APRIL 2023 THE RIDER /37 Ottawa Area Dressage Group 2023 Hall Of Fame Inductees Don Barnes


(1941 - 2022) Inducted in 2023 Nominated by: Cathy Gordon , David Rosensweig Don Barnes was a prominent figure in the


Canadian dressage community. He passed away Oct. 19, 2022 after suffering a lengthy battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. He was a rider, judge, volunteer, show organizer and educator. In fact, it seems there is nothing that he hadn’t done for the sport. He was involved in dressage in


commitment” to dressage, and again in 2011, as the recipient of the Yvonne Collard Award which rec- ognized his lifetime contribution to the sport.1 Don’s parting message after stepping down as


President of CADORA ON: “For me, it has been both a pleasure and an honour to serve as your Pres- ident for so many years and to provide me with the chance to meet so many of you in various parts of the province. It’s been quite a ride...but now...it’s time to head back to the barn.”


Heather Snipper


(1956 - 2022) Inducted in 2023 Nominated by: Anne Galt , Cathy Gordon , Ron King


Heather Lynn Snipper , aged 66, passed away


October 12, 2022 peacefully in the home of a fam- ily member after a year long difficult battle with pancreatic cancer. Ottawa’s horse community suffered a huge loss with the passing of Heather Snipper. Heather


was an icon, as was Dewmont Farms, which she built over 25 years ago in the small community of Ashton, ON. Over the years, many horses and rid- ers passed through Dewmont’s doors - from ama- teurs to competitors, hunt riders to pony clubbers, all were welcomed. Owners, riders and competitors enjoyed the well manicured grounds, whether for lessons, personal riding or the many horse shows


Heather organized each year. Heather was a huge supporter of equestrian


sport. She hosted many hunter-jumper and dressage shows at Dewmont, and opened her land for use by the Ottawa Valley Hunt. Heather contributed many hours to the


OADG, holding several positions in her time as a board member. Even after leaving a formal position on the board, Heather continued to extend her hos- pitality, hosting the OADG show organizers meet- ing each year in her home. We always enjoyed good snacks and lively discussions, always sprinkled with humor and bits of choice horse gossip. Heather had an effect on everyone she met.


So many have fond memories of Heather’s sense of humour. One of her particular favourite things to do was talk to staff and boarders over the inter- com from the house to the barn. She also loved to ‘scare’ people with tales of Barbara, Dewmont’s friendly ghost. Heather loved Hallowe’en and hosted many costume parties over the years.


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Canada since the beginning. In the 1970s, Don rode and gave lessons at Concordia Stables in the Hamilton area. According to former students, his favourite exercise was organizing quadrilles, which often ended in chaos, and no doubt a lot of laughter. While at Concordia, Don travelled to Germany to buy a horse, whom he aptly named Next Exit, because it seemed that the sales barn was always the “next exit” off the Autobahn. Un- fortunately,“Tex” never made it to the higher lev- els of dressage due to navicular. He turned to judging, working his way


through the levels to EC senior dressage judge by the 1990s. Don travelled throughout Canada and the US, while holding down a full-time position at Mohawk College as an ESL (English as Second Language) teacher and department head. Don re- tired from Mohawk in the early 2000s, but he never retired from judging or volunteering. Don was president of CADORA Inc (CAna-


dian Dressage Owners & Riders Association: the national body, which at one time oversaw all dres- sage competitions in Canada) from the mid 1990s until 2020. He was the editor of the CADORA Omnibus, the test booklet distributed annually to members, containing the most recent USDF/EC dressage tests. He founded and organized CADORA’s annual “Build a Better Dressage Horse” Symposia with FEI 5* Dressage judge Stephen Clarke (UK), which continue to run in two parts of the country over two weekends in September/October every year. As president of CADORA Ontario, a posi-


tion he held at the same time as the president of CADORA Inc, Don organized the Silver Dres- sage Championships each year, as well as the An- nual General Meeting and Awards Banquet, which recognized the winners with fabulous prizes—picked out and paid for by Don person- ally, who never sought reimbursement. In the 1990s, when the internet was just a toddler, Don held in-person show organizer meetings to com- pile a list of shows for the following season, en- suring there were no or very few show conflicts. As one of the founders and long-time area


representative of Glanbrook CADORA (a local group), Don organized “Educate your eye” judg- ing clinics, and in the early days, trips to the Mon- treal and Los Angeles Olympics to watch the dressage competitions. Don was committed to the grass roots.


When Dressage/Equine Canada prohibited the use of the USDF tests at schooling competitions due to copyright restrictions, Don wrote and pub- lished CADORA tests, which were—and still are—free of charge for competition organizers and riders to use, ensuring the continuation of schooling competitions. These tests have also been widely used for online schooling competi- tions since the pandemic began. The Ontario Equestrian Federation (now


Ontario Equestrian) twice recognized Don’s ded- ication and contribution to dressage in Ontario. In 2005, Don received the “People Make a Dif- ference Award” for his “selfless and passionate


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