Whether a dressage rider, reiner or barrel racer, anyone who spends most of the day with horses shares a passion for the species. Many devote their life to improving a sport, a breed, the industry profile, or the welfare of the horse. It involves a sacrifice of time but it also means contribution to an industry worth almost $900 million to the Alberta economy.

From veterinarians to breeders, from sport horse enthusiasts to tack store owners, those involved with the horse boost its value, says Les Burwash, manager of Alberta Agriculture’s horse industry section.

Many of these people go unnoticed, and for this reason the Horse Industry Association of Alberta (HIAA) set out a decade ago to acknowledge people who have significantly contributed towards the development of Alberta’s horse industry — from Ron and Marg Southern who built the Spruce Meadows show jumping complex near Calgary to John Scott, a Longview area rancher who has promoted Alberta and provided thousands of horses for Hollywood movies.

Individuals are nominated by the public, with the chosen recipient receiving a Distinguished Service Award at the Alberta Horse Breeders and Owners Conference held in Red Deer in January.

“It’s very satisfying to receive the award because it’s recognition by your peers,” said Doug Milligan, who won the award in 2008. Milligan, who lives east of Millet, was the first head of the horse industry branch for the Alberta Department of Agriculture. Throughout his career, he helped improve production practices, as well as the care, management and marketing of horses. He now teaches an Introduction to Equine Sciences class at the University of Alberta.

“To receive recognition from the whole horse industry is special and meaningful,” said heavy horse enthusiast Bruce Roy, a recipient of the Distinguished Award in 2004. “The horse world is extremely fractured. There are so many disciplines and different breeds, it’s very, very difficult to get everybody on the same track and speaking the same language. So I was extremely honoured to receive this from the horse industry as a whole.”

Roy, who lives near Cremona, has spent his life promoting heavy horses, and has bred Percherons since 1957. Over the past six decades, he has helped educate the public and the industry about all drafthorse breeds, speaking and writing about the industry with passion.

The Distinguished Award is not necessarily given every year, says Burwash, an HIAA board member. “There are a lot of great people out there doing great things, but this is for those people who do extraordinary things.”

The HIAA awarded its first Distinguished Award in 2000. Bill Collins, a veteran cutting horse enthusiast, was the first recipient. He also was the first Canadian to be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame. In 1974, he founded the cutting competition at the Calgary Stampede.

Nominations for the award are submitted by the public. Recipients are selected from the areas of breeding, training, manufacturing, organization, education, auction sales, export sales, facilities and communication. Nominees also are evaluated on the significance of their accomplishment, public benefit, industry credibility and his or her potential for continued contributions.

For more information on how to nominate an individual for the Distinguished Award, go to the HIAA website at www.albertahorseindustry.ca, and click under Projects.