A first of its kind for Manitoulin

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A first of its kind for Manitoulin

A new 4-H equestrian drill team on Manitoulin Island is practicing in Providence Bay, developing precision riding skills ahead of a performance at the local fair.

Michael Erskine

Jul 02, 2026 - 2 min read

Coming to an event near you! The new 4-H equestrian drill team is a first for the area. The club is fully subscribed with eager youths looking to fine tune their horsemanship skills.

A first of its kind for Manitoulin — Coming to an event near you! The new 4-H equestrian drill team is a first for the area. The club is fully subscribed with eager youths looking to fine tune their horsemanship skills.

New 4-H drill team focusses on equestrian skills

MANITOULIN—A group of interested youth and parents have formed a new 4H horse club on Manitoulin Island that is focussed on developing equestrian skills.

“We had a group of interested youth who asked if we could form a horse club specifically as an equestrian drill team,” said co-organizer Rachel Skippen. “It is similar to Canadian Cowgirl.”

For the uninitiated, the award-winning Canadian Cowgirls of Chatham Kent are an elite rodeo style precision riding team consisting of dazzling women and their horses who perform daring musical drills in spectacular glittering costumes. They have been called Canada’s jewels who “stir a sense of national pride wherever they ride, and when they perform in the United States, the horse becomes a friendly ambassador, representing Canada and reaching out to touch the hearts of our neighbours”—something we definitely need more of in these troubled times of strained relations.