Terry Fox Run gets equine twist in Balgonie
For more than 25 years a woman in Balgonie, Sask. has been hosting an annual fundraiser for cancer research around the Terry Fox Run, with a new twist on the event.
On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox set out on his cross-country run to raise money and awareness for cancer research leading to the creation of annual runs held across the country, but on Wina Lechner’s farm, horses will go the distance for the cause.
Lechner holds a Terry Fox Equestrian Trail Ride every year, where people can bring their horses and ride the route or jump in a wagon.
This year there were three wagons at the event, two pulled by horses and one by a tractor, alongside around 40 horses.
Lechner said people look forward to the event every year, asking for the date as early as June
The day typically starts at 1 p.m. then ends with a potluck dinner back at the farm.
A family affair, the kids were excited to get out on the trail and take in the countryside from either a hose or the wagon.
"Sometimes little kids they just want to give some out of their own pockets, so that's why it's a small amount of two or three dollars or five dollars whatever it will be," said Lechner.
She collects donations from participants at the end of the ride to be put towards cancer research. Lechner said donations rang from one or two dolrs from the kids up to $100.
After years of this event at her current farm, and in the past hosting a couple of rides in Fox’s name at Wascana Lake, Lechner has never participated in a Terry Fox Run.
"I never have done that before, the run, so I thought it would be kind of fun to do that on horseback," said Lechner, adding everyone enjoys getting together year after year for the event.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.