News & Events

 

Download a printable version of our 2012 Calendar .

Congratulations to RTES riders on their results from the PEC March Coast to Coast Show!

RTES riders were filmed during their lessons and then their entries were sent to Ontario for judging along with entrants from all across Canada.  RTES entered riders in the equitation classes and placed in every class.  Riders received great comments from the judge, Victoria Andrew, as well as ribbons (1st to 6th place) and prizes (1st to 3rd place).

RTES is very proud of you all!

Click here  to check out the complete results! 

 

Exciting News for the April 15th Fundraiser!

Come help the Richmond Therapeutic Equestrian Society raise funds and awareness for their Therapeutic Riding Program Sunday April 15th and have the chance to meet Ashley Gowanlock, a member of the Canadian Para Equestrian Team, and hear her amazing story.

Ashley Gowanlock was introduced to riding at an age when most of her peers were busy learning how to talk. At just two years old, Ashley was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and she began riding for therapeutic reasons. She quickly discovered a love for equestrian sport for the challenges it presented her and the freedom it afforded her. When she was on the back of a horse, her disability was no longer quite so apparent, and she found that for a short while she could escape a world where she was so often regarded as an outsider. Besides the pleasure that horseback riding gave her, she discovered, as she advanced ever further in her sport of Dressage, that she also thrived on the competition, continually pushing herself to reach the next level.

 Since the 2008 Paralympics, Gowanlock has been training full time and representing her country at countless national and international events. In 2010 she competed in the World Equestrian Games, landing in the top half of her class with her best international show yet.  Her next notable performance was Team Canada’s European tour when they competed in the Hartpury College and Bishop Burton competitions in July 2011 in England. At Bishop Burton only days later, Ashley would enter on two horses; not only DonnyMaskell (owned by Alexander Mitchell – who now competes on a horse purchased from the RTES Program Manager, Erin McRae), the horse she had been competing on for more than three years, but also Ferdonia II, (owned by her teammate Lauren Barwick), a horse that she had ridden only a handful of times before the competition. Despite the challenges, Gowanlock produced fantastic results, winning first place with Ferdonia II and second place with DonnyMaskell in two of her classes, and a first place when she rode only DonnyMaskell in the Freestyle test.

With her eyes on the podium for London 2012, Gowanlock’s next goal is to qualify Ferdonia II (Fergi) as her Paralympic mount. To this regard, Gowanlock has planned a competition intensive trip down to Florida where her teammate and Fergi’s owner, Lauren Barwick currently lives. Gowanlock will ride Fergi in one international and two international shows in Florida in hopes of qualifying her for the Paralympics before the deadline at the end of January 2012.

 At home when her competition schedule is not so intense, besides training, she is involved in her community as both a youth leader and a Sunday school teacher at her local church and also as a spokesperson for a variety of organizations.  Ashley enjoys public speaking because it allows her to share her passion for her sport, to talk about the challenges she faces being a disabled person and, with her courage, to inspire others to overcome obstacles in their own lives.

Join us in helping children with disabilities by attending the `Lead with Your Heart Luncheon’ Sunday April 15th, 2012 at the Executive Airport Plaza & Conference Centre from 10:30am – 1:30pm.  Tickets are $35 per adult or $20 per child (children under 5 are free) and can be purchased by contacting the stables at 604-241-7837 or rtes@shaw.ca.


Hot off the press!

Publications of Interest

  • An article in the Pacific and Prairie Horse Journal (April 2010) about Riley, an RTES rider
  • An article published in the Vancouver Sun in December 2008
  • An article published in the Georgia Straight Newspaper in November 2008
  • An article in the Pacific and Prairie Horse Journal about Richard, another RTES rider
  • An article in the Gaitpost about Stephaney Schneider, an RTES rider