A talented young equine rider of Bienfait is going to represent Canada on the global stage next year.
Talissa Gervais, a Grade 12 student at Estevan Comprehensive School, will compete at the biennial American Quarter Horse Association’s (AQHA) Youth World Cup. The event will take place in Kronenberg, Netherlands, in July 2020.
She was selected after sending in a biography that documented not only her accomplishments in equestrian circles, but also what she has done in other sports and the community.
“You send in what you’ve done, with your show points, where you’ve shown and your experience,” said her mother Jody. “And then they picked seven people to be on the team.”
Talissa Gervais has been riding horses for pretty much her entire life. She enjoys competing in the all-around events in Western Canada and internationally. She has earned herself an AQHA championship and multiple Canadian national championships, and she is a multiple American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Show qualifier.
She has enjoyed competing at the Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, in trail, showmanship and horsemanship disciplines, and she has also successfully shown at the Level 1 Championship Show in Las Vegas, where she was a finalist and top 19 earner in western riding in 2019.
“I think my favourite part would be being so in tune with horses,” said Gervais. “I just think it’s really cool that you have a relationship with them in a different way than anybody else.”
One of the riders on the team is from Regina, but is going to school in Texas. Gervais knows her from previous competitions. The remaining team members are from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and B.C. Gervais has not encountered them at other events, but looks forward to getting to know them.
Her current show mare is Harper, whose registered name is Ima Code Breaker. But she won’t be bringing Harper with her to The Netherlands, as she will be riding a quarter horse supplied by the host country.
While she will miss Harper, she is looking forward to getting to know and riding a new horse.
“I’m really excited about riding different horses,” she said.
The American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup is an educational, leadership-based event where youth from every country have the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned during a week by competing in a variety of classes.
“I’ll be learning how to adapt to different coaching,” she said.
Youth members from across the world compete in each of eight classes over a four-day period.
The competition will be comprised of showmanship at halter, ranch pleasure, western horsemanship, hunter under saddle, hunt seat equitation, trail, cutting and reining. There will be two complete shows and the combined scores from these days will determine the teams’ final standings.
There will also be fun activities during the week design to build camaraderie and friendship between teammates and among the competing countries.
Gervais expects this will not only be a great opportunity to build her skills, but to get a great experience.
She’s not sure what she will do next in her life and where her horse skills will take her. She wants to take Harper with her, though, and continue to ride horses and further her life skills.
