Ottawa, ON, May 6, 2025 – The Equestrian Canada (EC) Nominating Committee is pleased to announce a slate of four candidates who were selected for presentation to EC’s 27 Voting Members from the three categories and to appear on the ballot for electing Directors to fill the vacancies on the 2025 EC Board of Directors.
In accordance with Equestrian Canada’s By-laws, the Nominating Committee’s mandate is to ensure EC has a rigorous nomination system each year that allows for the recruitment of qualified individuals to stand for election as Directors. A total of thirteen qualified candidates submitted nomination packages by the close of the nomination period on April 11, 2025.
Furthermore, from the list of qualified applicants and as per the EC’s Governance Manual, it is mandated that the Nominating Committee must select the number of candidates that move forward to the ballot to exceed the number of vacant positions on the Board of directors by at least one, and at most three. This year there are three vacant positions on the Board with each position for a three-year term ending in 2028. This means a minimum of four, and maximum of six candidates must be presented to the Category Voting Members on the ballot for the election.
The EC Nominating Committee members are as follows:
- Kelly Gravelle, (Director, Chair) – Bethany, ON
- Todd Walsh, (Director) – St. Albert, AB
- Elise Blais – Brossard, QC
- Kris Foley – Sackville, NS
- Joan Macartney – Manotick, ON
- Melissa MacKenzie – St. John, NB
- Mallory McKewen – Burford, ON
- Doug Orr – Rocky View County, AB
After an in-depth review of all the applications as well as personal interviews of each applicant, the Nominating Committee has unanimously agreed to put forward the following individuals for consideration by the Voting Members (listed alphabetically):
- Jennifer Hodgson – Hudson, QC
- Stephanie Leblond – Quebec City, QC
- Nathan Reeve – Coquitlam, BC
- Nick Sutcliffe – Hockley Valley, ON
At the 2025 AGM the Voting Members will also be ratifying the by-law changes that will establish the newly created Athlete Director position to the Equestrian Canada Board. This position was created based on work by the Governance and Ethics Committee (GEC) at the direction of the EC Board, to ensure that athletes have a voice at the board table. The position is also a new requirement from the Government of Canada to respect and support the role that athletes play in our sport system. A new seat has been added that can only be held by an athlete that meets EC’s list of qualifications for the position. The Athlete Director may be an active or retired athlete (retired for not more than eight years) and have competed at or been on one of the following levels:
- a major or minor games/championships equestrian team (Olympic/Paralympic/FEI World Championships/Pan American/Parapan American);
- a regional/continental championship team (Pan American or North American) ;
- the EC National Teams Program;
- a Nations Cup Team; or
- FEI 4*, 5*, or CPEDI 3* competitions,
In order to fill this position the GEC and the EC Board also approved the Athlete Director Appointment Committee (ADAC) which is comprised of the athletes’ representatives who have been elected by the National Team Athletes in the three Olympic disciplines and one Paralympic discipline. This committee is enacted only in the years that a new Athlete Director is appointed. The ADAC seek out candidates and then vote for the candidate that will come forward to the AGM for election by the voting members.
The ADAC for 2025 was comprised of:
- Tiffany Foster, Show Jumping (Chair)
- Denielle Gallagher, Dressage
- Shandiss MacDonald, Eventing
- Jody Schloss, Para Dressage
- Lauren Barwick, Para Dressage
All athletes that let their names stand as part of this process have their qualifications validated by the EC Nominating Committee to ensure compliance with the regulations.
The ADAC and the Nominating Committee have approved as the Athlete Director candidate to the ballot for election at the 2025 AGM:
- Mac Cone – King City, ON
Further information on the candidates can be found here: https://equestrian.ca/governance.
The next step in the 2025 EC Board election will be for the EC Voting Members to cast their ballots during the AGM on May 27, 2025. The results of the election will be announced to the public on May 28, 2025.