Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo is getting ready to be launched as a premier equine event June 4th to 7th at the Arkell Research Station in Guelph, Ontario. “Our website www.EquineExpo.ca has details on the more than 30 presenters who will be giving talks, conducting clinics and doing demonstrations on many aspects of the horse world,” says Lorie Jocius, President of Canada’s Outdoor Shows Limited. “There are six main arenas of activity – some academic and some very hands-on and practical.”

There is a strong contingent of faculty from the University of Guelph who will be discussing research findings that can help horse owners become better equine caregivers. Ryan Gingerich, from Connective Horsemanship in Missouri, will demonstrate how to rehabilitate a retiring racehorse and will share the secret to making systematic despooking work.

Jessica Phoenix, a Canadian Eventing Team Member, will run clinics with a number of her students explaining coaching tips for 3-Day Eventing, including Dressage, Show Jumping & Cross-Country. And the award-winning EquiMania exhibit, presented by Equine Guelph, will help children who attend on the weekend better understand horses, barn dangers and the importance of nutrition and animal health.

For those interested in big horses, multiply that by six, add a wagon and you will be sitting next to David Carson from Listowel. David and his team will do daily demonstrations on how they prepare and hitch their championship Clydesdales to a wagon to drive “six-in-hand.”

When Carson heard that the folks who run Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock each September were going to be launching Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo, he quickly agreed to be a major contributor to the programming. “They run a tight professional show,” said Carson, “I knew that this Equine Expo would be first-class, showcasing the latest technologies and practices that can benefit the equine industry in this province.”

The fact that the Equine Expo continues through to Monday had many people scratching their heads and wondering why. “The racing industry is huge in Ontario,” explained Jocius, “and the weekends are workdays for them. We decided to dedicate Monday to issues that pertain strictly to racing professionals involved with Standardbreds, Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.”

Be it disaster planning for racetracks by Jennifer Woods or new techniques in respiratory surgery by Dr. Huw Llewellyn, the sessions will be informative, practical and relevant.

“This is our first year so we will be limited in size and diversity,” say Jocius. “However, the Arkell Research Station is the site of the Ontario Equine Centre, a proposed plan for a future world-class horse park on the outskirts of Guelph … and we think that’s worthy of dreams that can grow and develop for the benefit of everyone who loves and works with horses.”

Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo will be held Friday to Monday, June 4th to 7th, 2010 at the Arkell Research Station on the southeast corner of Guelph. For more information, visit the website at www.EquineExpo.ca or call 1-800-563-5441.