THE 2009 HORSE FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL

On Sunday (June 14th 2009), I spent the day taking photos at the 2009 Horse Friendship Festival held in Black's Equine Centre, Hamilton, Ontario. The weather was great, one of the first nice days of the warm season and there was a decent turnout for the festival.

This event was hosted by the Peruvian Paso Horse Association of Ontario, and was intended to draw Canadians with South American Heritage and Horse lovers alike to the show. Carlos and Carla Escudero's young filly Dama del Peru represented the gaited Peruvian Paso breed. These horses have been bred for hundreds of years in Peru to carry riders long distances over rough terrain at a smooth, comfortable and ground covering gait.

Many of our customers and friends attended as exhibitors, Muriel Chestnut on her gorgeous Andalusian Stallion Soberbio XII, Camilla Willings and her Paso Fino Stallion Mercenario, Jeannie Harris and her new Paso Fino stallion Cavaliero de Vez and the Hoof Beat Outriders drill team.

A pretty buckskin reining Quarter Horse ridden by Dean Brown was a crowd favourite and a demonstration of dressage completed the horse demonstrations.

There were colourful dance troops representing Columbia and Peru, a talented pair of Flamenco dancers and a handsome Mexican singer. Thanks to the PPHAO for their hard work in putting together this day's event.