EVALUATIONS

We did it, Canada !

In 1986, Pat Wolfe attended his first evaluation in Norway. At that time, he had a dream - to hold evaluations in Canada. Twenty three years later, it happened !

The event was held at Phantom Farm, a beautiful equestrian facility in Almonte, Ontario. With steady rain for the past week and no change in the forecast, the morning of October 3rd dawned warm and sunny.

Participants and spectators gathered bright and early Saturday morning for introductions and an explanation of the day to unfold. Evaluators, Karen Cabic (New York) and Brian Jensen (British Columbia), put all the excited participants at ease and the first ever Canadian Evaluation was underway !

The first order of the day was the conformation inspections.

The evaluators carefully examined each horse from head to tail

and watched them move at the walk and trot.

Each horse was scored with a "standard" image in mind. If the horse receives a red (a score of 80 or better) or a blue (score of 70-79) ribbon it implies that the horse is of breeding quality and may proceed to the performance tests. In Canada, a red ribbon is the higher award than a blue ribbon.

There were performances in riding , driving and draft work.

It is always a treat to watch a horse and handler succeed, especially at the advanced level.

Only after passing the performance test(s) is a horse awarded a medallion (silver for introductory level and gold for advanced tests). The medallions represent a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication on the part of the owner, and is proof of the tractability of the horse. They are highly respected, as a measure of quality and commitment, in a breeding program.

Evaluations are an excellant way to educate owners and breeders and are the social event of the year for the membership. In the long run, they will serve to improve the overall quality of our horses.

As we all learn to recognize good and bad qualities, we will be able to make more informed decisions when matching stallions to mares, and to know when not to breed at all.

Fjord owners are thirsty for knowledge and are looking to the CFHA for education, so that they can raise, train and show their Fjord horses to their full ability.

Thanks to the enormous effort of Pat Wolfe, and our North American Evaluation Committee (CFHA/NFHR), our first evaluation was a tremendous success and everyone who attended was glad for it.

We all went home with dreams of the next evaluation already floating in our heads. Start planning now for our 2010 evaluation, with hopes for a clinic and evaluation in the west.

We would also like to acknowledge Dan Watanabe (Pres.) and Curtis Pierce (Eval. Comm.) of the NFHR for their presence and support in our endeavour. We could not have done it without them, or any of the volunteers that chipped in, to make the day go so smoothly.

One of Dan's many talents is his photographer's ability to capture our Fjords in action. He has shared several of his photographs with us. They have been marked with his copywright signature.

Pat asked a friend of his to be the official photographer and we are fortunate for that. Denise Lauzon spent her entire day at the edge of the action, and took hundreds of pictures and all the "official " photos. Denise gets credit for most all of the photos that appear for the evaluation.

Thanks to Denise and Dan, we have a beautiful record of the day !

Official photos and evaluation scores will be posted on the website, in due course.

Several participants have written about their experiences and you must read on to enjoy their stories...

Little Creek Second Chance and Andrea Thiel, "The People's Choice" CLICK HERE

Blythe Acres Scotsdale - From Rags to Riches, By Russell Brenneman CLICK HERE

The 2009 Schedule of Events:

Pre-Evaluation Clinic, March 14, 2009 9:00 - 4:00
Butternut Farm, Lanark, Ontario

Pre-Evaluation Clinic, May 30, 2009
Bowden, Alberta

The Pre-Evaluation Clinic, October 2, 4:00 p.m. (free to participants of evaluation)
Phantom Farm, Almonte, Ontario

The ALMONTE EVALUATION , October 3, beginning 8:00 a.m.
Phantom Farm, Almonte, Ontario.

Pat Wolfe has written two articles that explain the concept and the success you can find in the evaluation system:

SO WHAT DOES AN EVALUATION MEAN TO THE BREED?
To read Pat's article...CLICK HERE

PREPARING YOURSELF AND YOUR HORSE FOR AN EVALUATION
To read Pat's article...CLICK HERE

Our Evaluation Committee is working together with the NFHR, to bring this program to Canada. They have formed the North American Evaluation Committee. The Chairperson for the CFHA Evaluation Committee is Alison Bakken. Email her or call her: 403-638-2018.
To further your understanding of the evaluation program, follow this LINK.

Kelly MacDonald, near Antigonish Nova Scotia, offered to host a two day EVALUATION. Please contact her if you are interested in participating in an evaluation in Nova Scotia.

Those members out west should be selecting their horses and preparing for an evaluation in 2010!

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EVALUATIONS

We did it, Canada !