DECEMBER 2025 THE RIDER /13


Joanne Milton receives 2025 Erin Agricultural Society Horse Industry Hall of Fame Award


By Karen Dallimore. Joanne Milton has been ho-


noured as the recipient of the 2025 Erin Agricultural Society Horse Industry Hall of Fame award. Presented annually at the Erin Fair, the award is given for significant contributions to the equine sector, including commu- nity involvement, breed develop- ment, mentorship and leadership. When asked where her love


of horses began, Joanne said her mother told her that her first word was ‘horse’. “Some people are born to it,” she said with a shy grin. Raised in Englehart, On- tario, a railway town 120 miles north of North Bay, her early equine education involved hang- ing out with her friends and their ponies, riding together while comparing notes from books they’d read. There weren’t any lessons available. An insatiable reader, locals


weren’t surprised to see her first horse, Rusty, tied regularly to the stair rail at the local library or grazing on the nearby football field while the avid rider and reader devoured every horse book she could get her hands on. Graduating high school as


an Ontario scholar, while every- one suggested pursuing math at university, it was the mention of Humber College by one of her grade 11 teachers that made her ears perk up. She remembers thinking, “You can actually go to


of her equine career, Joanne was the first Canadian


to earn


college for this?” That sealed her fate. Her horse, Rusty, made the trip to Humber with her. There were riding lessons on the cur- riculum, but it was the network- ing opportunities that made the biggest difference to her equine career. After graduating with hon-


ours from Humber College in 1977, she worked for Standard- bred trainer Harold McKinley, eventually obtaining her Stan- dardbred Trainer’s License. An- other two years were spent as the stable manager with the Commu- nity Association for Riding for the Disabled (CARD). At one point, she was con-


vinced to get a ‘real job’ as col- lections clerk for Bank of Montreal Credit Card Services, eagerly returning to the horse in-


dustry after a brief two-year of- fice misadventure, to work for Standardbred trainer Larry La- combe, then Don Furness DVM, Standardbred Racetrack Veteri- narian. Working with horses was all that made sense. From her farm, Rustic


Meadows, established in 1992 near Hillsburgh with her hus- band, John Binnie, Joanne started breeding horses there with ‘ath- letic ability, trainability and longevity’, the same philosophy she carries to her coaching. “It’s a place of learning,” said Joanne. In 1996, she earned her


Equine Canada Western Coach- ing Certification, teaching stu- dents


in Hunter, Western


Performance, Reining and Sidesaddle. On the administration side


Judge/Instructor certifi- cation in the World Sidesaddle Federation Inc. She’s currently sec- retary of the Rockwood Trail Riders, where she has been on the board since 1991, serving 12 of those years as Presi- dent. Since 1993, she’s been on the Ontario Reining Horse Associa- tion Board of Directors, currently as Secretary, and in 2010, was a founding member of the Ontario Sidesaddle As- sociation, where she is currently Treasurer. In the community, Joanne


led the Erin 4-H Horse Club from 1985 through 1995, taking 4-H to the Royal Winter Fair one year for the Provincial Champi- onships. At Erin Fair time, if she’s not showing, you’ll usually find Joanne doing demos in rein- ing and sidesaddle or in the Equine Tent, letting horse-crazy kids ‘paint’ her mare, Vanna White, whose white colour pro- vided a natural canvas for cre- ativity. In the sidesaddle, you’ll see


Joanne wearing elaborate cos- tumes and show shirts that she’s made for herself. She learned to sew in home economics in high


school, where her teacher would criticize her ‘big horsie stitches’, but she’s since taught herself to read a pattern, and, she smiles, sometimes even follow it. She led the 4-H quilting club at one time. As a mentor, Joanne contin-


ues to expose her students and colleagues to the wonders of horse showing, something which goes beyond the ribbons: “It’s about learning to be a graceful winner or loser,” a place to com- pare yourself to others to learn from them. She encourages peo- ple to get involved behind the scenes too, as volunteers or scribes, taking the opportunity to learn from judges and organizers. As she steps back to reflect


on her equine career, she sees that the books she used to read in the li- brary have now been re- placed with internet resources. She cautions newcomers to beware of gimmicks and quick fixes, since nothing will replace experience to make you a horseman. Humber College no longer has an equine program but there are similar offerings at Olds College in Alberta and at Ohio State and Texas A&M Universities, but apprenticeship is still a viable option to learn about the industry. Clubs are struggling with


changing demographics, evolv- ing into an instant gratification mentality where it’s getting harder to find people to give back. “We need to get back to a family-type atmosphere,” sug- gested Joanne, where parents and friends become involved, all pitching in to re-kindle the team- work that it takes to keep the clubs alive. Joanne continues to call


Rustic Meadows home, coaching and mentoring the next genera- tion of equine enthusiasts to carry the torch, inspiring and encourag- ing others to get involved in the equine industry in any way they can.


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