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MAY 2020 THE RIDER /17


VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.orha.on.ca


Ontario Reining Horse Association


President, Banquet Dan Fletcher president@orha.on.ca


1st Vice-President Rules & Disciplinary John Purdie


2nd Vice-President/ Treasurer Terri Purdie, finance@orha.on.ca


Past President Gary Yaghdjian


Reining is still top of mind! Dan Fletcher,


current President ORHA


Elected Director - Secretary


Joanne Milton


Elected Director - Futurity Programs Leona McAtee orhafuturity@orha.on.ca / ob- bofuturity1991@gmail.com


Appointed Director - ORHA Futurity Programs Tracy Nelson nelsontracy@gmail.com


Appointed Directors - Professional Committee Loris Epis Jon Newnham


Appointed Director - Memberships


Janna Imrie - memberships@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Youth Advisor


Rebecca Nelles - oryha@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Social Media


Alyssa VanKleek - socialmedia@orha.on.ca


Elected Director – Shows Mike Munroe, shows@orha.on.ca


Elected Director Publications Sharon Jones publications@orha.on.ca


With show season on hold and some people not able to see their horses, we decided to focus on two long-standing members of the ORHA, and interview them.


turnarounds; to get smoother and quieter.


Who’s been your greatest influ- ence: all the trainers I’ve worked with. I aim to get at least one thing out of each trainer or clinic.


What have horses done for you? They give me goals, keep me focussed and on-point. Every year I have new goals.


“The funny thing about reining is when it’s really


really good, it looks really really easy”


What’s your earliest experience with horses? My dad bought me a pony


Queenie, who was a typical feisty mare. I’d fall off, get back on again. Then he bought me two unbroke horses, I had to learn all the basics – how to make them move, stop – I was learning on my own. Bridles were made of binder twine, with rope reins. I gave up horses in my mid-teens. I drove race cars for 30+ years, I loved the adrenaline and the ex- citement. I got back into horses in 2000. I bought an older pleas- ure gelding to have fun with.


What drew you to Reining? In 2000, we went to the


Quarter Horse Congress to see what really good pleasure horses are like. Four of us (Dan, his wife Berenice, his brother John and his wife Sharon) drove down, we were there the wrong week. It was Reining week! We knew nothing about reining. We sat there for 2 days and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. There are so many maneu- vers that are physical, things are happening fast; you have to think fast. The horse has to be well trained. We bought a horse at a sale


and called him “Fletcher’s Holly- wood”. The following January we went to a sale in Oklahoma and I bought my first reining horse, a 9-year-old trained mare: Colonel Docs Cocktail. I took her to a trainer and had lessons for a few months. I would ride every night by myself.


Your first Reining show? 2001


in Pickering. Berenice and I went, our trainer


was supposed to meet us there but cancelled. It was pouring rain. We unloaded the horse and got it ready, I rode in the rain, got drenched. I showed the next day, came 2nd in Green As Grass.


Proudest moment: There’s been a lot. World Titles: Reserve 2019 and in 2018 I won World Cham- pion on the same horse – Wimp’s Enterprise. In 2005 I was 7th in the world with Fletcher’s Holly- wood.


Plans for 2020: (Dan’s earned $107k in Reining much to his sur- prise!) Right now, my focus is on


What tip would you give to new reiners? Ride as many horses as you can – it makes you learn! Focus and preparation. Some things you can control and some you can’t. If you go in and it’s not good, either you aren’t prepared or your horse isn’t. Whatever the first manoeuvre is, focus on that before you go in the pen. The Judge will see that move first, you want the judge to see it go smoothly. Make it correct – the judge will pay for correct than for fast.


If you had to pick one


horse: Wimpy’s Tinseltown. Never sat on an animal like him in my life. Everyone who sat on him would tell you the same thing. Always waited for you to tell him what to do. He would give you what you could handle. Wimpy’s Tinseltown was the first Wimpy’s Little Step in the world to win a Lawson in his 3-year-old year.


Joanne Milton, secretary ORHA


“I won by being precise.”


What’s your first memory of horses? My mother swears the first word out of my


mouth was horse. I was 4 or 5 up at my great grandfathers, he


had borrowed a draft horse to plough the garden. At lunchtime the horse was tied to the verandah, us kids took turns climbing from the railing onto the horse. My older brother thought he’d be the hero and take me for a walk – he untied the horse who took 2 steps, my brother dropped the rope and the horse trotted off towards the highway to go home.


When did horses become regular in your life? A friend of my mother called, she knew I al-


ways wanted a horse and they had one her boys had lost interest in. I went to try the horse, came off him but that’s always part of the fun. Rusty was his name, he was 12 - 15. I came to Toronto to take the Horsemanship


course at Humber College. I stayed and made con- tacts in school and ended up in the standardbred industry grooming and training horses.


What drew you into Reining? I knew people across all disciplines. I loved


the precision of reining. I did some reining at the New Liskeard fall fair when I was in high school. I moved onto the farm with John in 1992 (Joanne’s late husband) and I started teaching. John built the barn, I named the farm Rustic Meadows, after my first horse, Rusty. I was given a standard bred mare at


the farm where I worked, I bred her and got Matt who I still have. I was teaching Hunter Jumper as everyone else was too. One day in 1993 I was feeling sorry for myself because I wanted to get into Rein- ing, John bought me a reining trained horse: Cricket Reflection. She was 10


Your first Reining show? 1993 in Guelph. Got a 1 point


penalty for an extra lead change! Cricket and I could do a large fast at a pleasure horse lope and a small slow even slower.


What’s the proudest moment you’ve had? A horse I was grooming and training in NY


he won the race in Battavia, a big race. I was proud of him – MacGilvary was his name


Best horse ever owned: Cricket, hands down. She had everything I wanted in a horse: conformation, talent and temperament.


She was a dream to ride. I bred her but she gave me 8 boys. I got into breeding but had to get out of it because it took me 10 years to get a filly! The best horse with NRHA earning is Vanna


White who is now 34. For me she was a brood horse and lesson horse. She’s only 13.3HH. She’s been an NRHA Non-Pro Reserve Derby Cham- pion, she was in NRHA top ten twice in the youth division. Who’s been the biggest influence to you in your


horse career? Harold MacKinley – standardbred trainer in


the racing hall of fame. I worked for him for 3 years. Talk about patience. He never told you that you did something wrong he’d always suggest a different way.


What have horses done for you in your life? They are my best friends. They’ve seen me


through the ups and downs in my ife they are al- ways there.


Goals for 2020 Survive. Continue working and come back stronger next year.


Connecting the dots! Both Joanne and Dan talked about precision


– and reining is a precise sport. All interviews by Sharon Jones.


Trainers’ Corner Check out the ORHA Facebook page for from the trainers!


weekly video tips


facebook.com/OntarioReiningHorse Also please check the ORHA website for updates on the show season orha.on.ca/


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