A special limited-time offer has just been announced for I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club Members! As part of Horse Experience 2015, we’re offering a special Drive & Dine package to visitors to the Pan Am Games. But we also want to make this available to our Fan Club members!

The Drive & Dine Package, on Saturday, July 18, starts with a tour of Ideal Training Centre, located just north of Acton. (meet at 2:00 p.m.) This is one of Ontario’s premier Standardbred training centers. Stabled here are some of the top trainers and horses in the sport. You will then take to the track and have a chance to drive a Standardbred with one of the Wanna Drive program horses!

Then it’s off to Mohawk Racetrack, where we’ve got an action packed night. We’ll have a tour of the paddock and meet some trainers and drivers, take part in a special Meet & Greet with members from the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, and enjoy a scrumptious buffet dinner from the Terrace Dining Room that overlooks the track!

The price for Fan Club members is $80 (including tax) until Wed. July 8 only and you can sign up for this discounted package by contacting Kathy Wade Vlaar or Hannah Beckett at (905) 858-3060. You must supply your own transportation and there are a limited number of spots available!

This is one of two Standardbred packages offered on Horse Experience 2015. Grand River Raceway is offering a dinner and tour package to Pan Am Visitors on Monday, July 13.

Horse Experience 2015 is an Equine Canada initiative in partnership with the Ontario Equestrian Federation (OEF) and the Headwaters Tourism Association. The project features a month‐long showcase of opportunities to see, touch and experience horses in Canada, in parallel with the sold‐out Pan Am equestrian competitions in July. The objectives for Horse Experience 2015 include:

• Developing export markets for Canadian‐bred horses, genetics and expertise. South/Central American countries are key target markets for Canadian horse industry exports.

• Maximizing local horse experience opportunities for international visitors to the Pan Am equestrian competitions.

• Encouraging participation from the domestic market in horse‐related activities.

Horse Experience 2015 offers 50 different events on the calendar during July, all within a one‐hour radius of the OLG Caledon Pan Am Equestrian Park, the central site of the Pan Am equestriancompetitions. Horse Experience also features a series of hospitality events and entertainment at the Orangeville Event Centre (July 11th through the 17th) in Mono, Ontario. The Horse Experience website features details on 50 events, event transportation and shuttle service, RV camping and ticket purchasing options. The Horse Experience transportation offerings include bus service between the event sites, hotels and key mustering points in the region. The objective of the shuttle service and event transportation is to improve visitor access to the Pan Am equestrian competitions, the Horse Experience events and the local communities (to visit, shop and stay).

Equine Canada developed Horse Experience 2015 to align with its Long Term International Strategy, funded through AAFC Growing Forward 2 program. Horse Experience is providing the Canadian horse industry with the infrastructure and marketing platform to increase exposure to international visitors and export market channels, as well as exposure to the domestic market to increase participation in horse‐related activities. Through Horse Experience 2015, Equine Canada and its partners have developed a model that has relevance to tourism and economic sustainability in rural communities.

Horse Experience has received exceptional collaboration from within the horse industry, with more than eight breed associations and six horse sports represented, as well as 15 different riding and unique learning and spectator experiences.