REACH Grand Opening Gala and Open House

This past week I was fortunate enough to participate in two events at the new Regional Equine & Agricultural Centre of Huron. The first was the "black tie" Gala for invited guests in the new Riding Arena on Thursday night. A great list of sponsors made it a fabulous entertaining night that people will be talking about for quite a while. Not very often something like this happens in Huron County. The REACH staff made sure everything was as close to perfect as possible. It was also quite evident on who was paying for the night - OLG. (Ontario Lottery & Gaming). Well maybe not the whole night but they contributed a lot.
Before the meal the MC stated they had a surprise for us after dinner (note: the stage was set up for a band). During the meal we were entertained with a Dressage demonstration and the guy who sang the commercial "Good things Grow in Ontario".
After the meal Richard Harding, CAO for Central Huron, listed the band's accomplishments - toured North Amercia, Grammy nominees for various awards, Juno and CMA Award winners. Not bad. and then The Wilkinsons walked on stage!!!
What a way to cap off the night.
Today, Saturday, was the big public Open House. We got there around 11AM and there was a lineup of cars. When we left at 2PM cars were still coming. No idea on numbers yet but the Huron County Dairy Producers sold (scooped out) 200 Kawartha Lakes Ice Cream cones before 12 noon. The Huron County Pork Producers were also there selling sausage on a bun. One comment from a former steer wrestler was "this place will be packed" making reference to the point that there is nothing else like it in Ontario.
As a non-horse guy I was impressed. Everyone who has horses was excited. I spoke with a couple from Hanover who came just for the Open House. A big day for Central Huron (Clinton) and a sign of great expectations and rejuvenation.
Congratulations to the REACH staff and Central Huron Council.
(since I forgot my camera each time, I am hoping my contacts will send photos my way from each event to post here).

Next Post >

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Wayne Black on September 14, 2009 at 2:09pm: Thanks Joe for adding this. One thing I forgot was the website for REACH - reachhuron.ca Within the website you will see programming that they are currently offering and also a spot to sign up for email updates when they add new programs. One that my wife is wanting to sign up for is a photography day with the horses (and a teacher, lunch et al). Their plans sound exciting. I found out yesterday they are currently discussing with the appropriate businesses (wedding planners, travel agents, etc) to offer weddings on site along with a honeymoon package included.

Comment by Joe Dales on September 14, 2009 at 9:25am: RIDGETOWN CAMPUS TO DELIVER HORSE HANDLING TRAINING IN CLINTON

09/10/09
From a Release - The University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus is excited to announce that it will be partnering with the Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron (REACH) to deliver a new Performance Horse Handler Certificate at the REACH facilities in Clinton.

The new two-semester Performance Horse Handler Certificate was developed with significant input from the equine industry and the campus is looking forward to starting the student recruitment process. The recruitment process will target grade 12 students with a high school diploma or mature students looking to work in the performance horse industry, including thoroughbred, quarter horse or standardbred racing, dressage, show jumping, breeding and other stables. The first class is scheduled to begin in September 2010, with graduates receiving a University of Guelph certificate.

“REACH has a fantastic teaching facility located in Huron County and we’re excited about the opportunity to be the training deliverer for a new horse industry certificate,” said Ken McEwan, Acting Director, Ridgetown Campus.

“The University of Guelph and its Ridgetown Campus have a great reputation in education and we’re very excited to be working with Ridgetown staff in this training partnership. Ridgetown has almost 60 years of education experience and, like us, is keenly interested in supporting the equine and agricultural industries in Ontario,” says Richard Harding, Executive Director, REACH.

Ridgetown Campus will be hosting two fall Red Carpet Day Open House events at REACH in Clinton this fall. For more information, check out the Ridgetown Campus website to pre-register.

RSS

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Tariffs In Key Markets Underscore Urgent Need For Action

Today, Pulse Canada released the following statement in response to India’s decision to impose a 30% tariff on pea imports. “While Canada’s pea export program to India got off to a good start this fall, the recently announced tariff will challenge future sales, and the impact will be felt across the industry. “Canada’s pulse industry needs progress from the federal government on removing tariffs that threaten our competitiveness and damage our global reputation. While the government may not be able to influence domestic policies in other markets, we do expect it to resolve issues within its control. “The Government of China has been clear that its 100% tariff on Canadian peas is a retaliatory measure and will require a negotiated solution. We are hopeful that meetings this week will mark a timely and important step toward a resolution that allows Canadian peas back into the Chinese market. “Canadian growers and exporters have worked for decades to build trusted relationships with c

SARM’s Huber wants Western concerns heard in Ottawa

The head of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities is wanting to see Western concerns addressed by the federal government. “We've been neglected for 10-plus years in western Canada, and Saskatchewan is in western Canada,” said Bill Huber, SARM president, to reporters following his morning address at the mid-term meetings in Regina. “And we've got an agriculture industry here that's struggling right now with tariffs and trade, and our farmers are really suffering because of the non-movement of grain, especially canola seed, to China. We've got one of our biggest trading partners just across the 49th parallel that we do have to do business with [the USA]. They're the closest and one of our largest trading partners. And we need to see those goods, livestock, beef, cattle, pigs, pork, those things continue to cross that border. So we need those exports.” Huber said it was also "disappointing to see that there's a $112 million decrease over the next year in agriculture spen

APAS expresses mixed feelings on Tuesday's federal budget

The President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) has mixed feelings about Tuesday's federal budget. Bill Prybylski, who farms in the Willowbrook area, was pleased to see that agriculture was actually mentioned in the budget. He says there were some positives in the budget, like investment in infrastructure, the reinstatement of the accelerated capital cost allowance, and red tape reduction. Prybylski was also pleased to see the permanent reversal of the Capital Gains tax increase. But he says the announced changes to AgriStability won't make a difference to most producers, dealing with canola, pea and pork tariffs. Prybylski notes budget details are still quite sparse, so there's more work to be done in studying the document. He's also worried about possible budget cuts to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which could affect agriculture research.

Ag in the 2025 federal budget

The House is expected to vote on the budget on Nov. 17

Statement from FVGC President, Marcus Janzen

The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) President, Marcus Janzen, wishes to announce that Massimo Bergamini will begin a transition from his role as Executive Director as he moves toward retirement. The Board is grateful for his leadership and for the organizational achievements made during his tenure.

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service