Happy Birthday to Cynthia (Cindy) Neale-Ishoy of Hannon, ON, one of Canada’s most successful dressage athletes who celebrated her 70th birthday on June 19. Born in Edmonton, she began her sports career as a swimmer, but then started riding in Germany as a teenager while her father was stationed there. Only a few short years later, her international equestrian success was ignited as part of the gold medal team at the 1971 Pan American Games.
A six-time Olympian, Neale-Ishoy was the youngest equestrian at the 1972 Munich Games at just 20 years old, and became the first Canadian to win an international dressage Grand Prix in 1979 in Goodwood, England. She then placed seventh at the 1986 World Championships and reached the podium with a second-place finish at the 1988 World Cup in the Netherlands. She then placed fourth in the individual class and went on to win a team bronze (with Eva-Maria Pracht, Ashley Nicoll-Holzer and Gina Smith) at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. In October of 1993, just three months after giving birth to her second child, she made a remarkable return to competition, winning two gold medals at the prestigious Dressage at Devon in Pennsylvania.
During her competitive years, she had several prominent horses, but none as special as her partner that she won major medals with in 1988. Dynasty (Darling x Marmor), her beloved dark bay Hanoverian gelding was acquired by her long-time supporters and sponsors Charles and Janet Burns in 1981. Still in the peak of his career, he unfortunately passed away following a colic surgery in 1989 at 11 years old, a devastating loss. Neale-Ishoy went on to find two other greats in Dakar, who was her reins at the 1992 Barcelona Games and Proton who she partnered with in Athens in 2004.
Cindy’s involvement with horses has continued long after she stopped competing and continues coaching and offering clinics today. In 2010, she was named Canada’s Owner of the year for her accomplishments operating Ishoy Enterprises, with her late husband Neil and was named to the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
To celebrate her birthday, her daughter Kahla Ishoy of Hamilton, ON, an equestrian herself, wrote an open letter to her mom:
Dear Mom,
Happy birthday! 70 years is such a huge milestone, yet it doesn’t seem like enough time to fit in everything you’ve accomplished. Your career is unmatched by another Canadian rider. I truly don’t know how you did it all, and how you continue to do it each day.
You’ve always been my role model but now you inspire me more than ever. Until I became a mom, and you became the best Oma ever, I didn’t understand the effort and sacrifices you must have made to be successful in your roles as an Olympic athlete, coach, trainer, and parent. It is so much harder than I thought it was going to be, trying to juggle riding, coaching, and parenting. And I’m only trying to do it here at home and while competing at national shows.
How did you make it look so easy while travelling the globe, competing at CDIs and representing Canada on the world stage?
Your achievements motivate me every day, but so does the wise advice you’ve given me: “You can only do what you can do. Take on one thing at a time, excel at that one thing, and then move onto the next.” Those words apply to life just as much as they do to the show ring.
I remember you once told me when I was feeling so discouraged and stressed, “Kahla, remember that everything always works out.” Every single time things get hard, or I get discouraged or frustrated, or get to a point where I don’t know how to juggle all the balls anymore, I always come back to that.
I know this isn’t the career path you would have chosen for me. You know how hard this business is: the time, the late nights and early mornings, the politics, the way that money talks, and the things that you have to sacrifice to excel. But you’re the reason I chose this career. My love for horses, for helping others, for wanting to train and be the best rider I can be, came in large part from you. And I aspire to be the kind of rider, coach, and person you taught me to be.
The way you invest in your students completely and always put other people first is inspiring and rare. Where else do you see someone with accomplishments like yours still working so hard, teaching grass-roots riders alongside the upper level ones, and donating their time so freely? It must have been tempting to go to Europe and take the big job offers, but you chose to stay here for your family, and to use your talents to grow the sport here in Canada.
I try to honour you by training to the best of my ability, being a good daughter and a good mother, and emulating your determination, focus and work ethic. But most of all, I want you to know how proud I am of you. Not just on your 70th birthday, but every day.
My birthday wish is that you know how much you are valued and treasured by the Canadian dressage community. How much your family leans on you for our own strength. How much your granddaughter adores you. How much your students value your wisdom and appreciate your dedication. I wish that every person you encounter realizes how special you are. That you be recognized for your incredible legacy, both as a competitor and as a person.
With all my love and admiration,
Kahla
Here’s to 70 amazing years and many more ahead! Happy Birthday from Equestrian Canada.