MURILLO, Ont. -- The equestrian community is back in the saddle again.
On Sunday Carol Soltys Wild West Horse Show and Jump for the Cure wrapped up at Murillo's Amare Vita Equestrian, a chance for riders and trainers young and old to showcase the progress they've made over the past 16 months, while raising money for fight cancer.
Fighting back tears, Stoltys, who recently lost both her husband and daughter to cancer, said it's been a tough couple of years, but seeing competitions starting up again gives her joy.
“I'm happy and really grateful that the community has come together to support us. I've had a rough two-and-a-half years and I'm just amazed that everybody comes together. I will give back when I can as well,” said Stoltys, best known as the Carol behind Carol's cake, a popular Thunder Bay bakery.
“The participants have been great, the judges have been great, the facility is great and the weather co-operated. A little cooler would have been great, but we're not going to complain.”
The competition, which, provided proceeds to Ronald McDonald House and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, was also held in honour of Carolyn Hughes and eight-year-old Colton Stieh, both cancer survivors.
It was especially touching for Hughes to see horses and riders back in the ring.
“Carol's daughter and I were fighting cancer at the same time, so we really stuck together and supported each other. Of course I supported her daughter (Terri-Lynn) and unfortunately we lost her,” Hughes said.
“But it's drawn us a lot closer and she's always checking in on me and taking care of me, so I love this woman.”
The event was organized by Cheryl Everall, owner of Amare Vita Equestrian and said she decided to help organize it as a way to bring the community together.
“It's all for a good cause,” she said. “Carolyn and I have done fundraising in the past. We've been quite successful on behalf of members of the community who have needed a little bit of extra help. Today is really about helping one another, bringing the community together and also build the equestrian sport locally and providing an opportunity for riders, coaches, judges, to come out and have a good time.”
Everall said the reaction has been fantastic, given what the world has suffered through over the past year-and-a-half dealing with the ramifications of a global pandemic.
“It's been a lot of fun,” Everall said.
Neebing's Jane Cryderman, a judge at the weekend event, said it's great being back in action.
“The horse-show community has been sort of horse-show starved for the past year. It's just wonderful to see everyone out again. It is for a good cause. Carol and I go back many, many year, to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, so it's also super great to be supporting that cause,” she said.
“We used to show our horses on the Murillo fairgrounds, many, many years ago.”
Her sister, Della Cryderman, said the quality of competition was great, especially after everyone took so much time off.
“It's a great start, so onward and upward,” she said.
