Dear Students,

Welcome to your cohort of the Ontario Equine Education and Employment Program!

I am Gayle Ecker, Director of Equine Guelph, the Centre for the Horse Owner at the University of Guelph.  Normally I have been the instructor for this course for past offerings, but I am delighted to inform you that Cathy Wentworth-Stanley will be your  instructor for the OEEEP program online portion for this cohort.  I will let Cathy introduce herself to you, as she joins us tomorrow.

It is my fortune to have been in the horse industry for pretty much all of my life. I rode my first horse, before I was even walking, thanks to my mother!  My family bought our first horse when I was 6 and I had my first pony when I was 7 years old – a cute little dapple-grey Shetland called Pogo!

My pony, Pogo, and my first horse show and we won a ribbon!

Since then, I have been involved in both the racing and non-racing sectors, and also as a competitive rider in 4-H, rodeo,horse shows, managing a small boarding facility along with my own horses which included breeding, training young horses for others and training/showing our own horses at Quarter Horse and Arabian horse shows and a bit of competitive trail/endurance riding.  Wanting to learn more about horses, I gained far more experience as a researcher of equine exercise physiology for the sports of endurance, competitive trail riding, three-day eventing, and racehorses as I completed my M.Sc. (Heat stress, thermoregulation and electrolyte imbalances, use of heart rate monitors for conditioning) in that area and conducted treadmill studies as a Research Associate.  I have been a groom, show groom, trainer, riding coach while in school, then worked in Marketing and Publicity at Woodbine Racetrack, then back to a researcher at the University of Guelph (where I as involved in the “On To Atlanta team from Canada studying thermoregulation/electrolyte losses and dehydration, and now an Equine Educator, Course Developer and Director of Equine Guelph.  I have been privileged to have had some wonderful mentors and have met wonderful people in the industry along the way.

And it all started when I learned how to be a good groom all those years ago!  The information and skills that I learned as a groom have provided me with a very important foundation for all the positions that I have had along the way.  It was important to learn about the horse and the skills of a groom, and this has been beneficial for me throughout my pathway in the equine industry.

So, introduce yourselves in the Discussion forum, where Cathy will be joining your course, and tell us more about your background, your skills (in or out of the horse industry as it is great to combine them as you can how I have done that) and where you hope to be once you have completed this program along with your long-term career goals.  That helps us help you!

And please note, there is no “dumb question” in this course!  If you have one, you can bet many more have the same question, so please do not hesitate to ask your questions.  Become involved in the discussions as that is one of the most powerful ways you have to learn this important knowledge that forms a base for your career in the horse industry!

So, let’s get started!

Gayle Ecker, Director, Equine Guelph