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Equine Canada's new President, Al Patterson

Equine Canada Announces Al Patterson as President

Ottawa, Ontario---Equine Canada is please to announce Al Patterson of Millgrove, ON, as its new President.

On February 13, Patterson was elected president for a one-year-term. He replaces outgoing President, Dr. Edward Kendall of Saskatoon, SK, who held the position since 2001. Simon Rosenman of Vancouver, BC, was elected as the Secretary of Equine Canada.

“I believe in what we are trying to accomplish with Equine Canada,” remarked Patterson. “The best part about being a member of the new board is all the different views and diverse representation. This is a very balanced group that will effectively represent the equestrian sport and industry in Canada.”

Under the current format, a fully elected 11-member Board of Directors manages Equine Canada. Two members are elected from each of the four Councils for a total of eight Directors. The individual membership of Equine Canada and all of its affiliate associations annually elect one Director to a three-year term during the Directors-at-Large elections. The new Board came in to power at the Equine Canada Convention, February 13, 2005, in Ottawa, ON.

The following are the members of the 2005 Equine Canada Board of Directors:

Robert Allum Ashton, ON Director at Large (2005)
Gayle Pawley-Wilson Langley, BC Director at Large (2004)
Randy White Cambridge, ON Director at Large (2003)
Simon Rosenman Vancouver, BC Sport Council
Michael Gallagher Lakeside, NB Sport Council
Chris Gould Mayerthorpe, AB Breeds & Industry Council
Dean Leifso Elmwood, ON Breeds & Industry Council
Pierre Lefebvre Blainville, QC Recreation Council
Poul Jorgensen Three Tree Creek, NB Recreation Council
Al Patterson Millgrove, ON Provincial Council
Dominique Chagnon Calixa-Lavallee, QC Provincial Council

Equine Canada is a member-based association that represents, promotes and services Canada's equine community and industry. Its core areas of activity involve sport, equine health and welfare, education and safety, governance and marketing, representation and communication. Equine Canada is recognized by Sport Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Coaching Association of Canada as the national organization representing equestrian sport and equine interests in Canada. For more information about Equine Canada, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.

Al Patterson- Biography

Al Patterson has been involved with horses and the industry since a child, spending most of his early years on the family farm which operated a boarding and riding stable. In the early 1970s, he married his wife Lynne and together they began a family and a business. At present, the company consists of several businesses run by their three sons.

Patterson and his family have lived the past 20 years on their family farm in Millgrove, ON. They have been involved over the years in raising beef cattle and breeding Quarter Horses, which they still do today, keeping about 15 to 20 horses on their farm.

For the past 20 years, Patterson has been a horse industry volunteer. He has served on many Committees, as a Director for four years with the Ontario Quarter Horse Association, and is in his tenth year on the Board of the Ontario Equestrian Federation. In 1998, he was honoured with the Ontario Equestrian Federation (OEF) Volunteer of the Year Award and in 1999 the President’s Special Award for dedicated service to Equine Sport and Welfare.

Elected in 2000 to the position of President of the OEF, he guided this steadily growing organization for three years. Patterson has been involved with the national Breeds & Industry Committee and was one of the original working group members that helped to assemble the present Breeds & Industry Division and Council. He has served as Chair of the Provinces Council and for the past three years was the Director at Large to the Board of Equine Canada where he held the position of Secretary. Presently, he is working on the National Equine Identification Task Force, the Ontario Livestock Medicines Education Committee, OFFS Traceability Working Group and the RAWF Cavalcade of Horses committee.

Patterson is the Immediate Past President to OEF and the representative from the Provinces Council to the Equine Canada Board of Directors. At the first Board of Directors Meeting after the 2005 Equine Canada AGM, Patterson was elected to the position of President of Equine Canada. Patterson’s dedication, experience, working knowledge of the horse industry and vast background of board and committee work both provincially and nationally will be a great asset to this honoured leadership role.