History of Dunmore Equestrian

Rain or shine, Dunmore Equestrian will soon have an indoor riding arena available for year-round use to help fulfill its mission of fostering growth, wellness and educational opportunities through the power of equestrian experiences. “I’m excited about the possibilities that completion of the new indoor event centre will bring to Medicine Hat, Cypress County and surrounding communities. We still have a lot of work and fundraising to do but this facility will be ready for use this fall,” President Kelly Creasy said.

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The new facility is a 275x140’ indoor arena with bleacher seating for parents, coaches and fans, a restroom, storage area and multi-purpose area. It joins the existing 275x160’ Outdoor Arena on our recreational playground. “Breaking ground on a new indoor arena is something that we’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” said Founder Blair Reid.

It takes effort and money to change the prairie into a community outdoor riding arena and the Board of Directors, each of them volunteers have moved a lot of dirt, dug a lot of post holes and stuck in a ton of time. They are ready to go! They’re ready to host their own Dunmore Equestrian events, such as, the Little Britches Rodeo and can’t wait to be a community host for area riders, mounted shooters, barrel racers, team ropers, show jumpers, stock dog trials, heavy horse chore team competitions, rodeos, gymkhanas, and the list goes on.

With the Cavans’ donation of 5 acres for the building site and a lease-to-purchase for an additional 20 acres Dunmore Equestrian was born. A pancake breakfast and ribbon cutting ceremony kicked off the grand opening on August 20, 2016. Delvin Stuber roped the first steer out of the chute on August 25th. This arena is 275x160’ of space, showcasing southeastern Alberta’s western culture, heritage and community.

The Dunmore Equestrian Society have plenty of enthusiasm and vision. The non-profit, created in 2014 is now home to an amazing riding arena and rodeo grounds. The society received $23,120 to build a warm-up arena beside their main arena to keep their horses and riders safe while they get ready for their turn in the arena. We can’t wait to see the finished product and what they do next. Thank you, Blair Reid, Catherine Schnell and Joyce Stuber for all your hard work.

Known as Cowboy, Blair Reid in 2012, after about 60 years working with Murray Leonard trying to get an Indoor Arena and being told the Stampede Board would not be able to build on their site; he started researching the possibility of building a Facility at a different location and if there was enough interest. Blair stopped in and talked to managers of approximately 150 different facilities across western Canada and the USA to find out what worked and what didn’t for them and with this knowledge in hand started pursuing a location with Highway visibility. After knocking on countless doors, Blair stopped to talk to Lance and Dan Cavan and after a couple of informative meetings, they decided it was something that their Dad (Warren) would approve off as well. The Cavans offered to donate 5 acres for the building site and create a lease to purchase agreement on another 20 acres; resulting in the beginning of Dunmore Equestrian Society.