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This book, published in two editions, was the first comprehensive riding book of its kind to offer information on riding instruction and stables in the Ottawa area. Elaine Kenney's Articles Elaine's articles have appeared in numerous national, regional and local periodicals and newspaper including The Beaver, CAA Journey Magazine, The Ottawa Citizen, The Montreal Gazette, The Vancouver Sun, The Hamilton Spectator, Western People, Canadian Horseman, Horse Sport, Horse and Country, Show Trail, Pacific Horse, Horses All, Alberta Beef Magazine, Diplomat and International (Ottawa), Newswest (Ottawa) and The Clarion (Ottawa). Subjects include stories with a strong human interest angle, travel destinations, people and business profiles, and her passion horses. Her interest in complementary medicine resulted in a ten part series in the Ottawa Citizen. Several articles contain information about the Boundary Commission North West Mounted Police Trail Rides that took place over several years and traced the same trail taken by the Boundary Commission and NWMP from 1872-1874. They were a fun-filled way to relive an exciting and colourful part of our Canadian heritage. The following are excerpts from articles written by Elaine Kenney CAA Journey Magazine On the western coast of Santorini, Thira, the capital, sits perched atop cliffs that plunge 380 metres to the seaport and bay below. The bay or Caldera (cauldron) was formed around the year 1500 BC as a result of one of the most spectacular volcanic eruptions. A huge vacuum created inside the volcano sucked the centre of the island below the sea, creating the largest caldera in the world and splitting off the nearby islands of Therasia and Aspronisi. From the Port of Thira, Skala, tour boats will take you across the waters of the "magic caldera" to visit the still live volcano on the island of Nea Kameni. Once there, a guide will escort you to the edge of the crater where you can touch the warm soil and observe the steam, a testimony to its still active state. Before returning to Thira, the boat will stop at the small island of Palia Kameni where you have the chance to swim in the hot springs, heated by the volcano. Upon returning to the Port, a winding path with hundreds of steps will take you back up to Thira. If you're feeling energetic you can walk up. There are choices, though! You can rent a donkey, or a modern funicular will take you up in minutes. Horses All It was an unlikely scene. Smack in the middle of cowboy country, at an auction of western performance horses, a beautiful Andalusian stallion performed classical dressage. He executed such specialized movements as piaffe, trotting on the spot and passage, a suspended trot that gives the appearance of the horse floating on air. Andalusians are particularly known for their excellent trotting ability which stems from their energetic forward-going hock action. There was more. Prairie Horse The March West provided participants the opportunity to relive, reflect upon and celebrate the accomplishments of the RCMP. I was honoured to take part in a ride that applauded a part of our heritage that Canadians can be proud of and that continues to define us as uniquely Canadian. The added bonus, having lived in Saskatchewan, was experiencing big sky country, where a sunset can set the night sky ablaze, where you can see the place that you want to get to miles before you arrive and where the prairie breeze carries the aroma of wild flowers, wolf willow and sage. In some respects, the early part of this modern-day trek was as challenging as the one of 1874. On May 8, 1999, 150 participants left Fort Dufferin in freezing, windy conditions, and camped in sub-zero temperatures for the first several days; the skies opened and rain poured for 29 of the first 35 days. Hail was intermittent, thunder and lightning were frequent it was a tumultuous time and adversity was a steady companion Horse Sport Pamphlet for the International Boundary Commission, It can be said that good fences make good neighbours. For this reason, the Treaty of Washington of 1925 created a permanent International Boundary Commission (IBC) to maintain the boundary on a year-round basis. It assigned the IBC Commissioners what continue to be their most important duties: to inspect the boundary . . . The Human Element In the early decades of this century, crews travelled to less accessible sections of the boundary with pack horses, mules and wagons. They used aces, machetes and handsaws to maintain the vista. The work was slow and backbreaking. Over the last quarter century modern machinery has greatly facilitated clearing operations. Materiel is flown in by helicopters, or carried over land in all-terrain vehicles... Mosquitos, backflies, "noseeums" and deer flies still plague the work crews. And nature doesn't always cooperate torrential rains can create mud-clogged roads that can halt the work for weeks. Pacific Horse "The Program has taught them to dream." Todd Waronicki, riding instructor for the Mustang Troopers, described the positive impact of a program that matches up inner-city kids from Lexington, Kentucky with wild mustangs from Wyoming. A group of a dozen kids from the public housing projects of Lexington are training to work with wild mustangs at the Kentucky Horse Park." The program has indeed taught them to dream. But more that than, they're learning the skills to realize their dreams, whether it's thinking about being a jockey, a trainer, a vet, a member of the Mounted Police Unit, or just a good rider or horse handler. They've also learned a lot of personal skills self-discipline, pride in accomplishment, and how to work as a team. A testimony to the programıs success was illustrated in January of 1997 when the Mustang troopers represented the state of Kentucky by riding the mustangs in President Clinton's inaugural parade. The Ottawa Citizen, Family Section Is your family looking for adventure and wide-open spaces? Would you like to relive some of Canada's most colourful history? How about trekking across Alberta in a covered wagon or on horseback in a re-enactment of a historic journey? I experienced the delight of finding an artesian well, tasted the sweetness of Saskatoon berries. I relished the camaraderie of my fellow trekkers who were there to experience the uniqueness of this ride with its special brand of adventure and history. The Beaver The Cypress Hills massacre of 1873 in which approximately 20 Assiniboine Indians were killed, was the incident that propelled Sir John A. Macdonald to create the North West Mounted Police. On July 8, 1874, the NWMP left Fort Dufferin and followed much the same trail used by the Boundary Commission to bring law and order to the West. Before the arrival of the NWMP, the Canadian West abounded with whiskey traders, outlaws and gold seekers. Back then both surveyors and the NWMP faced hunger, thirst, buffalo stampedes, discontented Plains Indians, raging storms and locusts which could devour all available grass. Pacific Horse That evening at camp as I was reflecting about the trek, not far from my tent, Bill Davies was relaxing, head propped up on his bedroll and cowboy hat resting on his brow. We surveyed the camp spread out before us and beheld a beautiful rainbow to the southwest. We were tired after a long, hot, day on the trail, but the air was cool now. We had been well fed and were surrounded by a camaraderie that is rare. Everything at that moment was right with the universe. Alberta Beef Magazine From Etzikom, the trek wove its way through the shadow of the Sweetgrass Hills, reputed to hold a lore of western stories. The buffalo were the first travelers here, where they found abundant water and lush grass. In the same area, the Blackfoot tribe was the most prominent one to hunt the buffalo and harvest the sweet grass, for weaving and ceremonies. The final ceremony was a native one where Reg Crowshoe handed out tobacco to all the wagon trekkers. He then asked us to throw it to the ground as we called our spirits back from the ride, a difficult thing to do. While on the ride, trekkers had watched the sun rise every morning and watched it set every evening. We had ridden together and helped each other out. In the evening we had sat around the campfire and swapped stories about the dayıs ride, or danced under the stars. For many like myself, a little part of us will be out here in Southern Alberta, reliving the camaraderie, the history and beauty of the countryside. Canadian Horseman The history of the Boundary Commission and NWMP is intricately woven into our Canadian fabric; both played dominant roles in the formation of this country. From 1872 to 1874, the Boundary Commission surveyed the 49th parallel between Canada and the US; they established sovereignty in the west. On July 8th, 1874 the NWMP trekked west following much of the same trail used by the Boundary Commission to establishe law and order in the west and to guard against whiskey traders and outlaws. Pacific/Prairie Horse
Horse Sport The Mounted Police foundation (MPF) proudly introduced six Hanoverian fillies on February 8 at the Rockcliffe Riding Hall in Ottawa, Ontario. The horses, purchased in Germany, will be used as broodmares in the RCMP Musical Ride breeding program. Villa Charities Newsletter What makes a dream a reality? With dedication, enthusiasm and vision, Villa Marconi has succeed in raising $1.3 million, just over half the targeted $2.5 million required by the end of June. The Italian-Canadian community in Ottawa, recognizing the need, has responded generously. The Ottawa Citizen
From the ranch, the wagons and escort of riders on horse back went through a coulee and up a hill to a prairie scene that was hauntingly beautiful. The splendour of the evening wasn't so much from the brilliance of the sky, but from the quality of the light and how it created a radiant glow on the wide expanse of prairie. You'll cherish memories of a place where the pace is slow and western hospitality warms you. Horse Sport It's safe, high-tech, about the size of a grain of rice and will identify your horse for its lifetime. The added plus of the microchip is that it's as easy to read as groceries at the check-out counter. Old ways may die hard, but with something that lasts a lifetime and is so easy to use, the high-tech microchip approach to horse ID may be just the thing horse owners have been waiting for. Pacific/Prairie Horse Did you know that horses still roam wild and free? On the Sarcee reserve, just west of Calgary, there is a 108 square-mile area consisting of grassland, coulees, hilly areas, and brush everything typical of the prairie terrain. At least 50 herds of wild horses still roam there. Stallions still fight it out to maintain control of their herd, mares give birth unattended, and the strong herd instinct compels them to run from danger. Danger is in the from of man or wild animals preying on the herd. Show Trail Move over Aachen, here comes Spruce Meadows. Like the prairie's huge expanse, Spruce Meadows growth potential has no bounds. It's North America's top show jumping venue and presents a genuine challenge to the world's top show jumping site in Aachen, Germany. Horse and Country The Camargue area, in the Rhone delta of southern France meets the Mediterranean Sea to the south and borders Provence to the east. The Camargue horse a very ancient breed has inhabited the marshland of the Camargue for centuries. It more than makes up for its lack of beauty with a number of important traits, which include hard and sound feet, sturdy legs, deep chest and a short strong back. Horse and Country Volume II Issue II With hides gleaming and muscles taut, the black horses of the Musical Ride gallop across the field for their finale the Charge. It's enough to send patriotic chills down anyone's spine. Like the ugly duckling, which became the beautiful swan, the original scruffy mount of the Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP), bears little resemblance to today's RCMP mount. Learning Disabilities Association of Ottawa-Carleton
Bulletin Can Johnny Read? The often impassioned debate about reading methodology is one that will not go away. In the Middle of the 19th century, Horace Mann, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, described the letters the children were learning as skeleton-shaped, bloodless, ghostly apparitions. Needless to say, Mann felt that children should be taught to read whole, meaningful words first. In the 1950s Rudolph Flesch wrote Why Johnny Canıt Read. It was an emotional plea for teachers to infuse phonics back into their curricula. 55 Plus Magazine The old saying, "He who is tired of London is tired of life," is completely fitting to this exciting cultural hub of history, culture and fashion. Theatre, music, clubs, outdoor markets of every description, historical sights, galleries and museums London has it all. It can be a pricey destination, but following some basic guidelines will help you to budget and enjoy much of what London has to offer, without a hefty price tag. In fact, some of the best of London comes without any price tag at all! This year, a resurgence of travel to Great Britain is expected for a number of reasons. It is the Queenıs Golden Jubilee and many special events are planned to celebrate this occasion. Also the dreaded Foot and Mouth disease, which had devastated the tourism industry, has been eradicated. |
Excitement and
anticipation filled the air as we started off. My mount, acutely aware of the
turmoil, whinnied, pranced and shook her head. My apparent apprehension was
noted by a yong lad, Eric, who gave me some very good advice. "You've got to be
the boss of her," he commented succinctly. Wagons and rider were called to join
the procession in colour-codes order. Horses snorted and pawed the earth, wagon
wheels clattered over rock-strewn ground and dust rose from the efforts of 80
wagons and 650 outriders as they negotiated an uphill climb. Drivers urged their
teams of horses on with whistles and shouts of "giddy-up". The scene captured my
imagination and transported me back to a time when the pioneers embarked across
the undiscovered prairie. Being my first wagon trek, it was a journey into the
unknown.
Spring Valley Guest Ranch is a
little bit of paradise hidden away in the Cypress Hills of southwestern
Saskatchewan. It's off the beaten track, but getting there is half the
adventure.