CHS

CANADIAN HACKNEY SOCIETY

HACKNEY HALL OF FAME

 
Welcome to the Hackney Hall of Fame.  This section of our web site is dedicated to the greatest horses, ponies, exhibitors, breeders and trainers that have made an impact on the Hackney in Canada

Clare Hayes

Tonight’s induction honors a horseman, a businessman, and above all, a family man.

A passion for horses was ignited at an early age for a certain little boy.  Growing up on the family farm in Cambray Ontario, ponies were part of everyday life for the Hayes family children and their parents, Ray and Mary. Shetland, Welsh and later Hackney ponies were bred, raised, trained and shown by the whole family but one of the four Hayes siblings in particular had been bitten by the horse bug for life.

Clare Hayes first passed through the show ring gate in 1956, showing a dappled chestnut Shetland pony at Cannington Fair. His early show career included riding and driving Hackney, Shetland and Welsh ponies for his parents at fairs all over Ontario.  His most memorable pony was named Major. Together, Clare and Major won every class from Norwood to Woodbridge.

In 1979, Clare took over the family farm, ultimately establishing Bry-Den Farm with his wife, Mary, and two sons, Dennis and Bryan, and continued in Ray’s footsteps breeding and showing Shetlands and Hackney ponies.

Clare bred and raised countless ponies over the years, with 41 Hackney ponies carrying the Bry-Den prefix.  Several notable ponies to come from his breeding program are Status Symbol, Bry-Den’s Diamond Lil, Bry-Den’s Made to Order, Bry-Den’s Boom Town and Bry-Den’s Extremely Gifted.  Clare has been a big supporter of the many Hackney Futurity and Sweepstakes programs over the years.  Ponies from the Bry-Den breeding program have taken championship honors in the AHHS National, Ohio, Hoosier, Canadian & Ontario Futurities.

Clare competed at many of the fairs and horse shows across Ontario and parts of the US, competing for the first time at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 1968.  There have been many victory passes with Hackney ponies such as Status Symbol, BRS Marked to Be Bad, and Bry-Den’s Diamond Lil and Shetlands like Blackjack, Master’s Rhumba Girl and Brenda’s Brown Comet. After retiring from the Sunderland Co-op, Clare scratched his longtime itch for more speed and bought his first Road Horse, Polar Magic, Hanson, Bustin’ Loose and Impressive followed, with Impressive fulfilling a bucket list item of showing in Freedom Hall and back to back wins of the Green Horse Roadster finals at the Royal Winter Fair.

Clare gave much of his energy to other aspects of the horse community, serving as director of the Canadian Hackney Society, Canadian Pony Society, and Canadian Road Horse Association for several years, and as President of the Canadian Hackney Society in 2002 and 2003.  He also served on the committee for the Ontario Hackney Sweepstakes and chair of the light horse committee for the Lindsay fair for many years.

The show ring was not just about personal gratification for Clare.  Lifetime friendships and recent ones are treasured.  He loves watching others learn and succeed.  He is always willing to help, either sharing his knowledge, lending a hand, or even lending a pony.  If someone wanted to drive, Clare made it happen.  A very proud moment was putting Kyle Hayes and High Horizon’s Star Dust in the ring to win the Jr Exhibitor class at the Royal Winter Fair.  Now he is working on passing his horsemanship along to the fourth generation of Hayes Family show kids, his grandchildren.

As we recognize Clare’s many accomplishments, he would point to the support system behind him.  Wife Mary, a silent cheerleader and sandwich maker, bag packer and bookkeeper, reminding him to behave when his collar got warm and only slightly rolling her eyes when Clare proudly announced whatever horse deal he was currently working on.

We are proud to recognize a lifetime of horsemanship and sportsmanship, please join us in congratulating Clare Hayes

 (inducted April 2024)

 
Click on the CHS Logo to return to the main CHS web page