On a personal note and for me, the real reason I'm doing this ride...
I believe that a timely thank you and acknowledgement is much more effective than all of the therapy and counseling in the world. I was in Vancouver and a random lady in a shop saw the Regimental crest on my jacket. She had lived through the siege of Sarajevo for two years and it was Canadian troops that got her out. She told
me her story and cried and hugged me as we talked. The people in line behind me had tears in their eyes and I realized the power of a heartfelt story told in a context that people can understand. I'm a different person today because of that woman and I need to share this with my Brothers. Hopefully this will inspire other Canadians to reach out to our Veterans that are struggling to transition into regular civilian lives...
Horses have been a huge part of my personal journey and through shared experiences with my wife and horses I am a different person today. With my wife, Terry, and our two daughters, we run a farm and riding center in Quesnel British Columbia. We have partnered with our local therapeutic riding center to operate a successful program out of our facility. Our farm is certified through both the British Columbia Therapeutic Riding Association and the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association. I am a former Calgary Highlander and served with 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in the UN mission in the former Yugoslavia in 1993. I have been active with British Columbia Company of the Canadian Rangers for the past three years. As a veteran who has operated under fire and struggled to make the transition to civilian life, I know how lonely it can be at home. I think we have a responsibility to bring that awareness to the Canadian people and let them know that our veterans live quietly among us every day. Some of our veterans need some help adjusting and I personally know that timely help can change a life. We thought who better to raise that awareness in our communities than the veterans themselves? Seven years ago my wife Terry had her pelvis crushed in a riding accident. She spent time in a wheel chair and, as part of her therapy she returned to her own riding program as a client in need of therapy. She was back on a horse before she was walking. I believe our experiences give us a unique perspective to share and it gives us much needed credibility with our troops and their families. My wife and I have assembled a crew and we are stepping off mid April 2015 on a horseback trip across Canada. This is an awareness campaign and fundraiser for physical and mental health issues concerning our Canadian Veterans as they struggle to transition back into the world of civilians. My wife will lead an advance party with trucks, trailers, several horses and small crew. She will co-ordinate with communities to find our veterans who will then be given a riding lesson. Once they are safely through the lesson, these veterans will be staged and take their place to join the ride with me for either a half or part day as we pass through, or close to their own communities. As we travel across the country on horseback accompanied by these other riders we will document their stories which will then be organized and shared with the people of Canada. The objective is to make it across Canada in roughly 200 days and include as many veteran guest riders as we can. This ride is not about one veteran and his family riding across the country for a cause. A Canadian Veteran's story about the difficulty of trying to adapt to civilian life can be sad but as many of these stories are collected and reflected on, it will create awareness and encourage discussion of the challenges that our Veterans can face. We are working with horses to bring awareness to this real issue in our communities across our country. By the time our horses get us to the Atlantic coast of Canada we will have heard the stories of over 700 Canadian Veterans.
