Equine Feature Supplement - September 22nd, 2022

EQUINE

Holly Jacks, Candy King compete for Team Canada at FEI World Championships in Italy

By Kelly Waterhouse

HILLSBURGH

– It wasn’t the result she hoped for, but Holly Jacks and her British sport horse, Candy King did their country and community proud last weekend (Sept. 14 to 17), competing in the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Championships Eventing in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy as members of the Canadian Eventing Team.

Team Canada ended the competition in 12th place, with Germany taking the lead position, and the United States and New Zealand rounding out the top three.

Canada needed to make the top eight to secure a spot in the Summer Olympics in 2024.

Yet, Jacks is grateful to have competed.

“The experience itself was amazing, to have such great teammates. We ended up having to work really hard together to get a team finish,” Jacks said.

Jacks was proud to be a member of the Canadian Eventing Team, which includes Hawley Awad and JollyBo, Colleen Loach and Vermont, Karl Slezak and Fernhill Wishes, as well as Michael Winter and El Mundo.

“The support crew we had around was the best support crew I believe Canada has ever had,” she said.

Making the team was a dream come true, years in the making, and yet just the beginning of what the 36-year-old competitor hoped would be a significant experience not only for her career, but for that of her 12-year-old ride, Candy King.

“It’s been a lot of years of work, and I think that this is a really great horse for now, but also a really great horse for the future. And so, I think this will be a great experience,” Jacks said.

Candy King did not disappoint and Jacks is proud of her horse.

“I think he was fabulous,” she said.

“It was unfortunate that I couldn’t take the original routes that I wanted on cross country. But I think that at the end of the day, they needed me to ride as a teammate,” Jacks explained.

“And I think that coming home with no jump penalties was what needed to be done on the day and I’m really proud of my horse for stepping up to do that for Canada.”

Sending a Canadian team to Italy almost didn’t happen.

“Three months ago, there was not enough money to send a World Championship team to Italy,” Jacks said.

She credits Canada’s new High Performance Advisory Group (HPAG) of volunteers for raising $250,000 for the team to fund the trip to Europe.

“Eventing in Canada was in a challenging place 12 months ago and this amazing group of volunteers has done an incredible job pulling together a program for us,” said Jacks.

“I can’t thank the HPAG and our donors enough. We aspire to make this a world-class program and coming up with the funds to send a full team to the World Championships is a fabulous start. This group of volunteers has an amazing vision for our team and country.”

That momentum she hopes will inspire not only more investment in the sport, but show young riders there is a future in it.

“Your dreams have to start somewhere, right?,” she said.

“As a kid, seeing people going to the World Championships lets the kids be able to dream and try to get there too.”

Growing up in British Columbia, Jacks said she knew her future was

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“I don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” she said. “The thought of being a team rider was

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To earn her living with horses, Jacks has done “a little bit of everything,” from leading trails to gallop-

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Duo – Holly Jacks and Candy King represented the Canadian Eventing Team at the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Championships Eventing in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy from Sept. 15 to 18. Cindy Lawlor Photography

New technology offers unprecedented insight into health of equine tendons

By Kelly Waterhouse

ERIN – High injury rates in equine tendon and ligaments are common in the equine industry – to the point they are almost accepted as the “nature of the beast.”

Julien Moreau wants to change that misconception.

“We see the weakness on tendon and ligaments and that made me question, ‘how can we avoid injuries?’ Because it’s a huge part of the sport,” Moreau said, noting this happens across disciplines, from horse racing to the dressage ring.

Moreau has a lifetime of experience riding and training competitive horses in his homeland of France, but now calls Erin, where he has a training facility, home.

He has found his footing on Canadian soil by bringing a new technology from overseas that he believes will ensure his equine athletes are sound in their footing too.

The Ultrasound Tissue Characterization (UTC) technology is an advanced tendon tissue assessment tool he believes has potential to change the industry.

“Owners in North America buy so many horses from Europe that are real quality, but the injury rate here is huge. It’s incredible,” Moreau said.

“We lose too many good horses because of that, and it costs owners a lot of money too.”

Moreau wanted to find a solution that would help horses in their careers, and owners in their investment.

“Often, we hear from people that they put all their money into a horse and then they don’t have the data to analyze their risk of injury, or to rehabilitate the horse, if necessary,” Moreau said.

“I thought this was a huge advance for this sport and it had to be brought to Canada.”

The UTC technology is produced by Equine Tendon, an international company located in Kerry, Ireland. Founded by Henk Offereins, DVM, the company creates unique technologies and services that support horses by collecting reliable

and accurate data that will help assess and optimize performance.

“We’re not really in the business of diagnosing or fixing tendons as such,” Offereins explains. “We’re in the business of assessing the state of the tendon - in relation to a certain amount of exercise or maybe in relation to an injury.”

He adds, “What this technology allows is to actually assess the responses of a tendon of exercise or loading.”

Offereins notes the effect of loading is well documented in sports medicine.

“It’s a concept that is well accepted in human medicine and management of hockey players. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. We are assessing the effect of loading,” he said.

“So, in that sense, I think the average athlete, or Canadian sports therapist would know about injuries and what it takes to prevent them … and any tool that can help you do that is a welcome addition to the industry.”

It’s as much about preventative care for the athlete as it is about injury and subsequent rehabilitation.

“The whole goal is to bring longevity to the horses; avoid injuries and bring longevity,” Moreau said.

The UTC technology can offer a personalized baseline of the tendon’s status.

“We measure the effect of the training on those tendons so then we’re able to adapt the training to each horse,” Moreau said.

“It’s like an insurance; you try to avoid the injury. And you know before there is something there that has a lower chance to repair.”

The UTC scanner technology can differentiate between different fibre types within the tendon. This allows assessment of percentages of healthy aligned fibres, the degree of scar tissue, the severity of a lesion and the effect on the tendon of the current exercise level, all in one scan.

“You have to see a tendon a bit like a rope. And before it breaks, it will slowly start giving way,” explains Offereins.

“That early stage is where the normal ultrasounds wouldn’t work, or

other technologies wouldn’t pick up in a practical or economical way. So, what we can do is actually look at the horse and assess the tendon as part of the exercise regime, or injury, or performance level.”

Offereins adds, “You don’t need to be injured to be able to make use of the technology.”

Ultrasonographic tissue characterization is driven by a precision instrument that automatically moves a highfrequency ultrasonographic probe along the long axis of the tendon, collecting 600 transverse images at regular intervals of 0.2 mm.

“It’s drug free, which is important for the industry. It’s not invasive; we

don’t inject anything,” Moreau explains. “It’s an ultrasound that measures the tendon, and the ultrasound is outside the leg.”

Using both hardware and software, the UTC creates a quantitative evaluation of tendon structural integrity.

“The scanner technology will standardize the assessment of the tendon,” Offereins explains. “That assessment is based on the analysis of the fibres, independent and not whether or not there’s holes or lack of depth in the tendon alone.”

The UTC will detect and display four different fibre types/patterns, the percentages of which, depending on

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New tool - Julien Moreau applies the Ultrasound Tissue Characterization (UTC) device to an equine athlete in preparation for an advanced tendon tissue assessment. Submitted Photo

Owners in North America buy so many horses from Europe that are real quality, but the injury rate here is huge. It’s incredible.

- Julien Moreau

Holly Jacks, Candy King compete for Team Canada at FEI World Championships in Italy

equine business.

“I think where I was lucky is that I really enjoyed the process of training horses, and I was blessed with the opportunity in 2015 to ride on my first Nation’s Cup team with a horse I produced,” Jacks said.

“It’s been a long road filled with real big highs and real big lows.”

Jacks and her veteran partner, More Inspiration, previously enjoyed success competing on two Nation Cup teams. They were long-listed for the 2015 Pan American Games and short-listed for the 2016 Olympic Games.

In 2020, Jacks qualified both More Inspiration and Candy King for the 2020 Olympics but had to retire the veteran due to a detected heart murmur.

Candy King, a 2010 gelding by Granfenstoltz out of Eye Candy, was imported as a six-year-old. Jacks has trained him to impressive results, including a win at the 2021 Bromont International CCI 2*. Highlights of 2022 include finishing 8th in the Advanced at Rocking Horse, 9th in the Red Hills International CCI4-S, and 8th in the Tryon International Spring CCI4-L.

“He’s actually quite a spooky horse, and probably wouldn’t be what people would think of as an upper-level event horse. But we built an amazing relationship over the last six years, and he is an absolute competitor and will jump anything put in front of him,” Jacks said, remarking that the last two years he has shown his capabilities.

“He doesn’t get tired.”

Jack’s dressage coach is no stranger to the pressure of competitive circuit. Tom Dvorak, owner of Friday Hill at Gilbrea Stables in Hillsburgh, is one of Canada’s top international dressage riders, developing horses through to Grand Prix, and representing Canada at the Pan America Games, World Cups and World Championships.

Dvorak made the trip to Italy to support Jacks.

“I’m really excited. This is a big moment for the two of us. We’ve been working

together for eight or nine years,” Dvorak said. “She’s a very, very talented rider and she takes it very seriously. I’m really excited to be there with her for this big moment as her coach and friend.”

Dvorak is as impressed with his rider as he is with Candy King.

“From the dressage aspect of it, he is a nice moving horse. He has three really nice gaits. He is very athletic, very willing,” Dvorak said. “I think Holly and him click well together at every level; every new level they reach, they excel at it. So here we are, we’re going to the World Championship and he’s still pretty young in his career at this high level.”

Dvorak notes the relationship between Jacks and her horse is paramount.

“Eventing is a very intense sport. You’re really putting yourself on the line,” Dvorak said of the three-day competition.

“The horse has to be able to settle down and be relaxed with dressage and be that obedient, one with the rider, but then turn around and do the cross-country the next day,” he said.

“It takes a special horse to go through all three phases, three days in a row. It’s phenomenal. They are special horses, there’s no doubt about that.”

Dvorak’s believes Jacks’ spot on the national team is an important stepping-stone for her already successful career.

“I think there will be still great things to come,” he said. “It’s always determined by having the right horse at the right time, which this time is working out well.”

Dvorak also credits Jacks for seeking out expert coaches with championship experiences, including the legendary Buck Davidson, whose Team USA eventing career is renowned.

Competing and training at this level with these coaches requires that Jacks and Candy King winter in Ocala, Florida, where both Davidson and Dvorak, who also winters there, can work with them as they compete in the warmer

climate.

“It’s a tough sport to build your career without financial help, whether that’s from sponsors or owners of horses, and so on. You really do need that as a competitor to help build your career,” Dvorak said.

To compete at this level,

the Canadian Eventing Team, she hopes her experience will affect change in the sport.

“Canada is known for ice hockey, but we need to work hard to raise awareness of equestrian sport in order to find owners and raise funds to develop an Olympic equestrian team,” Jacks explains.

lot of people who come from a little more money, that I needed to be creative to own good horses. I can’t do it without having owners,” Jacks said.

“So, this was a way for the average person to be involved.”

Jacks said the ownership model is popular in Europe and the United States, but in Canada it is more of a boutique experience, because there isn’t the same volume of horses involved in the Canadian program.

“It’s truly like an investment of being part of something, so instead of somebody spending the money to be a member on a golf club, they become a member of Candy King Limited Partnership,” Jacks said.

Theses members act in an advisory capacity with shares in the future of the horse.

a horse like Candy King costs approximately $60,000 annually to maintain. International travel is not factored into that number.

Jacks accepts that this financial challenge exists in Canada but now that she has an opportunity to highlight the issue as a member of

“I’ve had to sell a lot of other horses in order to develop one to the World Championship level.”

This was the impetus for Jacks to establish the Candy King Eventing Limited Partnership program.

“I decided that if I’m going to play the horse game with a

“They’ve bought into the horse but not in an investment capacity,” she explained.

“They’ve bought in to be a member of the next few years and kind of living the dream with us.”

This membership offers access to the world of upper-

level eventing. Participants get a behind-the-scenes experience and attendance as owners to prestigious equine events, including the option to join her at future international championships.

By helping to cover the costs to maintain Candy King as a national athlete, they are part of the bigger Canadian dream.

“It’s a really fun time in Canada to start getting involved in this sport,” Jacks said, noting she currently has four owners in the Candy King syndicate and is hoping for more to come on board.

Julia Worden is one owner.

A thoroughbred breeder and trainer in Ocala, Florida, she met Jacks about 16 years ago when Jacks came to work at a stable Worden was managing. Years later, Jacks coached both Worden and her daughter for winter show season.

“Seeing how hard Holly works, I just think she’s a brilliant horse woman and so dedicated,” Worden said.

Worden notes that Jacks’ investment in her own career

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HOLLY JACKS

He’s actually quite a spooky horse, and probably wouldn’t be what people would think of as an upper-level event horse.

- Holly Jacks

location within the tendon, allows for accurate assessment of the extent of damage, the quality of healing and to establish the optimal exercise the tendon can handle to achieve optimal results.

“We’re able to be interactive

with the analysis of the fibres,” Offereins said, noting this is what makes the UTC a unique tool.

“It allows assessments in a much more detailed level than a conventional ultrasound can, and even more than an MRI could, so it has its own place in

tendon management.”

Another benefit, Moreau points out, is that the UTC equipment is portable, allowing the personal assessments to be performed on-site, at the horse’s home barn. That convenience is a cost-savings.

Offereins said the technology was born out of a need in the equine industry. While there was various research into the treatment of tendons, there wasn’t a standard framework to manage the information or a network to share the findings, though many horse owners were dealing with similar issues and challenges.

“So, that was actually where the whole thing started: to get similar data out of these tendons that are comparable between different horses, and between different countries and continents as such,” Offerein said. “This data may be individual, but in the broader network of data of other horses, it helps to create a very unique and thorough database.”

He explains that data can be shared with a horse’s team, from the owners to the trainers to the riders, to make an informed decision on the horse’s capability in the moment, if they are comfortable at their current performance level, or if there is a risk to consider.

“It’s part of the decision mak-

ing around the career of a horse. You need to know whether the horse is comfortable in the amount of work and the loading of tendons or not, and that’s what the technology allows us to see,” Offereins confirms.

“We’re adding a layer of information to the industry that will then in turn will be helpful for all the other goals in that industry.”

Moreau agrees that the more information shared for the welfare of the horse, the greater the success of the team around it.

“It helps everyone be more efficient, including the veterinarians, but also the physiotherapists, the riders, trainers, the grooms. The more information for everyone, the better,” Moreau said.

“And it’s each individual horse because everyone trains different: different weather, different surface where the horses train on, different riders. Some trainers have the same injuries again and again, and some never have them. It means that the human effect is huge. So, it’s how can we be better managers for the athletes?”

Offereins said the UTC has filled the gap of providing useful data in an area of equine heath, where there is currently very little data.

It’s also building a case against the apathy and acceptance of high equine injury rates.

“That’s really a focus point for me is that the industry accepts this high injury rate and this poor recovery rate,” Offereins said. “But ultimately, some horses are put down, others are miserable in the field, but they’re not doing the job or living the life they could be living because of the injury or re-injury.

“And anything that can reduce injury risk, I think would be very strongly helping animal welfare in the wider sense. So that alone would be a good reason.”

For more information on Ultrasound Tissue Characterization, visit equinetendon.com.

To contact Julien Moreau, for North American coverage, email canada@equinetendon.com.

is equaled by her commitment to the growth of future generations in equine sport.

“Her dedication to her working students and helping bring along the next generation of riders … Holly, really puts her heart into teaching, and if they are willing and really want it, she is 100 per cent behind them, which I think is just amazing,” she said.

Investing in Jacks’ future was an easy decision.

“When she told me about syndicating Candy King, it just came along at the right time … So I was really happy to help be a part of it,” Worden said.

Worden shared in the hope for Olympic competition for Jacks and Candy King.

“He’s got the talent and so does she, so you know, that’s

the dream. That’s, the goal to keep pushing towards,” she said.

The model of the Candy King Eventing Limited Partnership is something Worden thinks is of good value for other Canadian equine competitors, and she hopes others will get behind the concept.

“It’s really important. It’s such a great sport. And there are so many good riders in Canada. They just need the support to be able to go and be on the big stage with the rest of the world, because they have the talent,” Worden said.

“They just need the support and the help to get there.”

Jacks admits it’s been challenging to setup the membership program.

“It was a bit of a new adven-

ture for me, but it’s really exciting that it came together and that I’ve kept the horse on Canadian soil and ready to be part of the Canadian team,” Jacks said, proudly.

None of this would be possible without the grassroots support of her community of Erin and Hillsburgh.

That includes Dvorak’s wife Ellen and daughter Alex.

“We’re all a really close knit barn community,” Jacks said.

Another Hillsburgh neighbour, Siobhan O’Connor, hosted a fundraiser for Jacks, two weeks before her departure to Italy.

“It was a massive fundraiser and the whole community showed up,” Jacks said, expressing gratitude for the generosity of local businesses and private supporters.

“It was just something that a small-town community does where you get that feeling of support.”

On the eve of her departure, Jacks discovered her horse trailer had a shredded tire. Though it was after business hours, she called Torburgh Enterprises, an auto repair business in Hillsburgh.

“The mechanic came back to work and replaced all four tires to ensure their safety so

I could hit the road at 3am,” Jacks said. “He told me, ‘I can’t send you down to the world championships with those tires.’”

Local support means the world to Jacks. After the team medals ceremony, Jacks took to her Instagram page to thank her community, coaches, sponosrs, and her support team.

“Thank you to my working students, all my students, for chipping in and letting me be away this long, running the farm. I appreciate you guys,” she said.

She acknowledged the HPAG for their incredible support for Team Canada.

“This experience is only going to make us better.”

Keeping the spotlight on equine sport investment, Jacks hopes people will support Team Canada’s efforts to compete at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, in a bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Selection of that team is yet to be determined.

The future looks bright for Jacks and Candy King, including a goal to compete at the Kentucky 5-Star in 2023.

For more information on Holly Jacks Eventing visit hollyjacksequestrian.com.

Hooves for Hospice returns for fifth year on October 15

FERGUS - The annual Hooves for Hospice fundraiser is set for Oct. 15 at 11am.

The rain or shine event takes place at 6065 Fourth Line, Centre Wellington.

Participants and their horses will ride across several private rural properties on the outskirts of Fergus, all in support of Hospice Wellington.

Now in its fifth year, the event is open to all disciplines, with signed waivers and OEF/ CRHRA coverage required.

Helmets are also required. Participation is limited and people are encouraged to register early. To reserve a spot visit hoovesforhospice.ca before Oct. 7.

The entry fee, which includes the ride and lunch, is a $75 minimum pledge. Prizes will be awarded for the top pledges raised. For more information or to make a donation in support of the Hooves for Hospice event, visit hoovesforhospice.ca.

‘This experience is only going to make us better’

The fifth annual Hooves for Hospice event returns Oct. 15, bringing horses and riders together in support of Hospice Wellington.

Photo by Lynn Smillie