A homegrown equestrian event appears to be a hit with competitors.
Horses and riders from Eastern Canada and the United States were in Jemseg, N.B., on Saturday for the second day of the Foshay International horse trials.
It is the first international competition of its kind in the Maritimes. Eventing combines cross country, dressage and show jumping.
The competition was created by New Brunswick Olympian Rob Stevenson as a way to expose more people in Atlantic Canada to the sport.
“The idea is to draw young people in to see the sport,” said Stevenson. “They may be interested in horses before now or this may be their first exposure … and then they get an idea.
“From there your dreams can soar to wherever you might want to go, and that could be Olympic dreams for some of our young people.”
Saturday was cross country day. Cross country has rider and horse galloping through fields and jumping over obstacles, like fallen logs.
The land where the horses galloped has been in the Stevenson family for generations. It is where Rob Stevenson learned to ride.
“The sport has been very good to me,” said Stevenson.
Since competing at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Stevenson has been looking for ways to give back to his community.
Top-level event
Team Canada rider Waylon Roberts of Toronto attended the event to help move him, and horse Wil Celtic Charlie, up the rankings toward qualifying for the 2020 Olympics.
“This is the first level of international competition and it’s necessary to go up the ranks until you’re at the highest level,” said Roberts.
Both Roberts’ parents have competed at the Olympics. Roberts travels the world for the sport and is competing every weekend during the season.
He believes the event in Jemseg has the potential to be a great international competition.
“This is on par with some of the best in the world,” said Roberts. “Once this gets rolling and gets some momentum over the next few years I think it’s going to be very popular on the circuit.
“I’m looking forward to next year and coming back with a whole bunch more horses.”
Thirty-one riders and 36 horses are on the roster for the event. Stevenson had hoped to get 50 people to sign up, but hopes it will grow in the coming years.
“This will be an annual event that people can count on here in this part of the world, Labour Day weekend, for the next 20 years,” he said.
