Cathy Inch is an Equine Canada Level III certified coach who was awarded the Ontario Equestrian Federation’s Coach of the Year in 2010.
She has spent over three decades developing riders from grass roots to national championships out of Foothills Farm in Chelmsford, ON. She won the National Talent Squad Finals at the Royal Winter Fair in 1999, and has had good results in recent years in the 1.40m division aboard E S Quantro, a horse she developed through the levels. Cathy lists Bobbie Reber, Eric Lamaze, Jay Hayes, Yann Candele, Mike Grinyer, and Marni von Schalburg among her mentors, and counts the numerous successes of her students, who have earned many provincial and national awards, among her greatest accomplishments.
When were you first introduced to horses?
My neighbours had horses in the pasture beside my cottage, and I would go sit with them for hours. As soon as I was old enough (which in my mind was five), I would coax them over to the fence and hop on. Most of the time they just walked around and grazed on grass, but sometimes they were frisky. I honestly don’t remember falling off, but my brother tells me I did, a lot. Eventually, I got caught. My neighbour phoned my mom and I was busted. I wasn’t allowed to go over there at all and my life as I knew it was ruined, until the age of nine, when my mom enrolled me in riding lessons. We eventually bought Diamond, a great big school horse who loved me and followed me all over the property. We would hack for hours through the back trails of the farm and often my mom would have to send people out to find me because I never wanted to go home.
When did you know that horses would become a career?
The summer I was 14, I won the Ontario Junior Three-Day Eventing Championships and I was hooked. After that, I spent every summer at the barn working and traveling to events, Pony Club rallies, and clinics. Horses became my life and I never looked back. At 16, my mom bought me a horse trailer and a farm and said, ‘you’re on your own, kiddo, good luck.’ I was really active in the Pony Club and doing a lot of teaching at the farm by the time I was 18, running summer camps and attempting to pay for my horses and myself; it was the beginning of my career of living with a negative bank account, which I did well at the time!
In 1984, my partner Rick and I purchased Foothills from my mother and father and continued to develop it into a full-service training, boarding, and show facility. Although we sold Foothills in 2012, I still get out of bed every morning and walk across the road to work out of a facility that is full of my blood, sweat, and many tears. The new owners, Dave and Laurel Scott, have continued the legacy and improved immeasurably on the facility.
Who are some of the people who have had a real impact on your life and career?
My hero is my husband and partner, Rick, who passed away suddenly in 2008. It was a huge loss to myself, his daughter Natalie, our son Jedd, the entire equestrian community, and also the farm. He was our farrier, he grew all our hay and grain, handled all the farm maintenance, drove the 10-horse tractor trailer, was a very hard-working and accomplished course designer throughout North America, and was an amazing husband and father. He taught me how to get the most out of a day, never to sweat the small stuff, how to take the time to speak to people, and to make fun in everything I do. Most of all, he taught me, ‘you work to live, not live to work.’ Natalie and Jedd have both stepped up to the plate and into their father’s shoes; they both have careers in the horse industry. My children have a huge influence on my life.
What are some of the lessons you have learned from this industry that you apply most often in life?
I believe in staying honest in every transaction: always charge what you feel you are worth, but never lie about what you’ve made. I would rather be called expensive than a liar or a thief. Forever be the student, especially in this sport. It is constantly growing and changing, and the horses will forever keep you a humble student. I am a perfectionist and have a strong belief that if you dot your ‘i’s and cross your ‘t’s all the time in every corner, every circle, every transition, that you will be successful; practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. There is no cheating in horses and I will not finish a lesson until it is done right, which is why I am always late. My reason for working so hard goes back to the fact that I love horses. Always remember the reason you started; keep loving those horses and they will always love you back.
