Former Budweiser Clydesdale manager, Jim Poole, helps lead Heavy Horse Happening

More than 50 Belgians, Percherons and Clydesdales will be at Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo to demonstrate and perfect their skills under the watchful eye of Jim Poole, former manager of the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The Heavy Horse Happening, sponsored by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), runs on June 11th and 12th during Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo at the Iron Horse Equestrian Complex near Burlington. Six teams from across Ontario will “strut their stuff” for two days in a variety of traditional classes. In addition to those teams, the Cape Cod Percherons from Bedford, Nova Scotia will attend as a demonstration team. For anyone interested in heavy horses, this is the place to see passion and pageantry by those who celebrate these magnificent giants.

“I’ve always enjoyed the draft horses,” says Keith Garner who will compete with his Highland View Belgians, “I guess it has been a lifelong love.”

Garner will be joined by Bob and Jennifer Black’s Percherons from RyanDay Farm; Calvin Scott Lipsett Jr. and Calvin Lipsett’s Percherons from Glencal Farms; David and Erika Zister’s Belgians from Peak and Valley Farm; David and Margo Carson’s Clydesdales from David Carson Farms and Auction Services; and the Barralea Hitch of Clydesdales owned by Jim and Lorie Hanes with Barry and Vicki Gregg.

Jim Poole, born and raised in Canada but now living in St. Louis, Missouri, will supervise the Heavy Horse Happening with his son, Barclay Poole. Classes will be judged by recognized heavy horse judge, Randy Robertson, from Lakefield, Ontario. Even the audience will have a say in judging as this unique heavy horse event concentrates on educating as well as entertaining.

“We want to make good Ontario hitches even better through peer education,” says Jim Poole who will use the Cape Cod Percheron Hitch to demonstrate best practices to the other six hitches. The Cape Cod Percherons were named after Cape Cod Wood Finished Siding which is owned by the Creelman family of Nova Scotia and who used Percherons in the 1930s to haul logs to the mills and promote their business.

The Heavy Horse Happening is just one component of Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo which features shopping, clinics and demos for all horse disciplines, including clinics by former Australian Olympic Eventing coach, Wayne Roycroft and famous American cowboy, Craig Cameron.

Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo will be held from June 10th to 12th at Iron Horse Equestrian Complex between Milton and Burlington. For more information, check www.EquineExpo.ca or find them on Facebook.