Equestrian Sports House helps riders saddle up

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This article was published 01/12/2018 (2606 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BY DREW MAY

Equestrian-sports lovers now have a dedicated place to get both themselves and their horses outfitted in Brandon.

Equestrian Sport House caters to both four-legged horses and their two-legged riders with everything from pants and boots for riders to winter blankets for horses.

“You ride better if you look great,” store manager Taylor McEachern said. “I think that about most sports; if you have the right equipment, then it’s going to make a difference for how you play your sport or ride your horse.”

Equestrian sports encompass anything done while sitting on a horse. That ranges from dressage, where horses “dance” and move their hooves in a particular way, to show jumping and target shooting while on horseback. McEachern said the store focuses on supplies for English dressage at the moment, but that she also wants to get into western sports, such as team sorting and shooting. She sells any and all accessories and equipment for horseback riding, except for saddles, which she said are very specific to the horse and rider. The store sells a variety of gear for horses, too, including bridles, stirrups and hoof covers.

In the back of the former hair salon on 18th Street there is a wall covered in multicoloured saddle pads that McEachern calls the “pièce de résistance.” The blankets go between the horse and the leather saddle so it doesn’t irritate the horse’s skin.

McEachern said she was surprised when she moved to Brandon by just how many people in the city and the area participate in equestrian sports. The Keystone Centre, she said, is the “mecca” of the horse world in Westman.

“There are lots of competitions, lots of big-name coaches that come and do clinics, and so there’s lots of opportunity here to buy and sell horses and take part in the sport.”

Despite this, she said, there wasn’t a store in Brandon that specialized exclusively in equestrian sports.

“The Europeans were always way ahead of us in the clothing and in the tack for horses,” she said. “Now we’re on par in Brandon with Europe and the rest of the world… We’re not five years behind now, we’re right beside them.”

She said before opening in late October, she handed out invitations to riders at the Keystone Centre to come to the store. Afterwards, she said the store was packed all weekend.

There are many clubs in the area, too, that offer opportunities to learn different disciplines, so riders can learn a variety or specialize in just one. She said equestrian sports can be harder to get into than something such as hockey, which is much more popular and that so many Canadian kids play.

“It’s not like hockey where you’re going to the mall or wherever and you can just sign up for sports. It’s almost like this hidden secret … I think it’s just not as in your face as some other sports.”

She said, though, she’s happy to guide people about starting equestrian sports and getting outfitted for it. McEachern said that she was born into the sport, with both her mom and aunt riding horses.

“I think people are just born with it. I (meet) parents who grew up riding and so their children took an interest… I think some people are surprised at their child saying, ‘Hey I want to ride a horse’ and they have no riding in their background. You’re just born with it.”

In addition to teaching horseback riding, she has three horses, two that she rides in competition and their mother. One horse, McPonyface, recently won two championships, and she is training the other one for dressage.

“Like anything, the more you do it the better you get at it. Showing can be nerve-wracking for some people, but I’m quite confident in the ring now, which gives my horse confidence.”

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_