Article and photos by Shawn Hamilton, Clix Photography 

Looking Back 

With only nine weeks to prepare, Miranda and Ryan Kent, owners of RMK Trailer Sales, recognized a need for an equine educational exposition and decided to make it happen. Although they had no experience running an event of this kind, they brought together horse-related vendors, clinicians, and associations, sold tickets, and opened the doors to the first Ontario Equine Expo at the Markham Fairgrounds in March 2025. By focusing on educational clinics that appealed to a wide range of equestrian enthusiasts, they created a learning environment for guests while discovering what worked and what did not. 

As Ryan Kent put it, “We found where the holes in the boat were and then had a year to fill them.” 

Second Time Around 

For the 2026 Equine Expo, held March 27–29, the boat floated much better, with a substantial increase in vendors, exceptional clinicians, and record crowds. Unfortunately, a few more leaks still appeared. 

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The decision to feature high-quality clinicians with strong relevance in today’s horse industry paid off, with full stands for Friday evening’s Battle of the Bridles, a two-and-a-half-hour showcase of nine different disciplines. The audience watched mini competitions in Western events such as cutting, cow horse, and barrel racing; English disciplines including dressage and show jumping; mounted archery; and Miniature Horse chuckwagon races, all for a $25 admission ticket. 

Chevy West driving Minis Jim and Spud (green wagon) and Les Sowden (red wagon), President of the Ontario Chuckwagon Racing Association, driving Leo and Oscar in the Mini Chuckwagon Races. 

Grateful for the turnout, Kent reflected: “When companies like Total Feeds come from Texas and Nordic AutoFeed from BC, it is comforting to know that they have traffic to support their efforts. 

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“This year was larger as far as content and vendors yet was easier with a solid support team. In the end, we were in better spirits and not as exhausted.” 

Ainsley Leach and Frangelica in the Dressage portion of Friday night’s Battle of the Bridles. 

The Footing 

Unfortunately, Kent’s horse went down in the arena while he was participating in a clinic on the final day, and he suffered a broken foot. 

“I was loping in a small circle,” he explained. “My horse was wearing sliding plates, and I had him collected too tight in a circle. He just slipped. He wasn’t hurt, my foot just got caught the wrong way.” 

Kent returned from the hospital three hours later — on crutches — to say goodbye and thank the clinicians, vendors, and supporters.

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Concerns about the footing had begun during Friday night’s performance, when two horses — a show jumper and a reiner — went down. Fortunately, there were no injuries. 

Cody Sabila, a 19-year-old reiner and cow horse rider whose horse slipped and fell while he was competing against his boss, Chet Martin, said: “I didn’t really think anything about it, this kind of stuff happens all the time.” 

Cody Sabila on Crushing Hail in Battle of the Bridles.  

Martin, of Martin Ranch in Arthur, Ontario, attended the event as a reining and reined cow horse clinician. When asked about the falls, he responded: “Being a bit of a footing guy I can say that this kind of venue, with so many disciplines in one ring, it is impossible to please anyone. With multiple events on the same footing, they have to shoot for middle ground. A show jumper is never going to be happy with what a reiner wants, and a reiner will not like the footing for a barrel racer to go full tilt.” 

Chet Martin cutting a cow bridleless on Lil Miss Tevious in Battle of the Bridles. 

Martin suggested that a layer of dirty sand with a bit of clay in it would have helped pack down the footing on top of the clay base. 

“New sand doesn’t break down easy so once the sand was pushed away the pad underneath made it slippery. As the day went on the sand worked its way to the sides, causing a dish effect, and got shallow in the middle. Every horse that I saw slip was down to the base,” he said. 

Kent explained that the sand, brought in by a contractor, is typical of what they use; however, the issue will be addressed going forward. 

“Footing is very important to us. There was no lack of caring, we understand the need for good arena footing. The horses that were very well balanced did not struggle. Often it can be a rider error, we can’t just blame the footing,” he stated. 

Martin agreed that some horses dropped their shoulders, but the footing was clearly a little slippery. 

“As long as they can work to fix it,” he said. “The fall that Cody took was harmless and could have been avoided if he’d backed off just a bit, but he wanted to beat his boss. 

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“The organizers did a great job. It was just like I remember when I was a kid and would go to one of these events. It was so nice to look into the stands and see some kids that were me years ago.” 

Martin won three buckles and went on to give each one away to a random child in the stands. 

The Educational Aspect 

The clinicians not only taught their clients and audiences but also learned from one another. Jill Barron, a highly successful working equitation competitor and judge, helped Martin with terminology, proper verbiage, and how to recognize where his weight was in the saddle. 

Canadian Olympian and three-day event rider Ian Roberts ran a show jumping clinic and also took the opportunity to ride a cutting horse during a flag-work clinic. 

Ian Roberts in the show jumping competition. 

“When that opportunity came up, I was not missing it,” Roberts said. “I often tell my students to go look at videos of cutting horse riders as they have to be loose in the hips to be able to go with their horses.” 

Roberts was impressed by the number of people in the stands and by the organizers’ ability to keep the event on schedule. 

Barron’s clinics — from Bits and How They Work to obstacles, equitation, and horse communication — were all very well received. Jason Irwin, a recent wildcard competitor at Road to the Horse in Kentucky, demonstrated groundwork and colt starting. Tyler Delange, Rick Wiebe, and Martin ran cutting, ranch work, and cow horse clinics, just to name a few. 

Looking Ahead 

Going forward, organizers will be seeking a new ticketing agency, as the current one, based in the United States, experienced several glitches. “We corrected what we could during the show. The company we used just wasn’t experienced enough with Canadian events,” Kent explained. 

Horsemanship and education will remain the focus. “We’ll keep the content relevant, and we’re not afraid to spend money for top clinicians. We want people to feel included not just spectators.” 

The Kents are also thankful to The Trailer Company, which provided the horse stalls for the event, and to the associations that took advantage of the free space in Association Alley to offer information to interested guests. 

Plans are already underway for the 2027 Expo. Watch for more information from Ontario Equine Expo. 

Ontario Equine Expo | equestrian trade show  

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Main Photo: Jason Irwin works with Carlos in a colt starting clinic at the Expo.