JUNE 2017 THE RIDER /35 Evolution of


“Spread the Word not the Germs” Biosecurity in the Ontario horse racing industry and beyond


Story by: Agricultural Adap- tation Council In 2013, a devastating


outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus One caused four con- firmed cases in Thorough- bred and Standardbred horses and three confirmed deaths. The development rein-


forced Equine Guelph’s sense that the Ontario horse racing industry - one filled with high-value animals and frequent movement - was in need of further education on biosecurity and infectious disease prevention. Accessing funding


through the Agricultural Adaptation Council, Equine Guelph developed and deliv- ered ‘BIOSECURITY - Spread the word not the germs.’ The first-of-its-kind campaign targeted infectious diseases in the Ontario horse racing industry. The initia- tive changed the equine in- dustry’s approach to


biosecurity and delivered lasting resources still used today.


In order to reach such a


broad community, Equine Guelph used a peer-to-peer educational approach to bring the industry together. In April 2015, Equine Guelph started by educating horse racing officials. On- tario Racing Commission in- vestigators, judges and stewards received training on biosecurity, arming the officials with the resources needed to visit all 10 Ontario race tracks in the spring and summer of 2015 to spread the word on biosecurity. On their visits, officials dis- cussed how to improve biosecurity and provided an assortment of training mate- rials.


The biosecurity cam-


paign is more than just a communications success story; it created tangible re- sources for the equine indus-


www.davisfeed.ca


try, both racing and non-rac- ing. The training content used has been added to Equine Guelph’s equine biosecurity two-week online eWorkshop and has been modified and distributed to a general equine audience across Canada. The project was funded


in part through Growing Forward 2 (GF2), a federal- provincial-territorial initia- tive. The Agricultural Ad a p t a t i o n Council assists in the delivery of GF2 in On- tario.


N o w


available on TheHorsePor- tal.ca - all horse owners and care givers can learn Canada’s b i o s e c u r i t y


code for Equines. You can also access


Equine Guelph’s free Biose- curity Calculator to evaluate the biosecurity risk on your farm. In 10 minutes you can be on your way to a biosecu- rity plan utilizing simple ways to protect your horse from infectious disease.


About Equine Guelph: Equine Guelph is the horse owners’ and care givers’ Centre at the University of Guelph. It is a unique part- nership dedicated to the health and well-being of horses, supported and over- seen by equine industry groups. Equine Guelph is the epicentre for academia, industry and government - for the good of the equine industry as a whole. For fur- ther information, visit www.EquineGuelph.ca.


Equestrian Canada Driving Committee Collaborates on Strengthening Sport of Driving in Canada


Michel Lapierre, François Bergeron, Patricia Carley, Diane Goyette, Ellen Hock- ley, Elisa Marocchi and David Sim gathered at the EC national office in Ot- tawa, ON, with Susan Kar- rel joining via conference call, in order to define a vi- sion and identify immediate key strategic priorities for the committee to move for- ward with. At the conclusion of


the two-day session, the Committee has put forward the following vision state- ment:


mittee extensively reviewed feedback obtained from the Canadian driving commu- nity through a 2016 survey. Utilizing the feedback from more than 400 survey re- spondents, the Committee identified the following strategic priorities as their


ture for driving in Canada that will enable drivers to progress and develop to their full potential. In addition, the Com-


To provide the struc-


Ottawa, ON, May 4, 2017 – The newly-established Equestrian Canada (EC) Driving Committee had the opportunity to connect face- to-face on May 2 and 3, 2017 to collaborate on the strategic direction and prior- ities of the Committee in order to support the sport of driving in Canada. Committee members,


immediate areas of focus: • Strengthen access to qual- ity instruction and coaching for drivers at all levels. • Ensure the EC Rules for Driving are consistent across Canada, and where possible, standardize with the rules currently utilized within the United States. • Address barriers to certifi- cation and ensure driving officials have access to stan- dardized training that is up- dated regularly. • Improve the Canadian driving competition system to encourage drivers to enter and progress through the competition stream.


• Support the increase of sanctioned driving competi- tions within Canada by sim- plifying the sanctioning process in partnership with the Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs). The EC Driving Com-


mittee welcomes questions, comments and feedback from the Canadian driving community as they work to create a strong, collabora- tive structure to support and strengthen the sport of driv- ing in Canada. The Driving Committee can be contacted a


DrivingCommittee@eques- t trian.ca.


The 2017 EC Driving Com- mittee members are as fol- lows:


Michel Lapierre (Chair) – QC


François Bergeron – QC Patricia Carley – AB Diane Goyette – QC Ellen Hockley – BC Susan Karrel – NS Elisa Marocchi – BC Carole Precious – ON David Sim – ON


For more information on driving, visit www.eques- trian.ca/sport/driving.


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