2008 HTPEI citation for the Smith family: long term support of eventing on PEI
Presented at IHC Awards Night nov 2008
There are few equestrian families on PEI who have as long standing a record of involvement in equestrian sport as the Smith family has with eventing on PEI. Sisters Michelle, Deborah and Bethany have an enduring love of the sport, and just this season have been joined by their sisterin-law Sherry Lynn. As a family their involvement has spanned 15 years and included all components of the sport, including membership in Horse Trials PEI, competing, volunteering, and contributing to governance though membership on the board of directors of HTPEI. These young women are very quiet and unassuming about their contributions to eventing over the years, but we have noticed, and we want to celebrate the family and their contribution tonight.
Michelle began competing on her pony Pat in the fall of 1993. Since that time she has competed 15 times on 5 horses, in all divisions offered in our Horse Trials. In 2000 she began her long term partnership with her outstanding homebred Keyday Na Uma. We have all watched these two develop into a team in every sense of the word. They are a joy to watch together. They have won HTPEI division championships from pre-entry to training divisions. We can always count on Michelle, even when she has to travel from her new home in Nova Scotia to compete at Strathgartney. In 1996 when she didn’t have a horse to ride she volunteered as tack checker on the day of the horse trial. We are so proud to have watched her mature into an outstanding horsewoman who is now a Level 1 Equine Canada coach.
Deborah has been competing since 2000 with two more wonderful homebreds, Crack O’ Dawn and Coppertop. Her 15 entries have resulted in HTPEI division championships, including this year’s High Point Pretraining award as well as High Point Senior rider. Deb has also acted as our dressage chair for our Horse Trials for several years now, being sure that the dressage ring is ready for the 8AM start on our competition days. She and her sisters have always been there for HTPEI activities from video nights to AGMs. It has been wonderful to watch her grow and mature to the point where she has joined the board of directors of HTPEI this year.
Bethany, the youngest of the sisters, began competing in 2000, and that first season she and Deb shared the ride on Crack O’ Dawn. This is so typical of this exceptional family. They support each other, traveling together and training together. In 2001 she began competing on yet another of their homebreds, King Lear. Her 10 Horse Trials entries have also resulted in HTPEI division championships.
Sister-in law Sherry Lynn competed this year at the entry level with My Romeo. She has already begun active involvement with HTPEI, including volunteering to act as secretary for the Strathgartney Horse Trials in 2009. What more could any organization ask of any competitor? We look forward to many more years for Sherry Lynn of competition and volunteerism in eventing on PEI.
It is remarkable to note that since 1993 these 4 family members have contributed 41 entries to the Horse Trials offered by HTPEI at Strathgartney Equestrian Park each year. Since the redevelopment of the cross country course at Strathgartney in 1999 and the rejuvenation of eventing on PEI which followed, we have not offered a single Horse Trial without at least one family member competing. This year they all attended at least one Horse Trial and among them contributed 7 rides on 6 different horses and ponies in all 4 divisions. Combine this with a strong commitment to volunteering to support eventing in PEI and it is a small wonder that many of us think of this family as the face of eventing on PEI, and cannot imagine the sport without them.
Thank you from us all.