The Victory Pass

Over the last few months, a lot of planning and preparation has been taking place for the Vancouver Charity Horse Show. It has not been an easy task, and has required a lot of time and dedication of the small group of volunteers who are putting it together. This ‘grass roots’ undertaking is a sincere and heart felt attempt to restore the once vibrant breed sport industry here in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. We are mostly a group of amateur competitors that realized if we did not do something now, we could possibly be facing the extinction of the sport we love and the presence of our beloved breeds in our area. Thus became the formation of The Vancouver Charity Horse Show Society. I think, however, most may be pondering what our actual motivation may be, and to state it simply, it is all about the victory pass.

A victory pass for most of us in the horse show world is about making that famous run down the rail, crowds cheering, camera flashes going, and feeling as though you have conquered the world. It is what we live for, and I honestly think from the time we enter our first local show, to the moment we are on the A rated circuit, it is the underlying motivation in all horse showing. We want to win and show the public all the hard work we and our equine partners have put into this sport. There is nothing wrong with this motivation, but I think there is a much broader, and transcendent definition of a victory pass in the equine world, and this is what we have set out to create for others. A victory pass can be anything that represents your pride and hard work. For some, it is merely getting on a horse and staying on, and for others perhaps it is finally getting off the lead line and trotting on their own. I think it can even be that first successful communication one has with their equine partner, and herein lies the soul of what we are trying to accomplish.

We want to give the victory pass to those people that truly deserve it, and need it so very much. This is why we have chosen the Richmond Therapeutic Equestrian Society,www.rtesrichmond.com, to be the charity our proceeds will go toward. The work they do is absolutely selfless, and it touches the lives of children and young people more than any other therapy could. It actually gives these people and their families a victory pass that we could never possibly imagine. Over the next few months, we will be featuring the riders, staff and horses of the Richmond Therapeutic Equestrian Society here, and we hope that you will join us in making their victory passes a reality every day. Thank you for taking the time to visit us here, and we welcome you to The Vancouver Charity Horse Show now, and hopefully in person July 22-25, 2015!

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