The North American Youth Championships. Pan American Games. World Equestrian Games. The Olympics… Canadian Megan Lane has soared sky-high in her competitive dressage career, riding for Team Canada around the globe and making her childhood dreams come true. Today, however, the 32-year-old rider is taking off in pursuit of new goals, and the sky’s her only limit.
Megan’s passion for horses and all things equestrian blossomed early, and at age seven she was trotting down centreline in the dressage ring. Competitive success quickly followed, with six podium finishes in the FEI Junior division at the North American Youth Championships and six medals in the Young Rider division. Since then she’s been a part of Canada dressage team at the World Equestrian Games, Pan American Games, and Olympics.
Megan and Caravella at the 2015 Pan Am Games. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Since then Megan has continued her quest for excellence, training and competing numerous horses to international levels while building her reputation as a sought-after clinician. Like many top equestrians, she spent winters in Florida, training and competing among the world’s best at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. However, the blue skies of the sunny south also inspired her to chart a new course.
“While riding in Florida, I took notice of the private planes often flying overhead and wanted to know what it was like to be in the cockpit,” she says. “I did my first discovery flight in December 2022 and when I walked through the terminal that day I knew my life was going to change.”
Megan turned to aviation with the same passion and dedication she brings to her riding, and began the lengthy process of training to be a pilot. To create a more flexible schedule which accommodates both careers she left her position as head trainer at Deer Ridge Equestrian, a world-class facility based in Loretto, Ontario and Wellington, Florida, but continues to ride and coach throughout the GTA.
“My goal is to become a commercial pilot as well as continuing to pursue my riding and training career,” she says. “I have a deep love and commitment to both careers and believe that performance at a high level can be achieved in more than one direction. I have a wonderful group of horses and riders that I teach and am excited to see them develop as I continue my education as a pilot.”
While trying to blend careers in both dressage and aviation may sound like a challenge, Megan believes they share several key similarities.
“From the moment you walk up to a plane or a horse, both demand so much respect for their power and potential,” she explains. “From a technical standpoint, they share many similarities as well. First of all, the theory of balancing both horse and airplane is relative. Both require coordination in a three-dimensional way, adjustments to alignment left and right, speed and vertical motion.”
“I have a deep love and commitment to both careers and believe that performance at a high level can be achieved in more than one direction.”
“The aircraft’s throttle is equivalent to the horse’s energy. It gives a plane the necessary altitude or airspeed, and when riding, that energy allows the horse to engage, lift or move forwards,” she continues. “A rider has to feel whether the horse is in an uphill balance, level or on the forehand, or in an airplane whether you are climbing, maintaining your flight level, or descending. Planes also have a tendency to yaw, which would be equivalent to a horse’s hindquarters swinging out in a turn. In both cases there is the potential for a loss of energy/power and balance and must be recognized and controlled throughout a flight.”
One thing is clear: an incredible amount of training and focus are required to succeed in both dressage and flying.
“In addition to the technical skills of flying the plane, pilots manage many variables such as weather, communications, navigation, and keeping the engine running efficiently; you will never have the same flight twice,” Megan laughs. “With horses the variables are endless as well. The technical execution of a movement happens at a precise moment and location even with distractions or circumstances that are less than ideal, for example bad weather or an unpredictable show environment.”
Megan explains that being a good pilot of a horse or a plane is about performing well when conditions aren’t perfect.
“If you have to spend time thinking about where a control is, you will find yourself behind the aircraft in no time. The same goes for riding,” she says. “You have to know how to prepare the horse for a movement well ahead of time or he will get confused and frustrated very quickly. When procedures become second nature, a performance looks seamless and is also so much fun.”
Megan’s dressage idols Anky van Grunsven and Isabell Werth continue to inspire her in the cockpit as well as in the saddle. “Anky and Isabell continue to have successful riding careers as well as businesses outside of riding,” says Megan. “Isabell is not only one of the most decorated dressage riders in the world, with eight Olympic medals, but has a law degree and started with a law firm in 2001. Anky holds nine Olympic dressage titles and continues to challenge herself outside of her sport. She started a successful international fashion line, as well as expanding her equestrian skills into other disciplines, making her international reining debut at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.”
“If you have to spend time thinking about where a control is, you will find yourself behind the aircraft in no time. The same goes for riding.”
And as it happens, one of Megan’s aviation idols is also a life-long equestrian who is currently developing her skills as a dressage rider.
“Captain Judy Cameron is also such an inspiration to me,” she continues. “She’s a pioneer in Canadian aviation, being the first female pilot hired by Air Canada. My other aviation idol is Captain Kim Winsor, a dressage rider as well as an Air Canada pilot and training captain on the Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft. Kim is not only the top in her field, but mentors young aviators and actively encourages women and girls to consider careers in the aviation industry.”
“Megan has always inspired me with her accomplishments as a Team Canada rider. I’m a huge fan!” says Captain Winsor. “It’s such a pleasure to welcome her into this group of extraordinary women in aviation. I have no doubt that the focus, timing, and discipline that led her to success at the highest levels of our sport will help her succeed as a pilot.”
What’s next on Megan’s to-do list? Under the dressage heading, she’d love to find and develop another horse to the international level, while her goal in aviation is to acquire the prerequisites for the ATPL in order to become a First Officer and, ultimately, Captain.
“Through both careers I hope to be as inspirational as these women are while proving it’s possible to succeed at a high level in more than one occupation,” Megan concludes. “I believe that expanding your potential leads to improvement in all aspects of your life.”
