For a youth with limited prior experience with horses, Sarah Roelofsen had quite a successful first season on the Canadian Belgian Youth Program (CBYP) show circuit in 2013.
Working with horses owned by Firefly Hill Farms near Damascus, Sarah competed in about 10 showmanship events, finishing first in her class at events in Fergus, Drayton and Lindsay.
She also brought home a third-place ribbon from the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto last fall.
“I think I did pretty well,” says the 14-year-old Grade 9 student at Wellington Heights Secondary School.
Growing up in Arthur, Sarah didn’t have a lot of opportunity to be around horses, aside from a few excursions with her mother, Sally Roelofsen.
“We went horseback riding every once and a while, but not that often,” said Sarah, who first became involved with Belgians about a year ago.
Her grandfather, Jack Benham, lives near the Firefly Hill operation in Wellington North and arranged with owner Nancy Campbell for Sarah to work with them.
As it turns out, the connection was a timely one, Sally points out.
“Nancy took Sarah under her wing with the horses, farm, and her home when my dad had a bad burn accident and was in the Hamilton burn unit for a few weeks,” Sally explained. “My mom, brother and I were spending a lot of time at the hospital.
“It was always my dad’s wish that Sarah get involved with the horses and Nancy was right there to take Sarah in. Dad recovered and was there to see Sarah win a first at the Lindsay fair, and many more shows.”
Sally added her family is thankful to Campbell for the opportunity she provided and the time she has spent with her daughter.
Sarah helps with stable cleaning and other chores and in return, gets to work with the horses. At Campbell’s suggestion, she began showing Firefly Hill horses at competitions around the region and ended up earning an honorable mention for the Central Ontario region of the CBYP for her efforts this past season.
As a newcomer to the circuit, Sarah enjoyed the opportunity to constantly meet new people who share her interest in horses. What she enjoys most though is working with her newfound equine friends.
“It’s pretty much about the horses,” said Sarah, adding she is looking forward to competing on the CBYP circuit again this summer.
The Canadian Belgian Youth Program is designed to promote youth involvement in showing and the development of Belgian draft horses and to recognize their achievements.
Each season, Champion Canadian Belgian Youth and Reserve Champion Canadian Belgian Youth awards are presented in both junior (age 8 to 13 ) and senior (14 to 18) divisions in three geographic areas: east, central and west.
A three-member panel decides the Champion and Reserve champion placements based on:
– the number of qualifying shows and classes attended by the nominee;
– placings achieved in the listed classes; and
– details regarding their involvement with Belgians throughout the current show season as provided in a written submission.
