2/ DECEMBER 2020 THE RIDER


Peter Van Eerd Continued from Page 1.


Originally, Pete had a


talent for riding jumpers as well as dressage. Not too long after being in Canada, he acquired a horse he called Popcorn. Now this horse could jump! He took Popcorn to a big show with sponsored prize money up for grabs. After his class was finished, Pete came in sec- ond. Somebody said that he could have won that class and Pete’s response was, “first place only had a big trophy but second and third had cash money and I needed the money!” Peter was working


around the Galt area (Cam- bridge) when he thought he would like to try western horse riding and the rodeos. He met up with a couple of


in Hespeler. One evening Arch got a call from Bill Glavin. Peter was at his place all busted up and Dusty was dead. Archie picked up Kufske and they quickly drove to Glavin’s house. They asked, “Who the heck is Dusty?” It was Pete’s horse. When arriving, the ambulance was heading to the hospital with Pete on board. Pete was loping across an open pasture and went over a downed fence line. Dusty flipped over and broke his neck and landed on Peter, smashing him to pieces. After a day or two in the hospital, the doctors did- n’t give Peter much of a chance to make it. Then with both Archie and Leroy in the room, the priest came in to give him his last rights. But then the “grit and wit” that we all came to know, surfaced. Peter said to the


Jesus with a thief on each side of me.” Peter competed in a lot of rodeos in his early days along with Archie and Leroy and long-time


friend,


George Hewitt. Pete won the All-Around Champion Cowboy buckle in the early 1960’s. Of all the champi- onship buckles that he won, that was the only one I ever saw him wear. He was proud of it. He was the All- Around Champion Cowboy. In the early 1970’s, the


Appaloosa shows were big shows and Pete just hap- pened to have a real good one, Bimbo’s Velvet. I don’t know how many All- Around Championships he won with that horse. They were the team to beat and if and when you beat him, you knew you worked hard to earn it. A lot of riders and horses got a lot better on the road to beat Peter. In that same time, the


cowboys, Archie McArthur and Leroy Kufske, and they became life-long friends. He was living at Archie’s place


priest, “wait, I want Archie on one side and Leroy on the other side. If I am going to die, I want to die like


WHAO were the biggest shows going – way bigger than the Quarter Horse shows then. Pete had a rough looking, grade buck- skin he called Buckshot. That horse could run hard and slide far with just a ring snaffle. Of course, Bimbo’s specialty was reining, and the reining class had be- come so popular that it was the highlight at every show.


There were such great rein- ers like Leroy Kufske, Joe Farren, Don Waugh, Claire Smith, Larry McDougall, Dale Wakefield, Dale Purdy, Peter Van Eerd and even me. The reining got tough! Peter bought a really


nice Quarter Horse stallion named Baldy Chub and again, he made this one a top All Around performance horse. By this time, the fall fairs, WHAO and Mid Western Horseman’s Soci- ety were all big events and paid good prize money. Pete had 3 really good show horses and as always – Pete needed the money. The only problem was that he only had a 2-horse trailer. What problem? I remember see- ing Pete pull into the show with Baldy Chub and Buck- shot side by side and Bimbo crossways in the front. Only Pete could do that! In the 1980’s the horse


business was booming again with a new market in Eu- rope. I needed an indoor for the winter, but one with enough stalls to take 10 or 12 horses. Guess what? Pete needed the money! I moved down to Bothwell and lived in the apartment above the barn. And nothing doing, that beautiful Ronnie fed me twice a day. That’s just the way she was. I remember sitting in front of that wood


stove, drinking tea and soaking in all that knowl- edge that he had acquired over the years of training and owning so many horses. Peter could think like a horse, but he could also make his horses think like him.


Skip ahead a few more


years and Pete bought a young Quarter Horse stal- lion named Impressive Rey. The Impressives were not


too popular for rid- ing horses, but guess what? Peter made Rey into one of the best All Around perform- ance horses in the country, winning several All-Around championships. As well, Rey could eas- ily do a Dressage pattern and had a whole routine of tricks that Pete had taught him. One my most memorable moments of Peter was him showing in the Freestyle Rein-


ing at Quarterama with Rey. Dressed as a Royal Cana- dian Mountie on his black horse, he performed to Tiny Tim’s “Tip toe through the Tulips.” He not only won the class, but he brought the house down to a long, stand- ing ovation. This guy is a horse trainer. For several years now,


Peter has been living in a re- tirement home. My good friend and Peter’s too, Jess


Cofell and I go to visit as often as we can and I know our old friend, Alan Pickard also visits often. Just before this past Christmas, Jess, George Hewitt and myself took some old stories and photos from the Rider and left them for Peter. You should have seen the sparkle in his eyes. This Covid situ- ation has made it almost im- possible to visit in person. If you are an old friend of Peter’s, send him a card or an old photo or a story. He has wonderful nurses and at- tendants who are kind enough to read them to him. It would make his day.


Peter Van Eerd c/o Meadow Park Chatham 110 Sandy Street Chatham, ON N7L 4X3


P.S. If you have a friend or loved one in this situation, send them a card and let them know you are thinking of them.


Ontario Horse Racing Online Courses Survey 2.0


You told us – We built it – What’s next?


Racing Survey 2020


Guelph, ON Nov, 10, 2020 - As the 2019- 20 “Ontario Training Pilot Project for the Horse Racing Industry” draws to comple- tion at year-end, Equine Guelph is launch- ing a survey to hear from the industry, “How did we do? What do you want to learn next?” Equine Guelph is calling on stakeholders from the racing industry to provide feedback. In 2016, Equine Guelph conducted a


major Ontario Horse Racing Industry Sur- vey and learned over 70% of the respon- dents agreed that the industry would benefit from education/training opportunities for both grooms and trainers. The top three health issues of concern were: #1 – respi- ratory issues, #2 – injuries, #3 – gut issues. As a result, Equine Guelph developed three free racing-exclusive online courses on TheHorsePortal.ca/RacingPilot as part of the AGCO-funded “Ontario Training Pilot Project for the Ontario Horse Racing Indus- try”. Over 800 AGCO licence holders have registered for racing-exclusive and general course offerings and their testimonials are coming in with rave reviews.


So What’s Next? – We want to Hear from YOU again! Testimonials are wonderful but


Equine Guelph wants to hear from the broader Ontario horse racing industry re- garding their current views on the impor- tance of industry training. Are there more topics of interest the industry would like to see developed? Comple- tion of an online short course is not a prerequi- site for taking the survey. Equine Guelph would like your thoughts for potential new online courses. We also want to know if there are impor- tant topics from the cur- rent course outlines that merit further develop- ment or topics the racing industry would like to see added to curricu- lums? “Equine Guelph is


dedicated to serving the horse industry and we thank all the partners that


have enabled the racing community to try out flexible, online learning on The Horse Portal,” says Gayle Ecker, Equine Guelph director, “We are eager to hear more input form the racing industry and receive further direction on industry needs.” The survey consists of 20 questions


and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The survey will remain open from November 10 - January 20. At the end of the questionnaire, participants will have the chance to enter a draw for $50 Tim Hor- ton cards (10 prizes available). Have your say and tell us how we are doing and what is next. Take the Ontario Horse Racing In- dustry Survey today! Equine Guelph thanks the Alcohol


and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for providing education, training and awareness project funding in support of AGCO licensees. Project partners in- clude: Central Ontario Standardbred Asso- ciation, The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario, Ontario Harness Horse Association, Quarter Racing Owners of Ontario Inc. and Standardbred Canada.


About Equine Guelph: Equine Guelph is the horse owners’


and care givers’ Centre at the University of Guelph in Canada. It is a unique partner- ship dedicated to the health and well-being of horses, supported and overseen by equine industry groups. Equine Guelph is the epicentre for academia, industry and government - for the good of the equine in- dustry as a whole. For further information, visit www.equineguelph.ca. Story by: Equine Guelph


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