Tag Archives: Mike Williscraft

CLUBWEST, FEATURED ARTICLES (PREVIOUS EDITIONS)

RCMP Ride

ClubWest

(To view our May/June 2016 issue of ClubWEST online, click here.)

By David Erman

There are two dates Lindsay Williamson has circled on her calendar.

Williamson, a 2004 Grimsby Secondary School grad, is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Musical Ride tour.

Lindsay’s niece and nephew (Alaina and Paxton Kot of Smithville) got a behind-the-scenes education at a sunset ceremony in Ottawa last summer. They met her assigned horse, Lenny, the oldest horse on Musical Ride tour last year at 22 years of age.
Lindsay’s niece and nephew (Alaina and Paxton Kot of Smithville) got a behind-the-scenes education at a sunset ceremony in Ottawa last summer. They met her assigned horse, Lenny, the oldest horse on Musical Ride tour last year at 22 years of age.

The first is in May when she will be performing in a special five-day celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday. The second is when the Musical Ride will be performing near her hometown at the West Niagara Agricultural Fairgrounds on Aug. 18.

She said she’s excited to perform in front of a large crowd of family and friends, noting it will be the highlight of her summer. She said she’s looking forward to showing people she knows the passion of the Ride, and being able to share it with them in her hometown.

“They’ve all heard about (the Ride), but a lot of them haven’t been able to see it firsthand.”

The red-coated Mountie riding a black horse has become one of the most internationally recognizable symbols of Canada.

When they were created in 1874, the RCMP’s predecessors, the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), were fashioned after the British military. As a result, part of their training included British cavalry drill. New members of the NWMP were regularly drilled in the art of cavalry maneuvers. First shown in public in 1887, these cavalry drills would evolve to become the modern RCMP Musical Ride.

The ride consists of the execution of a variety of intricate figures and cavalry drill choreographed to music.

While she has an athletic background, Williamson did not grow up around horses. In fact, Williamson did not have any equestrian experience prior to trying out for the Musical Ride.

Williamson was born in Grimsby, the youngest of three girls. She lived in Smithville as a youngster, as she and her sisters attended College Street Public School. The family moved to Grimsby the summer before she began Grade 9.

She was named the Grimsby Junior Citizen of the Year in 2004.

After graduating from GSS, she attended the University of Toronto where she was on the varsity track and field team and graduated in 2008 with a degree with a double major in criminology and health studies.

Williamson is currently continuing her studies with two courses remaining to obtain a masters degree with a focus on Work, Organization and Leadership through Athabasca University.

…

See the full article in our online edition.

Top photo:
Cst. Lindsay Williamson and Wizard are ready to impress as part of the RCMP’s Musical Ride at West Niagara Fair Grounds this August.

FROM THE PUBLISHER (PREVIOUS EDITIONS)

From the Publisher May/June 2016

ClubWest

(To view our May/June 2016 issue of ClubWEST online, click here.)

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Anyone working in a journalistic capacity has favourites when it comes to topics covered.

When the May edition for ClubWest started coming together back in mid-March a perfect trifecta unfolded for me – horses, history and food – three of my faves.

How cool is it to not only get a gig in your chosen field, but then you get the honour of being a participant in one of Canada’s true iconic events: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Musical Ride. Lucky Lindsay Williamson!

I have not seen the Ride since I was a small child when they made a stop in London, Ont.

Working with the horses at my childhood summer camp, Forest Cliff – just south of Grand Bend, a nine iron from Kettle Point to be specific – and getting into harness racing at 13, I have always been a lover of the equine set.

And when May rolled around, I knew a visit to Vik’s Meats to meet up with Joe Herbinger was in order. From the first time I met him, at a rain-soaked fundraiser last summer, I had been waiting for barbecue season to roll back around. May long weekend coming up, sausages on the grill, mmm, I can taste them already!

The timing of the Friends of Lincoln’s History inaugural house tour was undeniable, too. There are just so many unique and amazing historical stories to tell in Lincoln, I must say this is about time this kind of event was developed. It’s a natural.

Grimsby has had great success running a similarly styled event alternate years. I am sure Lincoln’s will follow suit.

You talk about people who love their work? A local woman who studied criminology obtains a gig with the RCMP and gets to participate with the Musical Ride; a young man from Germany who goes into his trade right out of high school, moves to Canada for a year and stays for 35, and; a group of dedicated history buffs in Lincoln who seek to tell the stories of yesteryear through a living history – all great examples.

These were the exact kinds of stories we set out to tell when this publication was launched just under two years ago.

In that time we have become the only six-time-per-year publication that comes out when we say it will. Readers and advertisers know, like clockwork, the first Monday of alternate months all year, ClubWest will hit the streets. We appreciate every bit of dedicated support we have received and look forward to telling more of these kinds of stories in our July edition. Enjoy!

Publisher, ClubWest Magazine
Mike Williscraft

FEATURED ARTICLES (PREVIOUS EDITIONS)

Right where they BEE long

ClubWest

(To view our March/April 2016 issue of ClubWEST online, click here.)

Charlie Bee Honey: Ontarios’s largest apiary

By David Erman

Farming is not an easy job. With so many variables, such as weather and prices, it can be a fluctuating and fickle business.

Mike Parker
Mike Parker

Mike and April Parker, owners of Beamsville’s Charlie-Bee Honey, Parker Bee Apiaries Ltd. know all about the challenges of running an agricultural operation.

Located south of Beamsville, near the Mountain Road and Fly Road intersection, Charlie Bee Honey is a success story, as they’re likely Ontario’s largest honey producer, as well as the province’s largest bee keeping operation, but like a lot of lot of agricultural operations have found out, it hasn’t been an easy and smooth ride.

Despite all the challenges, April Parker said she is proud of their business and their role in agriculture.

Without their bees there would be a lot less good things to eat.

Along with honey production, the business also rents out hives.

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See the full article in our online edition.

Top photo:
Gail Schellenberg pours the latest fresh honey at Charlie Bee’s Mountain Road facility. Williscraft – Photo