by Caroline Williams, Team Alberta member
Distance riders from all three disciplines–ride and tie, competitive trail, and endurance–gathered in L’Ange Gardien, Quebec, on an extended Labour Day weekend 2006 to test their skills against Canada’s finest.
The occasion was the North Wind Challenge, the Canadian Championship Endurance and Competitive Trail Event. One hundred and four riders attended, with FEI endurance entries from the U.S. and Japan rounding out the competition.
The rolling terrain of the Gatineau hills in the Ottawa Valley changed character with the weather over the multi-day event. Warm, dry conditions for the first three days of the competition had riders appreciating the cool, early morning start times.
Endurance riders, ride and tie contestants, and first-day participants of the biannual Canadian Championship Competitive Trail Ride (CCCTR) also appreciated the solid footing on the variably rocky to wooded terrain.
All of that changed Sunday morning though, when torrential downpours (the aftermath of Hurricane Ernesto) made both officials and competitors pause. Many competitors withdrew, refusing to risk injury on the steep, short hills with such sloppy footing.
Officials scrambled to shorten the course, and lengthened the time allowed for the second day of the competitive trail ride (CTR) riders, and the show went on, despite the perpetual rain. Endurance riders, living up to their tenacious sport, toughed it out and completed the full course.
Team Ontario with, by far, the largest numbers of contestants filled the camp with their riders, chefs, and pit crews. With abundant participants in every event running, it seemed that every time you turned around there was another dark blue Team Ontario shirt. Shamelessly, Team Ontario handed out their provincial pins, hats, and flags, as though they were trade-show hucksters plying their wares. All the other provinces knew they would be the team to beat.
Atlantic Canada had both a Nova Scotia and a New Brunswick contingent that participated in FEI endurance and the championship CTR. Team Alberta was the only Western contingent, with a strong and vocal CTR team and a handful willing to try out ride and tie for the first time.
Other than the Americans dominating the FEI 100-mile endurance event, the remaining results were … hmmm … predictable. The “Big Blue” team of Ontario dominated throughout the competition winning the ride and tie, and both the 10- and 20-mile events.
The awards included an acceptance speech by the record-breaking winners and they threw down the gauntlet to any American takers for upcoming events. The mileage Helen McMaster CTR was won by Team Ontario. The 50-mile endurance … you guessed it … Team Ontario. And lastly, the Canadian Championship CTR team event gold medal went to, of course, Team Ontario.
Grand and Reserve Champions in the CCCTR had a glimmer of hope for the rest of the provinces as two perfect scores of 300 were recorded by competitors from both Team Ontario and Team Alberta.
Given the two horse’s identical scores, the only tiebreaker officials could use was the consistently lower heart rate numbers of Team Ontario’s horse. A hollow victory, perhaps, but they were wearing the gold medal at the end of the evening.
During the awards banquet, Team Alberta’s CTR chef d’equipe, having come so close to tasting victory, announced Alberta’s intention to bid and possibly host the next CCCTR in 2008 in the challenging foothills terrain near Milllarville.
As she issued the challenge, she too was seen removing her gloves.
