D.O.B.: October 29, 1968
Hometown: Didsbury, Alberta
Sport event: Heavy Horse Show
Titles and Awards: 9 times World Champion 6-horse Hitch driver.
Stampede attendance: Shown at Stampede every year since 1986. Shown a 6-horse hitch at Stampede every year since 1988.
Notable facts:
Brian has judged draft horses on 4 continents.
3 of the young people Brian has mentored have also won the World Championship 6-horse hitch title at the Calgary Stampede.
In Brian’s words:
The Percheron breed has a special place in our lives. They just have an elegance to them that is pretty special. I mean, they have the right disposition and athleticism, they’re easy to train. Not that the other breeds can't, but it seems like the Percherons have an ability to be so much more expressive. They definitely feed off the crowd. They want to perform.
So, the basics of a six-horse hitch. You have your wheel team, and that wheel team is your largest, most powerful team. That team starts and stops the wagon because they're the only team that has the extra harness on to be able to control that wagon. That's why they have to be a big, powerful pair. Just being big is one thing but having the power to do it effortlessly is what makes them pretty special in their role in a six-horse hitch. The swing team is the middle team. They're still quite muscular but they're not quite as big. They’re a little quicker footed because they have to perform in between the horses ahead of them and the horses behind them. So, they have to be able to move effortlessly without feeling constricted. They need that confidence to work freely in that role. Finally, the lead team. The lead team is probably your flashiest team, your most eye-catching team. They have to be quick, to be able to do the quickest turns. They must be very, very good on their feet. From a judging aspect, that lead team is the first team through the gate and to catch the judges’ eyes. And that's what’s going to take you up the ladder, even right up to first place, so…
For the horses, you want to set up a color scheme that ties your equipment together. So, you need your color but also not overdo your color. At the same time, it's about being the most eye-appealing outfit in the arena. So, the grooming, the preparation of the mane: you want to make sure that all your rolls, which are braided into the mane, are as tight and as smooth and as even as possible. Same with the flowers. If the flowers all stand up nice and straight, the presentation then has an artistic aspect to it.