The Royal winter fair Experience
Each year in November the city goes a little country as Toronto’s Exhibition Place transforms into the worlds largest indoor agricultural fair; a 10 day celebration of agricultural excellence in livestock, crops and food and hosts an International Equestrian Competition.
“A win at The Royal means something, regardless of whether you’re pickling, jamming, raising beef or driving six-horse hitches.”
Since its inception in 1922, The Royal has grown to be the largest indoor agricultural and equestrian event in the world with over 300,000 visitors every year. Known as one of the most notable equestrian events in the world, athletes come from many different countries to compete in The Royal Horse Show.
Again this year we had the great honour of being able to cover some of the events happening at The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, as media friends. As a member of the Ontario Equestrian GRIT Team (Dressage) our junior media specialist Kayla was invited to attend the fair to represent her team, and assist curious kids in learning more about riding and horsemanship. So we handed over the reins, for her to report on her time at The Royal!
We took every chance to pet every animal in the petting zoo, ride the mechanical bull and watch the amazing equestrian events; from Dressage to Jumping, we took it all in.
Being on the Ontario Equestrian GRIT Team for Dressage, I had the honour of being part of many special events including a meeting with CBC’s Scott Russell this year at the Royal. It was an exciting, educational, and inspiring day of learning from Scott as he worked with us on how to conduct a successful live interview. It was an honour to be interviewed directly by Scott on camera as well.
As an Ontario GRIT Dressage Athlete, my favourite part was helping and watching the Royal Dressage CDI-W Freestyle as the Royal Gate Keeper.
Seeing Canadian Olympian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of St. Bruno, QC, ride Jill Irving’s Jaccardo to win the $20,000 CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle was amazing! The CDI-W was a qualifying event for the 2026 FEI World Cup™ Finals, taking place April 8-12 in Fort Worth, Texas.
I enjoyed helping with the ‘Rookie Riders Program’ at the Royal also, a program that introduces kids to riding a horse, which was presented by Ontario Equestrian. The Rookie Riders begin by learning to work with horses safely, practicing fundamental movement skills with basic gymnastics and riding a “barrel horse”. We helped the kids learn to safely mount and dismount, and also instructed them on their ability to maintain a balanced and relaxed position, with proper posture while mounted. Rookie Rider kids were also given the chance to become comfortable changing into a variety of positions and holds while mounted.
I’m excited to return to The Royal again in 2026, and I am hopeful that one day I may have the opportunity to compete there alongside so many wonderful athletes.
The Royal Winter Fair agricultural celebration happens every November (6-15th, 2026) and celebrates the very best food, livestock and horsemanship this country has to offer.
Photo Credit TL : Nancy Bowman Photography www.nancybowmanphotography.zenfolio.com
Pictured: KEIRA SMITH – GRIT Team Jumper
Kayla Welsh – GRIT Team Dressage
