by Charles Dickson
Luskville
Apr. 13, 2024
Saddles, blankets, bridles, horse-care products, riding apparel and stable equipment were among the wide variety of goods on offer at the tack sale put on by the Pontiac Equestrian Association in Luskville on Saturday.
The event was a fundraiser for the riding club, charging vendors $15 per table for members and $20 for non-members.
“For the event today, we have 30 vendors. Last year we had 15, so it’s doubled,” said association member and event organizer Victoria Mestres Laurin. “We have food, a sugar-shack themed meal. Sheila McCrindle is donating part of the meal fee to the association. So probably today we’re going to raise $400, and that’s going to be great.”
The event also featured presentations on a variety of topics ranging from the history and maintenance of the trail to doing ground work with horses to psychology and kinesiology for both horse and human nervous systems.
“We even have entertainment provided by country musician Pat McNinch, who has come all the way from Walkerton, Ontario,” said Mestres Laurin.
“It’s a fundraiser for the association, it’s going to help us with the trails, and other things we do,” she said, listing a number of activities in which the organization is involved.
“Last year we had clinics on safety, on saddles, on anything our members request, and we’re also doing advocacy to get veterinary services in the area,” she said.
The Pontiac Equestrian Association, a non-profit, volunteer-based organization, maintains 15 kilometers of horseback riding trails in the Gatineau Park near Luskville.
