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North Thompson Valley equestrians excel at BC Heritage Finals

Barriere and District Riding Club members competed at the finals and all did very well
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(L to r) Barriere and District Riding Club members Kaylee Hudema with her appaloosa ‘Cherokee’s Patches’

North Thompson Valley equestrians recently made the trek with their mounts to compete at the BC Heritage Finals on the Lower Mainland.

The BC Heritage Finals is the Provincial Equestrian Championships put on each year by Horse Council BC. The 2012 Finals took place at the Maple Ridge Equi-Sport Centre, on July 7 - 9.   Although the weekend was extremely hot, attendees reported the event to be very well organized. Approximately 70 competitors came from throughout B.C. to compete in 62 events in both English and western disciplines for $10,000 in prizes.

The Barriere and District Riding Club had four of their members competing at the finals; Darcey Woods with her quarter horse stallion ‘Ima Class Of My Own’, Dani Noble with her thoroughbred ‘Poh’, Kaylee Hudema with her appaloosa ‘Cherokee’s Patches’,  and Katie Elliot with her pinto pony ‘Davie’s Girl’.

Darcey is the president of the Barriere and District Riding Club, is the organizer of the four BC Heritage Qualifier shows hosted by the club, and is also the convenor for the North Thompson Fall Fair Light Horse Program. Darcey qualified and competed in both western and english classes, placing in the top four in all eight classes entered. Winning the Championship spot in the Reining competition earns her a place again this year on Team BC for the Canadian Equestrian Championships in Bromont, Quebec, on Sept. 21-24.

Dani is the leader of the Clearwater ‘Rodeo Rednecks’ 4H Club, and she also competed in both western and English divisions.  Dani qualified in both divisions, finishing in the top six in all of her nine mounted classes, and top 10 in showmanship. She earned Championships in both the English Pleasure and Show Hack divisions.

Kaylee is also a member of the ‘Rodeo Rednecks’ 4H club, and she qualified and competed in both English and western classes; earning her Championship in Showmanship and Western Equitation.

Katie Elliot qualified in western and English classes, and even though she was just out of the ribbons Katie did very well and had a great experience for her first time competing at this level of competition.  Katie is formerly from McLure, but now lives in Cherry Creek.

Horse Council BC is a non-profit organization representing more than 22,000 horse enthusiasts in the province.

A 2009 horse industry study compiled by the agriculture ministry showed there are nearly 100,000 horses in B.C. and the industry creates about 7,200 full-time jobs, generating about $740 million in economic activity.

Visit www.hcbc.ca/competition to view complete results listings for the Bc Heritage Finals 2012.