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8 Friday, August 26, 2016 brooklintowncrier.com A Love of Horses leads to World Cup Bronze By Richard Bercuson What began with a childhood visit to the annual Brooklin Fair for Rachael Devenyi became a lifelong love affair with horses. The recent graduate of All Saints Catholic Secondary School participated in her first Saddle Seat Eq- uitation World Cup this past summer and came away with a bronze medal. It's an impressive start for a young rider who's only been in the saddle for 12 years. Devenyi trains with Ian DeGruchy at 3D Stables in Ashburn. Together they travelled to Capetown, South Africa, along with Devenyi's mother, brother, both sets of her grandparents and an aunt and uncle. They were all present to witness her debut in an event that focuses entirely on a rider's presence on a horse and control of the animal. Devenyi says she got hooked on riding when she attended Sparks (part of the Girl Scout program) as a five year old. Her leader's sister took the kids to the Fair and Devenyi recalls being fascinated by the horse show. Shortly after, she took lessons at DeGruchy's stable and has been there ever since. Certainly being involved in this kind of sport is anything but mainstream. In school, she was on the swim team and has been a ski instructor. But it was her love for horses that has always remained at the forefront. It led her to the national team and this summer's event. She was even featured as a member of Team Canada in the April 2016 issue of International Horse Show magazine. Saddle seat riding doesn't involve jumps nor is it jumping nor dressage as featured in the Olympics. As she describes it, the style is extremely popular in South Africa and in some American states, particularly Kentucky. In this event, the rider's personal appearance, comportment and control of the horse are judged. She reached the competition after flying first to Amsterdam and then Capetown arriving just 48 hours before it started and it was a different kind of challenge. "You don't bring your horse to this," she says. "Your coach matches you with the horse and you're given one for about 20 minutes before you start along with the horse's bio. So it's really your first time working with the horse. Before you go, they email you four patterns you'll do on the horse and you need to learn them because they'll pick two of those." Riders are judged, she says, on how much of a "presentable picture" they provide as well as how much control they have to deal with situations. "Does the horse follow your commands? Mine bucked on me a few times," she recalls, "and the judges have to determine who's at fault for that." Her chosen style or selection is called three-gaited, which means working with a horse on a combination of three movements: walk, trot and canter. It's the most common of selections. To be a member of Team Canada required a certain level of fitness that was tested last February in Alberta. Most importantly though for her, as a competitor, it meant pushing herself. "I'd really like to do it again," she says. "Now I know where I stand and what to expect. It was an insane experience to be up against the best in the world. I'm ready to push myself more." On this trip, following the week long competition, the family entourage travelled to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe with a special tour company. However, when the next world event happens in two years in the U.S., the locale won't be quite as exotic. This fall, Devenyi will attend the University of Guleph's Bio Resource Management program to work towards a joint degree in business and equine management. "My ultimate goal is to work with different managers and trainers in different kinds of barns." In other words, with horses, just like the little girl who first saw them at the Brooklin Fair. Rachael Devenyi rides the aptly named "Brooklyn Night" at the Capetown competition. Photo by Caitlyn Malyk A Mailbox Story It was just a mailbox. Well, no, it wasn't. It was about the mailbox. A few weeks ago, Nick Zekdeld was working at his summer job for Snider Construction in Ashburn at the intersection of Brawley and Cochrane. He was driving a truck and backing it up when in his sideview mirror he saw the mailbox. "Oops, I'm a little too close," he recalls. Indeed. The side mirror hit the mailbox, shattering the mirror's glass and bending its holder. But the mailbox was a goner. For a brief moment, he considered leaving it. "Oh yeah, I hesitated for a second. Then I knew what was the right thing to do." The right thing was to tell the homeowner, apologize, and pay for a new mailbox. Tello Siciliano, whose mailbox was struck, couldn't believe it. Here was an 18 year old kid at his door offering to replace what he'd damaged. "It was a small thing," Siciliano says in accented English, "but to me it was a very big thing. We hear things about kids today and it's not true. He was very honest." So Nick bought him a new mailbox ("on sale from $100 to $50, so it wasn't so bad") and went on his way. The company paid for the mirror. Soon, he'll be attending Ridgetown Agricultural College where this little tale likely won't be told. No matter. To Tello Siciliano and his wife Florella, residents of Ashburn since 1981, Nick has affirmed their faith in the honesty of youth. Scouts in Finland 1st Brooklin Scout Troop at Pearson Airport, waiting to begin its adventure to the Finland International Jamboree this summer. The troop wishes to thank the Brooklin community for its generosity in making the trip possible. Next year's Jamboree will be in Halifax. Photo by Rebekkah Finnigan Front row (left to right): Gavyn, Grayden, Jordan, Gillian Back row (left to right) :Mark, Chris, Joseph, Luke, Dejan, Jeffrey, Josh, Dale