By Nadine Armstrong
The Hants Journal
NovaNewsNow.com
Very little can compare with the grace and beauty of the horse; that delicate balance of strength and elegance that has marked this animal as one of the world’s most beloved creatures.
It’s a ‘love of horses’ that inspires the Can-Am All Breeds Equine Emporium, a tour that aims to inform, entertain and educate. And from May 30 to June 1, the show will come to the Hants County Exhibition Arena in Windsor for the first time. It’s seen as fitting perfectly with the Apple Blossom Festival.
This will be Can-Am’s third annual foray to the Maritimes. The tour has been well received in Eastern Canada and attracts an average of 20,000 visitors per show. Founder and organizer Paul Maguire, who is president of Can-Am Equine Marketing Inc., says the same should prove true in Hants.
In conjunction with the Festival, the Windsor/West Hants Better Living Home Show will join the Can-Am event to combine home and equine trade floor booths and workshops with family-oriented entertainment each evening during the Home Hardware Extravaganza show.
Star-studded entertainment
The well-known Can-Am Extravaganza is a two-hour, star-studded musical tribute to the horse industry, and has dazzled audiences all over Canada. Along with amateur acts, the show will feature some of best equine performers in the world, such as the award-winning Canadian Cowgirls, who are already favourites at the renowned Kentucky Derby and Calgary Stampede.
And anyone who has watched The Lord of The Rings might recognize ‘Blanco,’ who will perform with owner/handler Cynthia Royal. The steed is an international equine superstar since his big screen performance as ‘Shadowfax,’ Gandalf the Wizard’s legendary white horse in the popular film series.
As well, clinician and performer Clay Mayer, best known for his long-reining and driving clinics, will take to the arena with his Friesian Spectacular show.
And what’s a big top event without a clown; ‘Shorty Leggs’ will delight children of all ages.
Maguire said the show isn’t over until every child in the audience has the opportunity to meet the performers and the horses at the end of the night.
Hands-on learning
What sets this tour apart, however, is the hands-on approach, Maguire noted. “We don’t want people to just watch the show; we want them to participate and be part of it.”
To that effect, the same performers who take to the arena at night will share their wisdom and expertise during the day through a series clinics and workshops. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. there will be ongoing one-hour participatory demonstrations from the performers and representatives of the horse industry.
“This is about the love of horses and understanding all breeds,” Maguire said. Equine owners will be invited to bring their horse with them for workshops and potential buyers can get a better idea what breed of horse best suits their lifestyle. “The goal is to promote all components of the Canadian horse industry.”
Maguire pointed out that the event would provide valuable information on horse-raising and the do’s and don’ts of horse buying.
“We are fortunate to have some of the best better living speakers and horse trainers in the world involved with this event,” he said. Maguire has been involved in the horse industry for over 50 years and recognized the unique opportunity to promote the industry while creating a meaningful outlet that would combine education and awareness.
Opportunities for youth
The tour also provides an ideal forum to introduce young people to the industry. Maguire noted that children involved with equine sports are more likely to do well in future endeavours.
“The horse teaches them how to get along with people,” he said. “We think we are the trainers, but really it’s the horse that trains us.”
Maguire pointed out that there are many potential careers in the Canadian horse industry that parents and young people may not be aware of. “If you don’t think there are opportunities in the horse industry, you’re mistaken,” he said.
The tour has involved everyone from CEOs of major racetracks to those cleaning the stalls and everything in-between, he said. “This industry has a place for everyone.”
Good fit for Festival
Can-Am organizers had visited Windsor during last year’s Exhibition to assess its potential on the tour circuit and Maguire said he knew right away it was a perfect fit. “The Annapolis Valley is the horse capital of the Maritimes and this is the one venue that can provide both a professional classroom atmosphere as well as an arena all in one place.”
Windsor tourism coordinator VanEssa Roberts said the Can-Am event married well with this year’s Better Living Home Show and provided an opportunity for Hants County to become more involved with the annual Apple Blossom Festival.
Roberts is excited to have Windsor linked directly with this year’s Festival line-up. To have all three events fall on the same weekend, she said, was ‘synergy.’
She noted, “this gave Windsor the opportunity we were looking for to provide a local entertainment venue for the Apple Blossom Festival.” When the town approached Festival organizers, they were very receptive to including the Can-Am Better Living Home Show event and “the pieces just fell together.”
Roberts added that the joint venture would help draw more people from Metro and other regions to the Valley that weekend, and predicted “this kind of combination will be pretty hard to resist.”
A VIP guest at last year’s Can-Am Extravaganza in Ontario, Roberts said it’s a show not to be missed. “What those horses can do is so amazing.”
Attending the Ontario show also helped to promote what Windsor has to offer, she said. “It was a bit like old home week; there were so many people there from the Maritimes who are involved with the horse industry.”
Although the Extravaganza show sells out quickly, Roberts said it won’t be a ‘one-off’ event. “The Can-Am organizers take this very seriously. I would imagine this show would be in town again.” All the same, the show could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Maguire said no one will be disappointed. In fact, the show has even inspired more than one set of nuptials. “We’ve actually had horse lovers meet at a Can-Am event and a year later get married during the show.”
Tickets for all Can-Am Better Living Home Show events are on sale now at the Exhibition Arena, Home Hardware and the Town of Windsor office. For more information about the Can-Am Equine Emporium, go to
www.canamequine.ca
