2/ AUGUST 2011 THE RIDER possibilities.”


Endurance Continued from Page 1


from previous trade missions, four endurance riders, who took on the role as “Canadian Eques- trian Ambassadors” represented Canada in a four-day equine festi- val called the Invitational Tourna- ment of 2011 “Xinfadi Cup” the Second National Equestrianism Endurance Racing and Speed Competition in Pasture of Zhaosu County. Along with a flat racing meet for Chinese-owned thor- oughbreds and native horses, the festival was comprised of three days of riding over 260 km in the area’s grasslands, which included an 80 km endurance race on July 1st.


Riding borrowed horses for the event were Elroy Karius, Gail Jewel, Robert Gielen and Wendy MacCoubrey. Each has represent- ed Canada internationally, most recently as members of the Cana- dian Equestrian Team at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and/or the 2008 FEI World Endurance Champi- onships. Susan Stewart, the man- aging consultant of EC Export, led the trade mission and Barbara Daley acted as the communica- tions consultant for the initiative. “Unanimously, we felt that our greatest contribution going forward would be to facilitate educational opportunities for Chi- nese equestrians, delivered both in China and in Canada,” stated Stewart. “Considering this region of China’s history with horses and Canada’s contemporary horse industry infrastructure, a partner- ship for development has unique


The county’s plan focuses on Zhaosu living up to its reputa- tion as the area of “heavenly horses”, first recorded 2,000 years ago. With ideal climatic conditions and 3,900 square kilo- metres of protected grassland dedicated for animal rearing, the Zhaosu area government has its sights on catapulting Chinese horse breeding for modern-day equestrian sport into the fore- front. Along with increasing the number of horse sport events offered in the region, it is invest- ing in infrastructure for its breed- ing sector, including increasing the use of artificial insemination to enhance the area’s native breed, the Yili horse.


EC Export is a catalyst for change. It provides opportunities for Canadians to promote their horse industry abroad and, at times, travel to other countries to experience their industries’ cur- rent practices and learn about their needs. EC Export’s focus extends beyond its overall goal to increase live equine and equine genetics export revenue. Its long- term objectives are to help Cana- dians understand and respond to the needs, preferences and buying habits of international customers; promote internationally using the Canada Brand for the equine industry; and position Canada to be recognized internationally as a mature, developed equine nation where quality horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, equine genet- ics and expertise can be sought by international buyers.


Watch for the full length article on the mission, “Path to China – Endurance in Zhaosu” in the August/September issue of Equine Canada Magazine. A


photo journal of the initiative can be found on EC Export’s Face- book page at www.facebook.com/ECExport, and a blog journal of each day can be found at http://bit.ly/Barn- miceECExport . Additional infor- mation on EC Export is available at www.EquineCanada.ca/Export. For more information, please contact Susan Stewart, a consultant to Equine Canada’s Export Market Development pro- gram, by telephone at (613) 826- 1155 or email at export@equinecanada.ca.


About EC Export


The Equine Canada Export Market Development Program (EC Export) is the driver to brand the Canadian equine industry in international markets. It is guided by a long-term international strat- egy that involves activities to “brand” Canada as a quality pro- ducer of expertise and events as well as horses suitable for racing, FEI and non-FEI sport, breed- specific competition and breed- ing. EC Export is self-funded by industry participants with 50% of some eligible expenses covered by the AgriMarketing Program (AMP) of Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada (AAFC). AMP is an important vehicle for bringing greater cohesion to associations’ marketing efforts to brand Cana- dian food and agriculture as a whole in international markets. As mandated by AAFC, EC Export fully utilizes the resources and tool kit of the Canada Brand program.


About Equine Canada


For more information about Equine Canada, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.


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