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More awards for Dreamcatcher Meadows

Sports Briefs: Pemberton stable named NSHBA Breeder of the Year, takes several other honours
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Dreamcatcher's delight Dreamcatcher Meadows co-owner John Dingle is pictured with Ballerina DMV in 2013. The Pemberton stable won Breeder of the Year honours from the Northwest Sport Horse Breeders Association, while Ballerina was one of several horses raised at the farm to earn an individual honour in the association's annual awards. file photo

A Breeder of the Year title was just one of the many awards collected by Pemberton's Dreamcatcher Meadows when the Northwest Sport Horse Breeders Association (NSHBA) handed out its annual awards for the 2013 season earlier this month.

Stable owners John Dingle and Jill Giese were unable to attend the June 7 ceremony in Olympia, Wash., but said they were "delighted" to receive yet another prestigious accolade.

"We are honoured to be recognized in this way and hope it encourages equestrian enthusiasts in this country to buy the quality stock born right here rather than going abroad," Giese said in a release.

In another major award for the stable, Elite Mare Dreamcatcher DMV was also selected as Broodmare of the Year, thanks to the outstanding competition results of her progeny, several of whom garnered awards of their own at the NSHBA gala.

Rider and staff member Kirsten Mitchell attended the ceremony on behalf of Dreamcatcher Meadows, and her Hanoverian mare Lady of the Dance DMV took home Horse of the Year honours in the Champion Mare Materiale category. Bus Fuller's Elite Mare Ballerina DMV was selected as Champion Mature Mare Horse of the Year, while Lady of the Dance was the Reserve Champion. Radiance DMV, owned by Whistler's Anna Scott, placed third.

Lordsley DMV, co-owned by Tony Ma of Vancouver, was named Reserve Champion Horse of the Year in the Materiale and Young Stallion In-Hand classes, while also claiming the award for Colt/Gelding Materiale Champion Horse of the Year.

Elite Stallion Dreammaster DMV, picked up the nod for Mature Stallion Champion Horse of the Year.

Meanwhile, Wonderful Dream DMV, who belongs to Shelley Sharpe and David Evans from Whistler, was named the Reserve Champion Yearling Horse of the Year.

In other news, four new foals have been delivered at Dreamcatcher Meadows through the stable's embryo-transfer breeding efforts. They will be inspected by judges from the Hannoveraner Verband in September.

METAILLER MUSTERS FASTEST PHAT TIME

The 222 riders that came out for the season's third Phat Wednesday presented by Kokanee were asked to pedal a little more than usual, but the races were as tight as always on June 11.

Remy Metailler once again notched the fastest time on a course that featured Upper Angry Pirate, Cruise Control, Shady Acres, Del Bocca Vista and EZ Does It, but not by much. Metailler clocked a winning time of three minutes, 17.46 seconds, just quick enough to hold off Zander Geddes (3:18.83) in the open men's class. Denis Courchesne rode to third place at 3:19.40, while Doug Chalmers and Dylan Wolsky claimed top-five results.

Shane Gayton captured another victory in the master men's group, finishing his race in 3:23.92. A little less than two seconds back, Chris Dewar earned a runner-up finish, while Andrew Gunn beat Steve Storey by just six-hundredths for third.

Claire Buchar (3:32.38) didn't have too much difficulty in collecting her third open women's win of the season, though the battle for second behind her was very close, with Katrina Strand (3:43.13) edging Sarah Leishman by less than one-tenth.

Bracken Camilleri (3:22.57) recorded the junior win by a half-second over Finn Iles, while Alex Auger grabbed the last podium spot in the age group. Stephanie Denroche was the top junior female.

The Phat Wednesday series resumed after press time on June 18 — check

Pique next week for results or visit bike.whistlerblackcomb.com.

The series will break on June 25 to make way for the first Phat Kidz race of 2014, open to youth riders aged seven to 17.

Meanwhile, the PhaSt Friday Enduro race that was scheduled for June 13 was called off due to weather conditions. As well, bike park officials have announced that the Test Your Soul 12-hour endurance downhill has been postponed until 2015.

LOCALS PREP FOR IRONMAN AT VICTORIA 70.3 race

A few local triathletes continued their preparations for the return of Ironman Canada to Whistler by participating in the Ironman Victoria 70.3 race held Sunday, June 15.

The event served as a great warm-up for next month's full-distance Ironman in the resort, as the Victoria course featured a 1.9-kilometre swim, 90-km bike and 21.1-km run.

Daryl West put together an impressive race, finishing the three legs in four hours, 57 minutes, 27 seconds to place 15th in the men's 35-39 age group.

Emma Bishop crossed the line with a time of 5:21:09, which was good for ninth place in her 30-34 category.

Anastasia Tukavkin and Claire Lewis both competed in the women's 25-29 division, with Lewis finishing in 5:36:18 for a 12th-place result in the age group. Tukavkin stopped the clock at 6:14:15, placing 19th.

Pemberton's Christine Cogger completed the swimming and cycling stages but did not finish the run portion.

West, Lewis and Tukavkin are all entered into Ironman Canada, which takes place in Whistler and Pemberton on July 27.

BOYD'S BACK

Rob Boyd will be spending his winter with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) after all, as the club announced last week that Boyd would take over as FIS head coach.

Boyd, who left his position as WMSC athletic director a few weeks ago, assumes the coaching vacancy left behind when Ryan Jazic joined the B.C. Ski Team coaching staff for 2014-15.

"Taking a break and 'unplugging' for a few weeks allowed for some valuable family and reflection time," Boyd said in a release. "I know clearly where my passions lie and feel they align well with the solid organization of the WMSC.

"I really appreciate all the support and patience of the membership (staff, athletes, parents and volunteers alike) and look forward to raising the bar yet again."

WMSC executive director Nigel Loring said the club isn't likely to hire a new athletic director, but that the club is "focusing on addressing specific needs, like the management of the Dave Murray National Training Centre and improvements to our dryland and conditioning programs."

PADDLERS PICKED

Three more athletes from the Pemberton Canoe Association have been selected to represent the Vancouver-Squamish zone in canoe and kayak events at the B.C. Summer Games

Ethan Hess, Anthony Liakakos and Colton Hockey have all been added to the regional team that will compete at the Games. They join fellow Pemberton paddlers Isabel Peters, Oliver Esseltine, Jonathan Rabung, Hana Ronayne and Adrian Thompson, who were all named to the team following selection trials at One Mile Lake earlier this summer.

The B.C. Summer Games take place July 17 to 20 in Nanaimo.