2026 Percheron Post by tailoredtsm

BREEDERS DIRECTORY

The Ontario Percheron Association is putting a Breeder’s Directory for 2026. We would like to include your farm and horses, please find the information required for you to be included and a list of horses currently registered to you from CLRC.

Breeder’s listing:

1) Confirm the list of Horses, for any others you would like included, please provide the full name with year of birth, and reg number

2) Confirm your farm name, address, phone number and email address

3) Colour Photo

4) Any notes you wish to have included

Rate: $50/ page including a colour photo, $25/ ½ page

Advertisers:

Rates to advertise: 1 Page Colour - $ 225

½ Page Colour - $ 125

1 Page B& W - $125

½ Page B&W - $75

Business Card or 1/3-page Colour - $50

We are looking for an early summer publication date, so that it can be distributed at the World Percheron Congress in July.

**The deadline will be April 15th**

We will be looking for candid photos to include, please send those along as well. Any questions contact Gillian, 905-376-0295 or ontariopercherons@gmail.com.

Send your info and ads to ontariopercherons@gmail.com or by mail to 3-7461 Speers Rd, Elora ON, N0B 1S0

LEARN TO DRIVE RECAP

On Saturday May 24th 2025 we held a “Learn to Drive” clinic in Burgessville, Ont. We had great weather, but a smaller turnout of only 6 participants, with various backgrounds and experience levels. We had instructions on how to safely harness, hitch, and drive draft horses. Everyone had a chance to do some hands-on learning, gain some experience and spend the day with some great people and horses.

Thanks to Katie Fleming and family for providing a great facility and some horses. Jim Bickell also brought a team of horses. John Norhtcote did a great job of demonstrating harnessing and hitching, and a big thank you for bringing two Leon Carriages for us to use. We had some terrific people that came out to help with the new drivers, Jim Bickell, Ester Penders, and Dwight Bennett.

Thanks to everyone who came out, I look forward to next year -Gillian

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I hope that this message finds you all well and that you and your families had a wonderful Holiday Season. It is hard to believe that another year has passed and so fast. The four seasons of horses come and go each year and like everything else they seem to pass by quicker each year. What are the four seasons of horses you ask? Foaling Season, Breading Season, Show Season and do everything around the farm that got ignored all year because of the other seasons season. Well at least this is how it goes at our place.

Now that 2026 is here I would like to invite and remind you all to attend the OPHA Annual General Meeting. It’s held at the Monora Park Pavillion in Orangeville (Mono) on March 7 at 3pm. Please feel free to stay afterwards and

enjoy an evening of good food and laughs at our annual Awards Banquet and Live Auction. Banquet tickets are $50.00 per person and are available from any OPHA board member. This event is always a great time and has sold out the past couple of years so get your tickets before they are gone. The OPHA is looking for donations to be auctioned off at our live auction on this night. If you have anything and can not attend, please contact us and we will gladly get it picked up. Thank you in advance to everyone that donates to make our auction a huge success every year. Every item helps!

The Ontario Percheron Horse Association is looking to fill a few vacant seats on our board. If you or anyone else you know would like to become a Board Member, please feel free to con-

tact myself or any other current board member to inquire about joining us in helping promote the Percheron breed.

I would like to congratulate and thank Kim Davidson on becoming the Percheron representative for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Horse Show Committee. If you have any concerns or questions for The Royal Horse Show, please contact Kim to discuss them so he can take you concerns to the RAWF Horse Committee. On behalf of the OPHA, I would also like to thank Robert Black for all the years that he served as the Royal representative for the Pecherons. Bob you time and efforts as always are truly appreciated.

For those of you that were not in attendance at the 103rd Royal Horse Show on Friday November 7th you all missed something special. After a great morning of horsemanship during the Percheron Halter Classes in the Royal Horse Palace Show Ring the Ontario Percheron Horse Association honored Robert and Jennifer Black with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Promoting the Percheron Breed. An honor never bestowed upon anyone else prior to this time If I’m not mistaken the 103rd Royal Horse Show was Robert’s 75th year of showing horses at the RAWF. This is an outstanding accomplishment and not an easy task to achieve especially at a horse show recognized around the world. Congratulations again to Robert and Jennifer (and all generations of the Black Family for that matter) for all your hard work and effort promoting the Percheron breed. It was truly an honor to present you with this well-deserved award.

I would also like congratulate and give

a huge shout out on a job well done to OPHA board member and newsletter editor Taylor McClain (TSM Designs) for doing an outstanding job at her first of hopefully many years as photographer at the Royal Horse Show. It was nice to have a “horse person doing horse photos” again. Taylor does a great job promoting the entire horse industry and we look forward to seeing her continued success.

With 2025 now in the rearview mirror I want to thank my fellow OPHA board members for all you work and efforts in making the last year a successful one. It is enjoyable working with you all.

Until I see you in the pasture or on the road, please all be safe and take care.

Kind Regards, Ian Greenwood President OPHA

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND BANQUET

Saturday March 7th

Monora Park Pavillion Orangeville

Tickets $50 each

Meeting at 2:30pm

Social 5:30pm

Dinner 7:00pm

Live Auction and music to follow

Dear Members and Friends,

As we reflect on another successful year for the Ontario Percheron Horse Association, I am grateful for the dedication, enthusiasm, and camaraderie shown by our members across the province. Whether you participated in shows, breeding programs, competitions, community events, or simply supported the Association from home, your involvement continues to strengthen and celebrate the remarkable Percheron breed.

This year saw excellent turnout at our regional and provincial shows, youth activities, and educational events. It is inspiring to watch new exhibitors step into the ring alongside our longtime members, all sharing the same passion for these impressive horses. The ongoing commitment of our volunteers, sponsors, and organizers is truly the backbone of our Association, and I extend heartfelt thanks to each of you for the countless hours and energy you contribute.

As we look ahead to 2026, a year that will include the usual foaling and show season, we also have a World Percheron Congress in St Paul Minnesota. The OPHA will remain focused

SECRETARY’S MESSAGE

on promoting the Percheron breed, fostering youth involvement, and creating opportunities for members to connect, learn, and grow. I encourage you to stay engaged—whether through attending events, sharing ideas, or supporting Association initiatives. Your voice and participation help shape our direction for the coming year.

Please note the new mailing address for the association, and be sure to update your information to ensure you receive the news from the OPHA

Thank you for being part of our community and for helping ensure a bright future for Percherons in Ontario. I look forward to seeing many of you in the months ahead and wish you success and enjoyment with your horses in the coming season.

Warm regards,

Gillian Tinney Secretary, Ontario Percheron

Horse Association

2026 BREEDING SEASON

Hello all! I extend my best wishes to all this New Year, as breeding season is fast approaching! As a draft horse breeder and reproduction service provider, it would be unfitting of me not to bring up the subject. The 2026 breeding season has been forecasting a growing number of breeders inquiring about more “modern-day” reproduction strategies to introduce new, or to continue genetics, within their equine herds. The thought of utilizing frozen semen, embryo transfers, embryo cryopreservation or ICSI may be ideas quickly dismissed by some, but for many others they are increasingly becoming the solutions to the deadends they have been facing in “just wanting one more foal” out of that mare. In some cases, mares that “never seem to catch anymore”, are in-fact catching, they just aren’t carrying! An embryo may be conceived but dies

in-utero before reaching an age old enough to be seen via ultrasound. Or, perhaps an embryo is seen around the 14-day check, but is lost before the 30-day heartbeat check. There are 100 reasons as to why a mare struggles to hold onto a pregnancy.. a list too long to discuss here.. however, an embryo transfer could be your miracle to achieving “just one more.” Let a more proven candidate carry your prized mare’s foal, as a surrogate! Or alternatively, ICSI as a method of in-vitro fertilization.

Although ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) may sound like an intimidating term, it is being vastly used throughout the horse industry worldwide, and with great success. The process of ICSI is even more astounding. To put it simply, a mare’s unfertilized eggs or “oocytes” are collected via aspiration and manually injected with

a single sperm under a microscope, to create an embryo. A single aspiration session could result in as many as upwards of 20 oocytes, thus possible embryos! And even more astounding.. all while using only a small few straws of frozen semen. Talk about efficiency! The embryos can then be vitrified and stored long-term in a liquid nitrogen tank to be used any time in the future, the same as frozen semen.

In my eyes, equine genetic preservation is likely one of the most remarkable developments in reproduction. Although not a new advancement, the method of breeding mares through frozen semen is approaching 70 years old! Freezing semen and embryos are great ways to continue genetic lines, long after a stallion or mare is gone. In-fact, many breeders prefer frozen semen over fresh/cooled as there is no shelf life, so the stress of obtaining cooled se-

men simultaneously with a mare’s ovulation is off the table. Although the procedure and precision is greater when breeding with frozen compared to fresh/cooled, the success rates can be just as high when the correct measures are taken and catered to the individual mare.

As we proceed through the 2026 breeding season, I encourage others to consider and take advantage of the advancing reproductive strategies available today and allow it to provide the benefits to your equine herd. It is truly amazing what time, science, and research has done for the equine reproductive industry. It’s never the wrong time to try something new! I wish the best of luck to all breeders, may you have a successful season and healthy foals.

- Taylor Greenwood

THE SQUIRRELY ACRES TEAM BEARING THE CANADIAN FLAGS DURING THE OPENING

CEREMONIES

THE SMITH FAMILY PERCHERONS

KATIE FLEMING OF SQUIRRELY ACRES WINNING THE ENGLISH RIDING CLASS

DAN BARRON AND AVERY CAIN

TAYLOR BEEMER

DEAN KEALEY WITH BEST HORSE ON THE GROUNDS

ANGUS MCPHEE

PERCHERONS LEAD THE CHARGE:

A RECORD BREAKING YEAR FOR THE ONTARIO FOUR

By: The Ontario Four Committee

The Ontario Four has definitively proven its value, culminating in a record-setting season that showcased the undeniable prominence of the Percheron breed. While the series supports the entire agricultural fair circuit, the results from this past year confirm that the Ontario Four is not just another competition—it is a vital engine of growth for the entire draft horse community.

A unanimous victory for the breed

The ultimate showdown of the 2025 season took place at the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show, where Percheron hitches dominated the final field. La Famille Chretien drove to victory,

securing the 2025 championship with a unanimous decision by the three panel judges. Based in Quebec, the hitch, driven by Eric Chrétien, is known for its dedication to the craft and tradition of the heavy horse industry.

The breed’s influence was felt throughout the top tier of competition, with four of the ten qualifying finalists being Percheron hitches:

● Pana-Len Percherons: 2025 highest points accumulator

● Grier Family Percherons: second highest points accumulator in 2025

● Allanholme Farms: fourth highest points

accumulator in 2025 and inaugural Ontario Four Finals champion

● La Famille Chretien: 2025 champion

Reflecting on the victory, Eric Chrétien praised the series’ design: “Everything about the Ontario Four is designed to make us want to participate, follow along, and feel the excitement. The announcement of the next series at the Carp Fair already has us looking forward to what’s coming.”

Fueling growth through competition

The success of the Ontario Four is no accident; it is deliberately designed to thrive. Its mission is two-fold—to enhance the experience for its members and to increase participation at fairs— and the numbers prove it is achieving both with spectacular results.

The 2025 season saw 36 hitches from Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States competing for points across 32 classes at 23 different fairs. This season-long approach drives prestige to local grassroots events. The most telling metric of success is the escalating points total; the highest earner in 2025 tallied 116 points, nearly double the 64 points earned by the top competitor in the program’s first year.

John Borer, owner of Allanholme Farms and winner of the inaugural Finals, echoed the sentiment of many members at the year-end celebration: “The Ontario Four is the best thing that has happened to the draft horse industry”.

This level of positive engagement is what sustains the program.

Strategic

partnerships and recognition

The series’ strength is further amplified by its diverse and committed partnership base. More than $22,000 was paid out at the 2025 finals. This couldn’t have been done without the steadfast commitment of The Straw Boss, Maher and Co. Metals, and the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show. Foundational support from Eberglo helped kick the series off in its infancy.

“The growth in participation and the quality of the competition is fantastic to see,” added Mike Hendriksen, Owner | Operator of The Straw Boss. “This series is truly elevating the sport and bringing new energy to fairs across the region.”

The Ontario Four is also incredibly grateful to Allanholme Farms (John & Joanne Borer), who have been onboard as a partner since the beginning, along with the Eastern Regional Percheron Association, Piney and Barb Meyers, Myers Automotive Group, David Carson Auctions (David & Margo Carson), and Valley Roof Truss for their vital partnerships.

Finally, thanks are also extended to the Friends of the Four, including Chris English in loving memory of Ted, The Ontario Percheron Horse Association, The Ontario Belgian Horse Association,, Maizex Seeds - Kyle Sowden, Dave and Erika Zier, Jeff Robbins and family, Hyjak Farms, and the Moore Agricultural Society.

Looking ahead: Carp Fair 2026 & 2027

Looking to the future, the selection of the Carp Fair to host the Ontario Four Finals in 2026 and 2027 is a masterstroke. It not only brings the thunder eastward but solidifies the connection between the highest level of competition and the heritage of our farming communities.

As Carp Fair Heavy Horse Director Desmond Dean shared, “Hosting the Ontario Four Finals solidifies our position as a premier destination for heavy horse competition in Eastern Ontario. We are excited at the prospect of welcoming hitches from across Canada and the United States.”

The Ontario Four has moved beyond being a mere event; it has become a powerful catalyst for momentum and excitement for the entire draft horse community. It is now setting the standard for how hitching should be recognized and celebrated.

to connect your brand with a passionate and engaged audience? Partnering with the Ontario Four offers businesses, farms, and families an unparalleled opportunity to gain premium brand visibility, align with a rich agricultural heritage, and engage directly with thousands of dedicated fans and stakeholders across Ontario.

Your support is the bedrock of the Ontario Four, ensuring the continued success and growth of the program and creating memorable experiences for every member, fair, and spectator. Sponsoring the series offers a unique and impactful opportunity to connect directly with this dedicated community, significantly boosting your brand visibility and helping to establish the Ontario Four as the most successful draft horse series in the country.

The goal for the Ontario Four’s 5th anniversary in 2026 is to payout more than $30,000 to the top-10 finalists. Join us in fueling this growth; view all partnership opportunities for the 2026 season at drafthitchseries.com/partnership-opportunities/

Join us in championing this incredible growth and excitement

Are you looking for a powerful and unique way

HELP SHAPE OUR FUTURE: VOLUNTEER TODAY!

The Ontario Percheron Horse Association is always looking for passionate members to get involved! We are currently seeking volunteers to serve on the Board of Directors, as well as individuals willing to lend a hand at upcoming events throughout the year.

If you’re dedicated to supporting and promoting the Percheron breed and would like to give back to our community, we would love to hear from you. Your time and talents help keep our association strong and thriving for future generations.

A guy walks into a bar and there is a horse behind the bar serving drinks. The guy is just staring at the horse, when the horse says, “What are you staring at? Haven’t you ever seen a horse serving drinks before?”

The guy says, “No, I never thought the parrot would sell the place.”

DAN BARRON

PETER CURTIS AND HIS FILLY FOAL

BRADLEY BOURBONNAIS

BILL BARRON

MATT REESOR

THE SMITH FAMILY

SQUIRRELY ACRES YOUTH SHOWMAN

ATTENTION JUNIOR MEMBERS

Please remember to send your 2025 show results to ontariopercherons@gmail.com

As well if you would like to be considered for the Jeff Hodgson award, please send us a short note about yourself based on this criteria:

The Jeff Hodgson Memorial Director’s Award was created in 2003. This award is awarded to a Junior member of The Ontario Percheron Horse Association (one in each category: Junior and Senior) who is selected by the Ontario Percheron Horse Association Inc. Directors.

A Junior Association member can only win this award once. Award is given based on the Junior for the Directors feel best exemplifies the following qualities.

• A willingness to try their best both in and out of the show ring

• A willingness to pitch in and help other when a need arises

• Good Sportsmanship

• And always striving to improve their horsemanship skills

THE BEEMER FAMILY SHOWING FOR BLACKS PERCHERONS

THE BARRON FAMILY

CAL & JUDY LIPSETT AND JOHN & JOANNE BORER

THE BARRONS/MCTAGGARTS/HUGHES’

One day a farmer discovers he has a talking horse. A man from the city, hearing the news, offers the farmer a fortune for the horse. The farmer declines.

“Why won’t you sell him?” the city man asks. “You’d never have to work another day in your life!”

The farmer looks at the horse, then back at the man, and says, “Well, the other day he told me that you were a tax collector, so I figured I better hang on to him”.

A ROYAL RECAP

Picturing at the Royal Winter Fair has been a dream of mine since I was a youth showing in the ring there. After the Royal — or any show, for that matter — I would wait with anticipation to see the photos Lynn or Howard had taken of the Glencal Hitch or the halter string.

The halter ring holds a special place in my heart because it showcases each breeder’s program — the thought, dedication, and heart poured into every breeding and foaling season. It was truly an honour to be chosen as the Breeding Horse Photographer at the 2025 Royal Winter Fair. I can’t lie — a lot more goes into capturing and producing these photos than I ever gave credit for.

I am so thankful for everyone who helped me get here. I know quite a few people put in a good word for me, and I thank you from the

bottom of my heart for trusting me with such a prestigious event. Thank you as well for the tremendous support after the show. I could never thank you enough. — Taylor