16/ JULY 2023 THE RIDER 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


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/ Sponsorships Loris Epis


Elected Director - Memberships


Samantha Speed - memberships@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Youth Advisor


Rebecca Nelles - oryha@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Media/Marketing


Alyssa VanKleek - socialmedia@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Print Media/Show Support


Ashley Janzen - ashleyjjanzen@gmail.com


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


ORHA Futurity Program and an interview with Melia Blakely


By Ashley Janzen Show season is now in full swing, and it won’t be long until


our final event is upon us! The ORHA Grand Finale, Futurity, & Derby will be held at Fletcher’s Horse World in Waterford, Ontario from September 15-17th, and is one of the year’s highlights. Ontario has hosted a Reining Futurity for over 30 years, and


the program has evolved to reflect the changing times. The current ORHA Futurity program continues to promote the breeding, training, and showing of reining horses, without restrictions regarding where the horse was bred or raised, or where owners reside. Nominated


Some Stats…


these horses are currently yearlings, so won’t show until their 2- year-old year, but it is interesting to note that this year marked the highest number of enrollments out of the gate (by the deadline)!


which translates into 40 horses eligible to be shown in the 2-year- old Prospect class! There are 32 nominated horses who were born in 2022 –


which means there are 37 horses eligible to run in the 3-year-old Futurity! There are 40 nominated horses who were born in 2021 –


There are 46 nominated horses who were born in 2018 and 36 in 2019 – this means there are currently 82 horses aged 4 and 5 who are qualified to run in the Derby! There are 37 nominated horses who were born in 2020 –


has a farm in Coldwater. She began her riding career on the APHA circuit, competing in all around events, and also dabbled in hunter ponies, but got hooked on reining fairly early on. In 2012, Melia started to focus on Futurities with her first


horses are eligible to compete in a 2-year-old Prospect class, a 3- year-old Futurity class and a 4-5-6-7-year-old Derby class. 4-7-year-old Derby horses must be shown one-handed, but 3-


year-old Futurity horses may be shown one- or two-handed in any legal bridle. They will run an NRHA pattern. As for the 2-year- olds…they’re a little different: The goal is to exhibit 2-year-old horses, paid up in the ORHA


Futurity program, in a fashion that promotes soundness, both phys- ical and emotional potential, and athletic ability – everything you’d want to see if you were going to look for a reining prospect. Horses are shown on the rail, with forward motion at the walk, jog, and lope in both directions, plus a back-up without resistance. Horses should exhibit good cadence and demonstrate control and willingness. The Futurity is an exciting event, not only because it is an op-


Added Monies


(in Canadian funds, + percentage of entry fees) 2-Year Old Prospect: $1000 Added


3-Year-Old Futurity


Open Level 4 $6736.76* Open Level 1 $1351.35 Non Pro Level 4 $4054.05* Non Pro Level 1 $1351.35


4-5-6-7-Year-Old Derby


Open Level 4 $2702.70 Open Level 1 $675.68** Non-Pro Level 4 $1351.35 Non-Pro Level 1 $675.68**


*Open and Non-Pro Level 4 3-Year-Old Futurity winners also win gorgeous Continental trophy saddles, graciously sponsored by G&K Training Centre & Tack!


**Open & Non-Pro Level 1 4-5-6-7-Year-Old Derby classes are sponsored classes, courtesy of Dareth Miller and Pharmalink


Additionally, prizes are provided by generous sponsors including:


Matt & Samantha Speed of Erie Wind Stables and SS Perform- ance Kelly Plitz


Unity Pad The Goodness Project


this list is ongoing!


portunity to showcase the development of talented young horses, but also because it offers significant payouts to exhibitors.


Our 2022 Futurity & Derby saw the following winners: The 2-Year Old Prospect class was won by Barbara Bouchard


of Quebec and ML El Condor Pasa, owned by Heather Ruthven. Open Level 1 and 4 Derby co-champions were Chet Martin and


Like My Whiskey, owned by Cara Brown, and Elizabeth Adamson and Ebony Sparkles, owned by Jeff Dunwoody. Non-Pro Level 1 Derby co-champions were Michelle Mailhot


and Whos On Juice, and Jaimy McDonald on Crome Capone. Non-Pro Level 4 went to Todd Sherrer on Charlotte’s Code,


owned by Dareth Miller. And in an exciting sweep, all divisions of the 3-Year-Old Fu- turity were won by Melia Blakely and her horse Northern Shine.


I caught up with Melia to talk about her Futurity Experience… Melia lives in Hawkestone, Ontario, and works as a Commu-


nicative Disorders Assistant, supporting preschool and kindergarten- aged children who have speech and language challenges. Her family


Epis, who worked with him for the next 2 years (and counting - Cerb (now known as Clint) and new owner Michelle Seip are clients of Loris, as well!). Loris encouraged Melia to be as hands on as possi- ble, so she would go and ride once or twice a week to ensure that she and Cerb were working together as a team. Along their journey, Melia discovered some quirky things about


Cerb. “Oh my gosh, Cerb IS the stressful moment!” she laughed. Cerb’s reaction to change is to break out in hives. It scared her the


Continued on Page 17.


worried - there were a lot of huge changes in his life in a short time! Luckily, Melia’s sister, Aidan, is an incredible horsewoman, and took over getting him handled and started for her. She did all the ground- work, taught him how to work over different mountain trail obsta- cles, plus all the regular horse things - how to tie, pick up feet, live in a stall, etcetera. Aidan started him under saddle in the fall of 2020, and then was turned out for a few months to grow up. Aidan put a few rides on Cerb before Melia sent him to Loris


homebred horse. In 2020, Melia purchased Northern Shine (affec- tionately known as Cerb - ask her about that story!) as a long year- ling from John and Sharon Fletcher, feeling good about him because she’d always gotten along well with Wimpy’s Tinseltown babies. Huge supporters of ORHA, John and Sharon had already nominated Cerb for the ORHA Futurity, so Melia was all set! When Cerb first arrived home to Melia’s farm, he seemed pretty


first time it happened, but then it happened every single time they went somewhere new, she used a different type of bedding, a new horse came into the barn, and so on. “He’s a little dramatic. He also is the KING of getting cast. I mean, several times a day, regardless of the size or shape of his stall…he just has no sense of spatial awareness. In getting cast, he pulled shoes CONSTANTLY so I was always worried the morning of a class when I went out to saddle: will he be wearing two shoes? Who knows! A fun surprise.” Cerb and Melia debuted in the 2-Year-Old Prospect class at the


2021 ORHA Futurity, and he was calm, confident, and well behaved, placing 3rd. Melia thinks the Prospect class is a great way to get a horse experience in the show ring, with- out pressure. The pair had a


few successful shows under their belt prior to the 2022 ORHA Futu- rity, so the pressure was on. Melia didn’t want to let Cerb, Loris, her family, or any of the ORHA members who were rooting for them down. But he was incredible. “He stayed right with me the entire pattern…he felt so tuned in to me, it really was an amaz- ing feeling,” Melia re- called. Walking out of the arena, Melia knew that no matter what happened, she and Cerb had both done their best - and then some. Melia heralds the ORHA Futurity as an incredibly well-run and


well-put together show, and hopes to repeat her successful experi- ence again in the future. Right now, she’s taking a couple of years off. She has a yearling colt by Spooks Gotta Spark out of her Tin- seltown Gal mare (Wimpy’s Tinseltown X Roosters Royal Gal) who


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