Mark Samuel of Mississauga, ON has been named the JC Volunteer of the Year for 2017 in recognition of his countless contributions and tireless efforts on behalf of hunter/jumper sport in Canada and around the world.
A former high performance jumping athlete himself, Samuel competed internationally and represented the Canadian Show Jumping Team at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games in Jerez, ESP and the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, DOM.
Samuel has also applied the knowledge and insight he gained as a high performance jumping athlete to benefit Canadian equestrian organizations. At the provincial level, he co-founded the Ontario Hunter Jumper Association (OHJA) and is a past Director of Ontario Equestrian (OE). His long history of involvement with EC includes co-founding Jump Canada and spearheading key initiatives, including the Jump Canada Hall of Fame and JC Bursary. Samuel remains a dedicated member of the EC Jumping Committee, generously dedicating both his equestrian and business expertise to help support EC programs and initiatives for jumping athletes nationwide.
In addition, Samuel shoulders great responsibility as Chair of FEI Group IV, helping to direct the development of equestrian sport for the 10 countries within the Regional Group: Canada, the United States, Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Virgin Islands. Furthermore, Samuel is chair of the Working Group on FEI Officials, which was set in 2016 to provide analysis and discussion on a range of issues pertaining to officials, from educational opportunities to the withdrawal of the age limit.
Samuel’s generosity and influence reach far beyond the high performance world. In the fall of 2017, he spearheaded the Caribbean Equine Relief Fund – a joint fundraising and equine relief effort launched by EC, US Equestrian, the Pan American Equestrian Confederation, and the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation to help horses impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The joint campaign raised more than $100,000 in its first weeks of fundraising, with Canada contributing over $48,000 to date.
In addition to his many volunteer roles, Samuel is an accomplished entrepreneur. He is the past President and CEO of Samuel Manu-Tech Inc. and the current Chairman of the Samuel Group of Companies – a family-owned and operated, integrated network of metal manufacturing, processing and distribution divisions with over 4,800 employees and 100+ facilities. Plus, he is the CEO of Sam-Son Farm, which has locations in Milton, ON and Ocala, FL. For over four decades, Sam-Son Farm has produced and trained champion Thoroughbreds, and earned more than 70 Sovereign Awards, as well as five Queen’s Plate titles.
Samuel’s tireless efforts have optimized the show jumping experience for both the Canadian and international equestrian communities. EC was proud to present Samuel with the 2017 JC Volunteer of the Year Award at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON on Nov. 8, 2017.
Samuel joins a long list of distinguished JC Volunteer of the Year Award recipients, including Marjorie Dennis (2016), John ‘JT’ Taylor (2015), and Frances McAvity (2014). For a complete list of award recipients, click here.
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