In 1971-72 the first recognized eventing competition on Vancouver Island was held at “Pine Paddocks”, a property on the Island Highway just south of Duncan managed by Dave and Pat Bowron. Today the original Training division rock wall XC jump still stands in their driveway fence line.

In the same early 1970’s time frame the first BC Interior South Okanagan recognized eventing competition was held in Oliver, hosted and managed by David and Rosemary Holmes-Smith. The competition base was the Oliver Fairgrounds where Dressage and Stadium Jumping phases were held, and the XC course was located several kilometers away at “Sea Crest Park” which meant trailering horses to the park for their XC phase and then back to the fairgrounds for stabling.

The BC Young Rider program also began in the early ‘70s and in 1974 for the first time the North American Young Rider Championships (NAYRC) came to Canada and was held at a farm called Jokers Hill, in southern Ontario, about a half hour drive from Toronto. BC organized a team and with Ron Trickett driving a leased 12 horse van, hauled the first YR team to Ontario with Pam Arthur as coach. In those early days NAYRC was run at the Intermediate division level. Team members were Nick Holmes-Smith on Country Yucca, Holly Wells on Mr.WW, Marion Thomas on High Piece, Lindsay Joyce on High Voltage and Sloan Hammond on Bird Watcher and the team came home with 2nd place and the silver medal.

The original name for eventing in Canada was the “Canadian Combined Training Association” (CCTA) and BC followed suit with the provincial organization named BCCTA and it remained so until 1979 when BC was incorporated under the BC Societies Act and the name was changed to Horse Trials BC (HTBC) which again followed the national name change to Horse Trials Canada. (HTC).

The 1970’s also produced BC’s first eventing officials with Pam Arthur becoming a recognized eventing XC course designer and eventing coach, and myself BC’s first recognized Technical Delegate (TD).