Source:  News Release

Horse Day 2016 a National Success!

National Horse Day was celebrated all across Canada on June 4, 2016, with an estimated 10,722 people attending 51 Horse Day events from coast-to-coast.

Each year, the first Saturday of June is designated as National Horse Day. Together, Equine Canada (EC) and the provincial and territorial sport organizations (PTSOs) encourage all Canadians to take the unique opportunity to honour, discover and explore the equestrian world. For many Canadians, Horse Day is the chance to get up close and personal with a horse for the first time. Horse Day is also the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the important contributions made by horses in our nation's heritage and how people of all ages and experience levels can continue to enjoy horses in sport and leisure.

Horse Day 2016 featured a wide range of events, from clinics and workshops to breed and discipline demonstrations. Many stables across the country also put on “doors open” events with stable tours, interactive activities, and free trial riding lessons.

Roxy Diotte, a demonstrator at Ottawa Horse Day, held at Wesley Cover Parks in Ottawa, ON, showed spectators what she and her horse, Tristan, have learned through Parelli Natural Horsemanship. 

“It’s just good communication between horse and rider,” Diotte said. “It’s not about making my horse do things; it’s about having body language between the two of us and doing things together.”

In addition, all levels of EC sanctioned competitions, from Bronze to Platinum, were hosted across the country, including the prestigious CSIO 4* British Columbia Open in Langley, BC, where the Canadian Show Jumping Team took second place in the Furusiyya FEI N.... 

EC thanks the PTSOs for helping to make Horse Day 2016 such a success, and the Canadian equestrian community for their continued involvement and commitment to spreading awareness of the wonders of the equestrian world.

For more information on Horse Day, visit the EC website. 


Horse Day 2016 provided plenty of opportunities for Canadians to get up close and personal with horses for the first time.
Photo credit - Mariangela Mazzei


Canadians of all ages were able to see, touch and experience the joy of horses on Horse Day 2016.
Photo credit - Mariangela Mazzei