lasted all day. Participants did not just ride for points, they
raised money for a worthy cause. Team winners were: Lazy G Lovlies and Paul Laforet Stables (tie for top teams) Fundraising Team Winners: Cidermill Farms (over $5,000.) Top Fundraiser: Julie Macfar- lane ($2,905. at showtime and counting)
Trevor Dunk signals to judges
Kids had a great time in the Little Folks Field” with Children’s games and crafts. The pony rides had a line up all weekend and the kids of all ages loved the petting zoo. That night, rodeo action was highly competitive as cowboys/girls were making their way towards the New- market Championship. Rod Weese had a great weekend taking the honours in both Saddle Bronc and Steer Wrestling. Stephanie Leyzac won the ladies bar- rels putting her within dol- lars of the tour leading Ashley Bull, making a great run to the year end title. The thrilling action kept spectators on the edge of their seats and filled over 200 Rider photos in a couple hours. Another night of music by Black- burn Soundstage: British Beat 66 and The Hit Men kept feet moving all night. On Sunday morning, the tasty cowboy breakfast kicked off the day in town. Just after lunch, 60 horses in the very first “Horses
Fundraising winning team: Cider Mill Farms who raised over $5,000. Left to right: Serena Hunt and Desperato, Skye Stowe, Julie MacFarlane and Mr. Louie, Hope Moon and Celtic Reign.
For Hospice Parade” made it’s way through town to raise money for the local hospice. The parade’s arrival at Cidermill farms, signalled the start of the Buckeye Nutrition Jumper Mini Prix. The champion was Hope Moon and Celtic Reign and later in the after- noon, of course there was more Ram rodeo.
The cowboys and cowgirls who took top place are: Saddle Bronc - Rod Weese; Bareback - Joe Courville of Illinois; Bull Riding - James Bouvier; Tie Down Roping - Jason Thomson; Steer Wrestling - Rod Weese; Lady Barrel Racing - Stephanie Leyzac; Team Roping - Jeremy McCulligh and Trevor Dunk; Jr. Steers - Tyler
Chatterton; Jr Barrels - Kaitlin Bos; Break a Way - Patsy McMahon; Pole Bending - Jessica Brock. When it was all over, more than 7,000 made it out to the summer event. Sharing in the profits were The Children’s Wish foun- dation who received over $6000. Over $5,000 went to The Breast Cancer Soci- ety and the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County got $1600. Hats (riding helmets and cowboy hats) go off to Pat and Dewar Laing who hosted a great event with their team of volunteers at their beautiful Cider Mill Farms. By the way, there really is a cider mill on the property which they use to press apples from the orchard in the fall.
Photos by Anna Wallace, pole bending Encore Presentation Trick Rider thrills Harrow crowd Kelly Bowers Kaitlin Bos, Jr. Barrels winner
Pre-Training Derby Cross Champions, Hope Moon and Celtic Reign
Cider Mill Hunter Team Challenge For Breast Cancer. Brianna Shields on Shorty Strikes Again and Jessica Luppino on a lovely chestnut.
Scotty Too Hotty Entertains the crowd
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