Donna and Evie Ferguson – Forging An Equestrian Life
Growing up in the beautiful enclave of Sarnia Ontario on Lake Huron isn’t exactly conducive to a career in the equestrian world, yet Donna Ferguson, owner and trainer of Tailwinds Equestrian in Lethbridge AB. seems to have managed to do just that, no problem.
Well, maybe a few problems…
Donna and her daughter Evelyn, known to all as Evie, have joined me for an afternoon chat that turned out to be intriguing, full of fun and laughter, poignantly honest and a little romantic.
I ask Donna to fill me in on growing up in Sarnia, known for its brilliant blue water, clear blue skies, but not as a mecca in the horse world.
“I grew up on an acreage, not a farm, but from the time I could walk, I wanted a horse. My parents finally relented and bought me a pony when I was 6. My future was sealed. It’s all I have every wanted to do – ride. Unfortunately, my dad was kind of a “we can do this ourselves” man, so we got a magazine and learned to put the harness on the pony from the pictures in that magazine article. My parents would be horrifying as clients, absolutely horrifying. I would never take them on!” laughs Donna.
I am discovering Donna’s humorous side as we chat – she is completely open, honest and very, very funny.
“As a teen, I was competing in western events at local fairs and AQHA shows. I actually had a pretty fancy western pleasure horse. But it was on my quarterhorse that I competed againstIan Millar and Eric Lamaze, Mac Cone, Lisa Carlson and Jay Hayes on the Ontario circuit. I was watching and learning from each and every experience. Can you guess who rarely got a ribbon? Lisa was riding Nip N’ Tuck back then, and wow, I loved her show set up trimmed in pink.”
The fire in the belly attitude that Donna Ferguson possesseddrove her to continue her quest to ride.
So, Sarnia to Alberta… bit of a leap. I ask Donna how this happened.
“I came out for the 1988 Olympics, loved it, didn’t want to go home so applied to work at Spruce Meadows and got the job. I mucked stalls, rode horses and everything else to be able to ridewith Albert Kley, the most rewarding experience of my riding career.”
“After a few years at Spruce, I did return to Ontario to compete and I worked for Michel Vaillancourt for a period of time, but I wanted to head back west. I started at Teesdale on my returnand that was a game changer for me.”
Donna now turns the chat from horses to husband.
“My now husband Chris came to a Teesdale horse show, and a week after we met he called me up and asked me to dinner. I couldn’t remember who he was but hey, a date is a date when you are in your twenties. Off we went to dinner and the rest is history. I continued working for Teesdale and Chris, who was big into competitive reining, continued following the reining circuit both here and in the U.S. The week he headed to Oklahoma for the $100,000. National Reining Horse Show Futurity our lives took a turn.”
Chris was offered a job in Oklahoma at that show and, as one of the top 50 reining riders in the world, the couple decided that the US was a better base for both of them to pursue their respective careers.
“For the next ten years, Chris continued reining and I rode for various clients – dressage, all rounds, hunters, jumpers; if itneeded to be ridden, I rode it. But it was exhausting as a lifestyle. Evie was born, then Bo, my son, and both were growing up spending 12-14 hours a day in a stable. Even though I would buy safe, really good horses, as soon as I put Evie on the back of one, she wanted off”.
My attention is now on Evie. Donna’s last comments surprise me as I have watched Evie grow up in the hunter and jumpers rings and she is an extremely accomplished rider. Evie clarifies quite vehemently her hatred of riding back then.
“I hated horses, and I hated being in the barn all the time and I hated that my parents were always with the horses, and I hated that they wanted me to ride, so I didn’t. I wanted to be a gymnast.”
And a gymnast she became. By the age of eight, Evie was scoring 9.5’s on the beam at the Missouri State Finals and was enrolled in a program focused on young talented gymnasts expected to go the distance to World and Olympic competition.
“Evie loved gymnastics the way I love horses” pipes in Donna. “She spent all her time walking on her hands. I’d be, please honey, don’t put your hands down on the floor of Walmart, but of course she did. Hand walking to me wasn’t the same as hand walking to Evie,” chuckles Donna.
Parental exhaustion and their all-encompassing focus of horses made Donna and Chris take a serious look at their lives and it was decided to move back to Alberta, specifically Coaldale/Lethbridge area where they have now established themselves in their fields and built a solid family life for their children. Donna founded Tailwinds Equestrian and hubby Chrisbuilt his business as a well-respected farrier.
Evie unfortunately, came to Alberta to find the gymnastics programs far behind our American neighbours. A new direction for her energies was needed. And finally, she discovered horses.
Now twenty, and as passionate about riding as her mom, Evie herself is experiencing her own directional challenges.
“I love my life at Tailwinds and the Tailwinds family of friends,” says Evie. “I love riding every minute of every day, taking care of my babies that include a new foal, a few youngsters and of course Kruze. And when your mom lets you board for free, and your dad is your farrier, it takes a lot of financial pressure off me. But I’d like to explore riding somewhere else to get more experience and a new perspective. And I like the idea of trying to make Europe and riding for someone there for a few monthshappen. A working student scenario. I also struggle with staying amateur which I really want to do but, umm, can I afford to stay amateur? I think a lot of riders give up a career in the equestrian world because we can’t teach, or ride for others without restrictions but we aren’t really ready to make that life decision to ride full time. I have college to consider, and I’ve started online but how do I put that into the mix?”
“I’m going to do the Equine Canada Instructor program this winter but its proving to be expensive, so a bit of planning has to be done on my end to make that happen. One way or another, its horses for me. And who knows, perhaps eventually partner up with my mom.”
Evie put the icing on the cake for herself on the final day of summer showing 2022 by winning the Mini Prix on her beloved Caribbean Kruze at RMSJ. And Donna, Chris and BMX 5x world championship qualifier son Bo are in the mountains to spend time biking and exploring the Crowsnest Pass.
It seems the tailwinds of Alberta are taking this family to all the right places.
