Alan Harvey Chesler, 82, passed away on January 2, 2024 in Wellington, Florida. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Chesler was a hard-working, gregarious businessman who owned an investment fund in the 1960s and was the co-owner of Bob’s Barricades for over 45 years, the largest privately-owned traffic barrier company in the US. Following his own career in the show ring he bought and developed Sher-Al Farm in Orangeville, Ontario in 1996. The family’s horse training and selling business took them to many of the top horse shows in the world, from Sweden to Germany to Malaysia, to Spruce Meadows and the Winter Equestrian Festival. (Alan wrote an article about showing in Europe vs. North America in Horse Sport magazine in 2002.)
Daughters Frankie and Mikala rode on NAJYRC teams and Frankie was on the Canadian Nations’ Cup Team in New York City at 17. She campaigned some talented horses including Ranville and Ravenna Z, topping the Jump Canada Series with the latter in 2000. Sher-Al Farm’s show jumper Picolien Zeldenrust, purchased for Frankie in 2004, was the subject of a high-profile sale to Athina Onassis de Miranda and her then Brazilian husband Doda for a rumoured $2.5 million in 2007 ‒ a premium price in those days. Alan described the sale in a Toronto Star article: “There were tears. It was like having your dog die and winning the lottery on the same day.”
Alan was awarded the 2001 Jump Canada Volunteer of the Year Award and in 2003 was once again named the recipient based on his dedication to the success of the FEI Children’s Final held in Calgary, AB.