The last time Bill Cox was able to show was at the Sun Circuit in Arizona, which ran from Feb. 27 to March 7. That was five months ago and chances are it’ll be the only show he competes in the entire 2020 season.

The Ontario, Canada Select exhibitor made it home just as the coronavirus pandemic forced border closures between Canada and the United States. Upon his arrival, he had to quarantine for 14-days. This month Canadian officials announced that the border would remain closed to nonessential travel through at least Sept. 21 and many believe it will not open back up at all this year.

Cox almost exclusively shows in the United States and he keeps his horses in training with Gil Galyean. Currently, Cox has two horses at the trainer’s Oklahoma facility, 2-year-old Made Sleepy and 3-year-old Sleep N The Moonlite. While Cox can’t compete Galyean has continued to show the horses. Sleep N The Moonlite, was Reserve Champion in the Limited Open Western Pleasure at the The Madness in July.

“You’re sitting up here wondering how your horses are doing because you can’t be there in person,” he said. “Becky (Galyean) has been really good about updates, but it’s not easy not being able to go see your friends and have fun.”

As inconvenient as this show season has been for the horse industry as a whole – from cancellations to delays and mask rules – Canadian friends have had it much worse. With the border closed between the two North American countries for the foreseeable future, exhibitors with horses in training at U.S. barns don’t even know when they’ll get to see their horses.

Ontario exhibitor Joan McMann and her daughter, Kelly Smith, bought Hez Really Exotic, “Blake,” from Sandra Morgan early in 2020. He was shipped from Morgan’s barn in Arizona to McMann’s trainers, Jason and Jamie English, in Madison, Georgia. Although they went to watch friends compete at a show in Venice, Florida in January, they hadn’t yet bought a horse.

“We hadn’t bought Blake yet, so we still haven’t had a chance to meet him in person,” she said.

Florida trainer Katy Jo Zuidema serves two clients from two Canadian provinces – Sarah Nimigan of Ontario and Robert Roger from Quebec. Nimigan has a P1 athlete visa and can stay in the United States for up to five years. The American Quarter Horse Association and National Snaffle Bit Association vouch for her status as an international athlete. She is a part of Zuidema’s team and she believes her time on the Team Canada Youth World Cup helped with obtaining the visa.

“I was at the Sun Circuit showing my Reiner when all this went down. My gut instinct was not to leave so I didn’t,” she said. “While my friends at home can’t see their horses, I can’t see my mom. We FaceTime, but it’s not the same.”

Unfortunately, Roger was not able to see his 3-year-old mare, Martina Mickride win the Virginia Maiden 3-Year-Old & Over Open Western Pleasure in Raleigh, North Carolina or place third in the Novice Horse Western Pleasure Slot class at the Madness in Ohio.

“When Robert and his wife can finally cross the border I have a plethora of ribbons, trophies and checks to send back with them,” Zuidema said. “They have been great about it, but it’s easier for anybody to pay the bill when they are having fun. When I sent them the bill to go to the NSBA World Show in Tulsa and they could not be there, it took the fun out of it.”

Many exhibitors and trainers, regardless of where they call home, have fluctuated between a range of emotions this year from frustration to anger, disappointment and an appreciation for the shows that are still scheduled to go on. At least in the US, some are still having a chance to show even if it didn’t follow the original “plan” from January. And the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis have extended beyond the limited competition opportunities.

Even before the Ohio Quarter Horse Association announced the cancelation of the 2020 All-American Quarter Horse Congress, Kevin Wile had decided to skip the event. The long-time tack vendor estimates that up to 70% of his income comes from the Congress the years he does attend.

Taking A Big Hit

“I sell more saddles at Congress than here at my shop,” he said. “But I am not going to sacrifice my life for the income and with people from all over North America attending I just didn’t see how it could happen.”

In his hometown of Windsor, Nova Scotia, no COVID-19 cases were reported, according to information Wile received from an emergency operator. The province shut down when news of the pandemic broke. As visitors could return for camping and other activities, cases began appearing.

“Somebody from the U.S. came up through Nova Scotia into Price Edward Island and now there are active cases,” he said. “When people drop their guard the virus can spread to thousands in a day. A lot of people here are wearing masks, some people aren’t. Some people are distancing, some aren’t.”

Aside from the Congress, Wile sells tack at his 60-by-45-foot shop. The full-service English and western store was also completely shut down and is currently open by appointment only. Although he says he is “not a real savvy computer guy,” he has sold a few saddles online. Being the eastern Canadian authorized Continental saddle dealer has been a bright spot. The saddle company has continued building saddles throughout the pandemic and they have continued to sell well for Wile.

The trucking side of his business collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic, and he has listed his truck and trailer for sale.

Wile is still optimistic and thinks long-term he’ll have better luck than his best friend, a local restaurant owner. It cost his buddy $5,000 a month in rent, even when it couldn’t open due to mandated closures. It was unsustainable and he closed the eatery permanently.

Cox is fortunate that he has always kept a horse at a local barn so that he can stay in riding shape when he can’t train with Galyean. Typically, he rides 30 to 60 minutes a day. Even that was postponed while stables were forced to close to the public.

“We selects soften up pretty easy. I’ve had a practice horse here forever,” he said. “We couldn’t go to see our horse until stage two when the barns reopened.”

Ontario has around 15 million people and was down to 200 newly reported cases per day in late July. Certain areas within the province have moved into stage three of reopening and the number of cases spiked.

“It’s certainly not anything like Florida,” he said. “We were a lot slower in opening and going to the next stage. Our Prime Minister encouraged right from the very onset that we should be wearing masks and social distancing by staying six feet apart.”

Although Cox doubted he and his wife would make it to the Congress before the official cancelation announcement was released, he was looking forward to Made Sleepy’s performance in the Coughlin 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure Futurity. Had the show gone on, he was at least grateful that a live stream would have been available. It wouldn’t have replaced the camaraderie of the thrill of being in person, but at least would have given him a chance to see his horse perform.

“It’s a tough one, my wife has some underlying health issues, but not only for her I’d be concerned about it for myself as well,” he said. “We’ll be looking and hoping for an early vaccine.”

Zuidema has several 2-year-olds in training this year. The plan was to take them to the NSBA World Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, enter a weekend show here or there in preparation for the Coughlin Futurity at the Congress. With the Congress cancelled, none of those horses made the trip to Tulsa.

“Now that Congress is cancelled I pulled the plug on them taking a 20-hour trailer ride to Tulsa,” she said. “Now our green horses from this year will be really green next year.”

McMann was disappointed by having to miss Blake’s Futurity Champion performance at the Virginia Maiden, but she has appreciated the videos, texts and messages Jamie and Jason English have been sending to keep her posted. And although it doesn’t replace watching in person, the live feed from the Virginia Maiden Show, sponsored by Instride Edition, at least gave her the opportunity to watch him perform in real time.

“It’s been a very long Spring. I’ve been staying home. Kelly works at a bank so she is an essential service and has worked all through the pandemic,” McMann said. “She gets my groceries and does my errands so I don’t have to go out. Thank goodness for Facebook. It helps to keep us all connected.”

Keeping customers in the loop about their horse’s training progress and performance is part of the normal day-to-day operations. In that regard Galyean says that hasn’t really changed for him or his wife, Becky. They are in regular communication with the international clients they serve via frequent text messaging and phone calls. The bigger challenge this year has been how to deal with decisions for certain horses.

“We’ve talked a lot about whether to show or keep back Bill’s 2-year-old,” Galyean said. “In the past, all options have been on the table, but this year they’re not.”

In previous years, if any client couldn’t make it to a show, Galyean could at least compete. With many shows cancelled or postponed, even those opportunities have been limited, though he has shown at those that have run.

“Hopefully, we’ll get past this and get back to showing,” he said.

Zuidema suspects this show season will have the most impact on the green 3-year-olds, the horses people purposely held back so they could be eligible for the novice, maiden, futurity and green classes in 2020. Next year, she’ll now have four novice 3-year-olds that are likely to remain maiden until next year.“The maiden usually makes them more valuable for sale,” she said. “But the market is going to be flooded with these horses and I think that will hold the value of these horses back a bit.”