Resounding Success for Jump Canada Hall of Fame Gala

Five new inductees were welcomed into the Jump Canada Hall of Fame during its induction ceremony held Sunday, November 6, 2011, at the Liberty Grand in Toronto, ON. Presented by BMO Financial Group, over 300 people attended the black-tie gala event to pay tribute to the individuals, equines, and organizations that have contributed to Canadian show jumping sport.

The 2011 distinguished inductees to the Jump Canada Hall of Fame were:

Builder (Organization) – The Anderson Family, founders of Anderson Ranch
Builder (Individual) – Terrance Millar, Canadian Equestrian Team veteran and chef d’equipe
Jumper Horse – Kahlua, ridden by Lisa Carlsen at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and
1987 Pan American Games
Team – 1991 Pan American Games Silver Medal Team comprised of Sandra Anderson, Danny Foster, Ian Millar and Beth Underhill
Pony – Three’s A Crowd, owned by Corie Bannister

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At the beginning of the evening, a moment of silence led by Canadian Show Jumping Team chef d’equipe Terrance Millar was held in tribute to Hickstead, the Olympic champion whose tragic death had shocked the show jumping community just hours earlier.

Master of Ceremonies Allan Donnan then led the festivities which included comments from Hall of Fame Chairman, Mark Samuel, as well as a royal toast from Equine Canada CEO Akaash Maharaj and grace said by Equine Canada President, Michael Gallagher. Attendees were also thrilled to learn that the BMO Financial Group has extended its generous founding sponsorship to the 2012 event.

John Taylor, Chair of Jump Canada, presented the annual Jump Canada awards. This year’s recipients included Harriet Cherry as the Official of the Year, the Ziegler family and Artisan Farms as the Owner of the Year, Samuel Group of Companies as the Sponsor of the Year, and Pamela Law as the Volunteer of the Year.

Each of this year’s inductees into the Jump Canada Hall of Fame was honoured with a video depicting the many accomplishments and achievements of their sporting careers. Inductees were then called on stage to accept their awards, presented by those closest to their accomplishments, before delivering their acceptance speeches, which made for an entertaining array of tales.

Bringing together the Canadian show jumping community, the Hall of Fame Gala provided a very special evening recalling the sport’s greatest memories. For the first time, the Jump Canada Hall of Fame featured dancing to live music provided by the Terence Gowan Band featuring the powerful vocals of Alana Bridgewater.

“The Canadian industry turned out in full force for this year’s Gala and was treated to a very special evening,” said Mark Samuel, Chairman of the Jump Canada Hall of Fame. “I am so very proud of my organizing committee and of the quality of the event. I would encourage all Canadians to visit our Jump Canada Hall of Fame website to experience our archive of Inductee videos and acceptance speeches. We have so much to celebrate, to remember and to be inspired by.”

The Jump Canada Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to recognize outstanding contributions to hunter/jumper sport. To date, there have been 42 champions inducted.

The Jump Canada Hall of Fame volunteer committee is comprised of Mark Samuel (Chairman), Jennifer Anstey, Evie Frisque, Muffie Guthrie, Dalene Paine, Jennifer Ward and Nancy Wetmore.

Jump Canada is the committee of Equine Canada responsible for all hunter, equitation and jumper activities in Canada from the grass roots to the international level. Jump Canada is governed by a board, the majority of whose members are elected by the stakeholders in the sport. For more information regarding Jump Canada programs and activities, visit http://www.equinecanada.ca/jumpcanada/.