Enlighten me!

Maple Leaf

Maple Leaf

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10 October 2010
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Well I have recently moved here from Canada, and I'm wanting some insight into the competition scene over here.
I competed in Canada and the United States in hunters, jumpers, and equitation. I understand that things are very different over here and I'm wondering if someone can give me the run down!
Basically, in Canada, we have three main types of enlish showing: Eventing, hunter/jumper, and dressage. I've tried a little bit of everything, but really love medals/equitation. I would love to try my hand at some new things over here, though... so tell me everything and anything!

Oh and because I am so proud of my little mare, I'll brag with a few shots. This is my little baby mare. I bought her as an unbroke 4 year old, she won be a national scholarship for being one of the ten top junior riders across Canada, and then placed in provincial finals... she did everything and anything. She was a hot, sensitive ride, but would do anything for me! The one picture is from a medal class and the other was from a hunter class.

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I think Working hunters would be your cup of tea, and your looks like she would be very good at it too (did you bring her over?). Strange that we don't have equitation classes over here (only at very low level really).
If you do Working hunter (WH) you will have to get all the 'weird' hunting gear- we're very fashion orientated over here, lol :P
p.s Going to Canada myself in May, can't wait! :)
 
Welcome to blighty and HHO Maple Leaf!

Well... where to start! Not sure how things compare to over in Canada so excuse if I am telling you stuff you already know!)

Most of the posts you will see on this part of the HHO Forum will be about Eventing (3 phase over 1,2 or 3 days) which involves doing dressage, show jumping and cross country (solid fixed fences); Dressage - speaks for itself I think; and show jumping again speaks for itself.

We have 2 types of each of these events - affiliated, where you need to be a full or temporary member of British Eventing BE, British Dressage BD, or British Show Jumping (BSJA) and then we have unaffiliated events which are run by local/independent equestrian centres (show jumping, dressage etc) or sometimes by landowners themselves (see hunter trials, which are basically just the cross country phase of eventing).

You will also see quite a few posts about showing, but I have failed to mention them thus far because it's the area I know least about. But (correct me if I'm wrong showing people) horses are either competed against each other by job type e.g. working hunter classes, side-saddle classes etc; or by breed type such as welsh section A; arab etc etc - though it sounds like you do this in Canada anyway.

Am sure I've missed out some major things so others can fill in my gaps, but hope this helps a bit!!
 
*bimbles off to find the link to a recent thread we had which may/may not be of interest/use*

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=8999510#post8999510

When we came over my daughter had to learn how to ride 'English' again, and as I bought made western horses I gave up on the English lark and learned to ride western, my poor horses were very patient with me ;) The whole way of horsekeeping here was/is a huge learning curve, so different, so were the horses! I'd never seen a living, breathing QH before, now I have them all over the place.

I have just been offered the ride on a jumper for next season, as the owners are used to competing hunter jumper I have told them not to expect the sort of style they are used to! "Just get the horse over the jumps in the time!" was their reply.
 
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hi and welcome! The best person to ask is probably TarrSteps, she might see this thread hopefully or otherwise you could send her a pm. She is Canadian and competed a lot over there, but has been here a while now and knows the ropes.
Have you brought your lovely mare over with you? How big is she? Pls can I ask how old you are? These will affect the sorts of things you might want to do over here, maybe.
 
enfys said:
For good?:)
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And where? :)

To the OP . . . howdy! I'm your resident transplanted Canadian greeter. What would you like to know? :)

Alas, no Medals/Eq or at least not anything you'd recognise as such. The closest would be Working Hunters, same-ish basic idea to what you're used to but quite different requirements, turn out etc. Show jumping is relatively close in principle, eventing and dressage probably more so.

Are you most recently from BC? The way things work here is probably SLIGHTLY closer to what you're used to (although I haven't showed in BC literally for decades - I went to Queen Margaret's, on the Island - so things have likely moved on somewhat) than in Ontario. But there are a few things that will make you raise your eyebrows! ;)

Oh, and I'm going back for The Royal so if you're desperate for something Canadian you didn't know you'd miss until you got here (Cheezies, Tim Horton's coffee, Practical Horseman, proper bandaging cottons . . .) let me know and I'll see what I can do. :)

Welcome!
 
I'm not sure how to take that . . . ;)

Anyway, I'm probably more like Sasquatch, always around, keeping an eye out, but you don't always see me. (That's a Canadian joke to the rest of you.)
 
Mmm . . . Tim Horton's chicken crack sandwiches . . . ! :) Although I'm more of a Country Style coffee person myself. :)

Note to Maple Leaf - don't even bother looking for a drive thru coffee shop here, you'll only be disappointed. :(
 
TarrSteps said:
Mmm . . . Tim Horton's chicken crack sandwiches . . . ! :) Although I'm more of a Country Style coffee person myself. :)

Note to Maple Leaf - don't even bother looking for a drive thru coffee shop here, you'll only be disappointed. :(
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Okay, the coffee's pretty rubbish, but:
Good things about the U.K. compared to Canada.
Not very cold in winter. (no skiing though, and the whole country grinds to a halt if there's 1/2" of snow... although you won't believe this until you see it.)
No bears.
No wolves.
Ummm...
nice people... ;) ;)
 
Drive through coffee shop????????????? This has got to be the next best invention (after heated indoor arenas).

Do they really exist? Are they common, as in, every town or so has got its own drive through coffee shop? Like a McDonalds McDrive but with coffee? And the million Canadian dollar question, is the coffee good??

Please reply carefully as if the answer is 'yes' to all of the above I might emigrate. Again.

OP, welcome to Europe, I hope you won't find it too much of a shock, especially the lack of heated indoor arenas ;)
 
FrodoBeutlin said:
Drive through coffee shop????????????? This has got to be the next best invention (after heated indoor arenas).

Do they really exist? Are they common, as in, every town or so has got its own drive through coffee shop? Like a McDonalds McDrive but with coffee? And the million Canadian dollar question, is the coffee good??

Please reply carefully as if the answer is 'yes' to all of the above I might emigrate. Again.

OP, welcome to Europe, I hope you won't find it too much of a shock, especially the lack of heated indoor arenas ;)
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^^ That's her teasing me, btw. If you're from the West coast you'll never have seen such a thing.

Better get packing!!!

We're not talking every town, we're talking EVERY corner. All exits off the highway, downtown strips, near shopping malls - if there are cars there are drive thrus. GOOD coffee, a plethora of donut varieties, sandwiches etc etc all available from the warmth/air conditioned splendour and convenience of your car. And some of them even give out dog biscuits!

Tim Horton's, Country Style (a rivalry of loyalty second only to football teams), Coffee Time (yuck) and various local options. Not to mention just about any fast food chain around. . . . And cups like buckets, or "free fill up" thermos cups in the chain (again, loyalty is all) of your choice.

Mmmmmm . . . . I go straight from the airport. :)
 
FB, i think it's an Equine Myth, because the first time I heard about heated indoor arenas, I was told they were in Germany... ;) ;)
Hartpury has roof heaters in its big new indoor, fwiw. aimed at the spectators not the riders really though! tbh i wouldn't care how cold it was, as long as it was dry i'd warm up prety fast (like skiing!) i'd still be scared of wolves and bears though...
 
Thanks for all the replies! And thanks for making me even more home sick... what I wouldn't give for a large french vanilla timmies and a plain old fashioned doughnut! Or... a pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin scone from Starbucks!!!
Although I did notice the Canada store in London had cans of Timmies coffee...
Anyway, no I sadly did not bring my mare with me. She went to a wonderful new kid in Canada who spoils her to death. She goes on frequent rides to the beach and is living in horsey heaven :) Couldn't ask for a better home, but it was pretty heartbreaking!
I really want to try my hand at hunting.. and definitely want to do some more eventing!
I did just relocate from BC. I would love love love to find a share on a horse I could compete. It's strange, because I am from the horse capital of BC, and there were SO many barns around. I thought Devon would be similar but it seems most people simply have their own horse!
Oh and for whoever was asking... I'm 24.
 
dominobrown said:
enfys and Tarrsteps- I am going for most of may, to the west coast, though I do want to see more of Canada. What about HHO's meet up in Canada in May?
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:D I'd love to, but I live on the other side of the country! Smallish hike of a couple thousand miles;) I am about an hour and a half South West of Toronto, an hour-ish out of London. If you are near Toronto though...

Are you just going on vacation, or having a bit of a recce?

Bandit who used to be on here moved to Vancouver a while ago.

We spent a month in BC deciding whether we would like to live in Canada, I loved the area around Whistler and Penticton, but some bits of BC were a bit OTT for us, Kamloops etc too dry (funnily enough my best friend's (here in ON) OH grew up on an 80,000 acre ranch in Kamloops), we LOVED Vancouver Island though, but somehow we ended up in flat old Ontario;) Maybe one day we'll relocate.
 
kerilli said:
FB, i think it's an Equine Myth, because the first time I heard about heated indoor arenas, I was told they were in Germany... ;) ;)
Hartpury has roof heaters in its big new indoor, fwiw. aimed at the spectators not the riders really though! tbh i wouldn't care how cold it was, as long as it was dry i'd warm up prety fast (like skiing!) i'd still be scared of wolves and bears though...
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we have heated arenas here in russia... oh, and heated stables!! You don't have to set foot outside either (to avoid stepping in 4 feet of snow), just take the horse straight from the stables and in to the indoor arenas, which will all be set to 18 degrees.

Have a look - it even has a restaurant around the outside, with comfy lounge chairs :)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5666065&l=2bc738f52f&id=510246974

and

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5666065&l=2bc738f52f&id=510246974
 
cobden99 said:
FigJam ! I was doing ok until you said that. I go to Canada every year - mmmm, french vanilla Timmies and chocolate Timbits.... The bagels are pretty good too
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Our closest Timmies is 10 miles away:( but people still drive that for a coffee! 10 miles - nothing. One of my lovely Boarders always brings me FV every day:D Medium box of timbits doesn't even make the journey home!:o

Maple Leaf, I hope you don't mind me asking, whereabouts (nearest large town will do) are you in Devon? I know the wife of a MFH who has quality hirelings if you wanted to try hunting UK style.
 
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