10 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 5, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com MUSIC PROFILE It's all about having a happy horse Continued from page 9 Emile d'Eon e of the biggest talents in Canadian music is inspiring students every week on Speers Road. Emile d'Eon is just one of RevolutionMusic's teaching treasures. This electric jazz - blues / rock / country guitarist has played with Cape Breton fiddler Natalie McMaster, country artist Chris Cummings and jazz legend Don Thompson. Canadian rocker Rik Emmett is quoted in Canadian Musician Magazine as saying Emile is "an exceptional musician". Emile says music is about having fun while working hard. He should know. He has Honours degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Halifax and Humber College in Toronto. Like his favourite performer, Sting, Emile is not afraid to mix various music styles. If you tune into CBC or Jazz FM radio, turn on CBC television or tour the GTA on weekends, chances are good that you'll hear this gifted musician doing what he loves to do most -- make music. When asked how young musicians can excel, Emile calmly assures his students that getting a good sound will take some time and that they need to let that process happen. He also offers that how you play the guitar is the biggest factor to achieving a good sound. Producing a good tone comes from your fingers and body. You can't, he says, buy good tone. Emile shares his wisdom Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and is currently accepting students at on electric jazz-blues / rock / country guitarist war it still had that value to it, but it started to become more of a national sport," said Ballard. "It grew from people like Siegle." To get such memorable performances out of the horses, Siegle would invest a huge amount of time, with a three-year-old hunter taking at least a year to train while a jumper would take even longer. "It's all about having a happy horse under you," said Siegle. "You have to get to know them and they have to get to know you. If the horse is doing well you give it a treat or a pat or something." This approach to riding would serve Siegle well as he continued to achieve victories in horse shows, even going on to compete with the Canadian Equestrian Team in Washington and New York City. However, all this glory did not come without setbacks. During one particularly grueling training day a newly-acquired horse named Victory Bond threw Siegle to the ground a total of 14 times before Siegle was able to break him. Other incidents weren't nearly as private, with Siegle noting that occasionally a horse at a horse show would gallop at full speed towards an obstacle only to decide at the last minute that it didn't want to jump, thereby sending Siegle crashing to the ground in front of hundreds of spectators. "It happens to all of us," he said. "If you don't fall off you don't ride. It's a challenging sport." Siegle says he undertook these challenges not so much for the money, as in those days a grand prize win at a horse show may have yielded only $1,500, but for the bragging rights. DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER WINNER: Lorne Siegle holds the trophy he received after being inducted into the Jump Canada Hall of Fame. "Everybody wants to win. It's not like racing where there was this big pot on the end. This is just personal, a point of personal pride among the owners," he said. In the late 1960s Siegle took his passion for riding to the next level and opened his own stable in Oakville where to this day horses can still be found. While Siegle's age requires him to leave the work of maintaining the stable to others, he still provides advice from time to time to his young riders. "They've got to have the want, they've got to love horses. They need to watch the riders who are riding now and just keep working at it. A lot of practice, a lot of hours in the saddle and a lot of common sense," said Siegle. "You can be afraid, but you've got to overcome those fears and keep going." Imagine a child waking up Christmas morning to find nothing under the tree. No presents, no stockings. Sadly this is reality for many children. That is why the Quality Hotel & Suites is participating the the Salvation Army's Toy Mountain. As a drop of centre for Toy Mountain, we ask you to bring an unused unwrapped toy to the Quality Hotel & Suites located at 745 Bronte Road, Oakville no ear what t eh he m o ise . .. Sovereign play in Bronte A mix of art, music and a touch of drama are featured at the Bronte Historical Society's Christmas Gathering Thursday. Recently the society has experimented with presenting local history in dramatic form. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. the society will dramatize an incident in the life of Charles Sovereign's family. The time is December 1847. The setting is the Sovereign family home which is now located at 7 West River St. and the site of tomorrow's gathering. All are welcome. Society memberships are available. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated to help keep the House and Society operating. West River Street is south of Lakeshore Road, just west of Bronte Creek and the parking lot is at the top of the hill, on the left. Call 905-825-5552. ... i s a ll a Purchase any drum set or electric, acoustic or bass guitar before Dec. 20, 2007 and receive ONE MONTH OF MUSIC LESSONS bo ut C 754 Bronte Rd. Oakville www.qualityhoteloakville.com · gm@qualityhotelaokville.com 905-847-6667 · 1-800-228-5151 or Fax 905-847-7447