In Memoriam: Dr. Gillian Lawrence

Equine Canada (EC) extends sincere condolences to the friends and family of the late Dr. Gillian Lawrence, who passed away on May 31, 2016 at the age of 83.

Lawrence was one of the most instrumental, influential and inspiring people in Canadian equestrian sport. She dedicated her time and hands-on effort to therapeutic riding at the local, provincial, regional, national and international levels, and made long-standing and vast contributions to the therapeutic riding movement world-wide.

After starting her medical career as a family physician in England, Lawrence spent most of her family life and professional career in Amherst, NS where she combined her passion for children, horses and medicine, to create a therapeutic riding program at Burnside Farm that would prove to run for more than 30 years.

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She was also a founding member and first president of the Nova Scotia Riding for the Disabled Association, where she provided support to fledgling therapeutic riding centres. In 1980, she was a founding board member of CanTRA, the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association, and later served two terms as president. She also chaired the medical committee that wrote the Instructor Certification Manual for CanTRA, which remains a study and reference guide for the several hundred CanTRA-qualified instructors within Canada today.

Internationally, Lawrence represented Classification on the International Para-Equestrian Committee, and served on the Jury of Appeal at several events. In 1991, she took on the role of Chef d’Équipe and led Canada’s first venture into international Para-Equestrian competition. She went on to fill the Chef d’Équipe position again in 1994, helping Canada to a silver medal finish at the World Dressage Championships in Hartpury, England.

She was also instrumental to the development of classification of disabilities in para-equestrian sport. She served as an International Classifier at the debut of Para-Dressage competition during the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, and then again at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games.

In light of her many accomplishments and contributions, Lawrence received numerous awards, including the 2013 Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award, and the 2015 Equine Canada Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lawrence was also awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship in 2008 by the Amherst Rotary Club for service to her community. She was instrumental in implementing vital programs in Amherst, including Meals on Wheels and the local food bank. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, she formed a breast cancer support group, and was a pillar of support to breast cancer survivors in the Amherst community. She was also a five-time team captain in the annual Jump for Hope class for breast cancer survivors at the Pépinière Horse Show in St. Lazare, QC.

Lawrence is survived by her children, Claire, Sarah, Anne and Michael and a legacy of grandchildren.

Visitation and funeral service details can be found at www.campbellsamherst.ca. In lieu of flowers, Lawrence requested donations be directed to help support the causes she was passionate about, including the Amherst Rotary Club, the Cumberland County Hospice, and the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA).

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