Mark Rein and Tara Dow-Rein have been named the 2022 “Owner of the Year” for second consecutive year by Equestrian Canada’s (EC) Jumping Committee, the national body overseeing Canadian hunter/jumper sport from the grassroots to the Olympic level.
Rein and Dow-Rein, both originally from the Greater Toronto Area and now living in Raleigh, NC, have been long-time supporters of Canadian show jumping sport. They first became involved as owners of high-performance horses when they invested in Zucarlos, the grey stallion that Jay Hayes rode at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. With a long career at the international level, Hayes and Zucarlos, a horse that was often remembered for his signature buck while on course, represented Canada in several Nations’ Cup team competitions including winning back-to-back Bank of Montreal Nations’ Cups at Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 1990 and 1991.
For the past six years, the Rein family have supported Canadian Show Jumping Team veteran, Harold Chopping, who served as the alternate for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. They currently own four mounts for Chopping including the international-level horses Fast Forward, Gerderieka II VI, and Quadrant 3.
Since becoming involved with Torrey Pines Stable three years ago, the Rein family have furthered their involvement at the international level. Owning 10 to 12 horses at any given time, the Reins maintain a top string for Canadian Olympian Beth Underhill. Top mounts include Mademoiselle-A, Casino Calvin, Nikka van den Bisschop and Dieu Merci van T&L.
In 2022, Underhill guided Dieu Merci to a remarkable feat for a Canadian on the world stage, jumping double clear in a CSIO 5* Nations’ Cup in La Baule, FRA, before going on to win the CSIO 5* Grand Prix in May. The Rein family also supported the Canadian team and Nikka van den Bisschop at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Championships in Herning, DEN in August.
The Rein family have many horses winning south of the border in both hunter and jumper divisions with Canadians Harold Chopping (grand prix jumping and hunters) and Brady Mitchell (hunters). On top of their success, they own a Global Champions Tour (GCT) team, which includes Underhill – being the second Canadian, to Eric Lamaze, to ever ride the GCT, providing unmatched exposure for a Canadian athlete at the top European five-star events.
“Thank you to Equestrian Canada for selecting us for this great honour again,” said the Reins. “It was a thrill for us this year to see our horses Dieu Merci and Nikka representing Canada internationally in multiple nations cups, the FEI World Championships with the crowning achievement of Dieu Merci and Beth Underhill winning the Rolex Grand Prix of La Baule. Harold Chopping also had a lot of success this year in the USA including grand prix wins on both Quadrant 3 and Gerderika.”
First introduced in 1995, the EC Jumping Committee “Owner of the Year” Award was created to recognize the exceptional level of dedication, commitment, and generosity that owners demonstrate when supporting Canadian Show Jumping Team athletes. Given their longstanding support of Canadian show jumping sport, the Rein family is a deserving recipient of the Jumping Committee “Owner of the Year” Award for 2022.
For a full list of past award recipients, click here.
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