Jill Henselwood, a top competitor and highly-respected clinician, has been turning out well-rounded horsemen and women from her Juniper Farms in Oxford Mills, ON, for more than 25 years. Her own life path was sparked after attending a riding camp as a child and eventually led to a full-blown career training and competing show jumpers. She first stepped into the grand prix ring in 1989, was named to the Canadian Equestrian Team in 1991– the year she also won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title. The following year she was a member of the winning Nations’ Cup team at CSIO Mexico and also clinched the $90,000 Grand Prix there.
Jill’s team participation encompasses every major international event including five World Cup Finals, four Pan Am Games (winning individual gold and team silver in 2007 riding Special Ed), two World Equestrian Games and two Olympic Games (team silver on Special Ed in 2008). In 2005, Jill claimed her first Canadian Show Jumping Championship riding Black Ice at The Royal, repeating the title in 2015 aboard Farfelu du Printemps. Jill also won the Spruce Meadows North American Championship three years in a row in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Jill’s somewhat unique educational background has lent itself to her being an especially effective coach. In the course of completing a four-year degree at the University of Ottawa in Human Kinetics, she studied the sciences of exercise and pedagogy (“the study of teaching, which gave me a unique education which I have used in my career ever since.”) As a Level 1 coach in soccer, swimming, basketball, and track and field, she honed theory and technique in teaching a variety of skills which has proved invaluable as she now imparts her knowledge to equestrian students.