96
|
NoraGray
Equestrienne
story| TomHakala
NoraGray doesn’t rememberwhen she learned to ride,
but it was
most likelyaround the same timeaswhen she learned towalk. This isn’t surprising sinceNora’s
parents, Jenniferand JimGray,operate JackPineEquestrianCentreatRoseHill Farmnear Leith.
Jen said that bothNoraand her brother Robert, were ridingat a very earlyage, but they en-
couraged themeach to takeupother sports likeskiing, swimmingandsoccer tomakesure they
hadawell-roundedupbringing. Theyknew that ridingwouldalwaysbeavailableathomeand
evenwith theexposure tootheractivities, horsesand riding remainedasNora’s first love.
Shedoes remember the first time she fell offahorse. It happenedwhen shewas threewhile rid-
ingapony that hermomhadgivenher.Undaunted, shewasn’tdiscouragedandclimbed right
back into the saddle. That determinationhasbeenadriving force inher ridingcareer and last
November, that samedeterminationculminatedwithNorawinning the ‘25
th
AnniversaryEdition
of the Running FoxCETMedal Final at the RoyalWinter Fair Horse Show’—one of themost
prestigious equestrian events for young riders in all of NorthAmerica. TheCETMedal is de-
signed toprovide up-and-coming riderswith the chance togain the necessary foundation to
transition fromhunter to jumper. Asanequitationcompetition, ridersare judgedon their style,
position, andability tonavigatea jumper-typecourse.
Considering that shewasn’t ridingherownhorse,butonewithwhomshehad just started training
onlyweeksbefore seemsevenmore incredible.While training last fall, sheandhermother felt
thatherownhorsewasnot suited for riding indoorsatanevent like theRoyal so Jenniferbegan
looking foranotherhorse thatwould fit thebill.According toNora, that isn’tasbigofadealas
onemay think— she has always riddena varietyof horses at the family farmand isn’t appre-
hensiveabout anewmount.With Jen’s connections in the industry she foundapossiblecandi-
date inPapaDoubaDiob (or justplainPapa for short) from IronHorseFarmsnearOrangeville.
“Assoonas I rodePapa, I knew hehadsomethingspecial,”saysNora, “Weconnected imme-
diatelyandbecameaworking team.”For the restof theseason, shedrovedown toOrangeville
to rideand trainwithPapa twoor threedaysaweek.
Nora took theopportunity toshowPapa inPennsylvaniaandKentuckybefore theRoyal,boost-
ing her confidence that both of them could handle the pressure of performingbefore large
crowds indoors.
At theRoyal, they scored second in the first event, called the flat phase.As thename implies, it
does not involve jumpingbut instead concentrates on canter andother intricate steps. Nora
andPapa shone throughout the secondphaseof jumpingmaneuversearning them top scores.
The final test required riders tocompletea shortenedcourse that included jumping froma trot,
hand-gallop, andcounter canter. “I hadagreat horseandknew I could trust him.” saysNora.
And indeed, her smoothandconfident executionof the test solidifiedheroverallwin.
☛
