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In our series ‘That Special Bond’, we highlight what this sport truly is about; the unique connection between horses and humans. Speaking with some of the top names in the sport, we learn more about the horses that have shaped careers, fulfilled dreams – and sometimes even broken hearts. 

This time around we speak with Erynn Ballard, who has represented Canada at two World Championships – in 2018 and 2022 – as well as at the Pan Am Games in 2019. Working for Ilan Ferder, who runs a well-known trading business in the US, Erynn must be very quick to find a connection with the horses she rides – often just for a very short period of time. 

“I have worked with Ilan for six years now,” Erynn tells. “It was never meant to be a full-time job, since I still had a business in Toronto when I started for him. The plan for me was to work around two weeks per month for Ilan, and then run my business at home for the rest of the time. The idea was for Ilan to have the horses ready for me for the shows, so that I would come to compete them only. But, then Covid came and the restrictions were so tough that it was no way to go back and forth between Canada and the US. Every time I went home, I had to be in quarantine for two weeks and vice versa. So, we came to an agreement, and I became a full-time employee.”

“On average, we have around 40-50 horses in Florida," Erynn says.

The turnover is so high that with the number of horses we had from December 1st until now, I don’t think I would even remember all their names.

"It is a testimony to the business that Ilan has. Some horses don’t even make it out of the quarantine before they are sold. And so many horses have gone off to do great things with new owners,” Erynn continues.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Erynn says. “Over the last six years I’ve been to every championship for Canada except the Olympics in Tokyo, where we didn’t have a team and Mario went as individual. Any dream that I had, or any goal I wanted to accomplish, I have. I’m certainly looking forward to this year’s Pan American Games in Chile. If you have a podium finish there, you are basically qualified for any Grand Prix in the world for the next four years – that is such a luxury. Canada also needs to qualify for the Olympics as a team, so we have a huge year ahead of us. Knowing I have all the experience that I have built up, makes me feel prepared to accomplish these goals. With Ian Millar as our Chef d’Equipe, we put ourselves in a very good situation and obviously we had a very strong start with the Nations Cup win at the Winter Equestrian Festival earlier this year.” 

“I would say Gakhir (Spartacus TN x Labor’s VDL Indorado), who is a horse that I actually had for three seasons. Seeing that I work for a dealer, the horses don’t always stick around, but he has and hopefully he will. Gakhir is such a cool horse,” Erynn tells.

My situation with Ilan is very unique, since he does most of the riding and most of the training.

“Even though I’m a fulltime employee, I don’t ride the horses every day. Even at the World Cup Final in Omaha, I showed at nights, and Ilan worked them during the day," Erynn tells. "Last year, when I got to spend the summer in Europe mostly just with Gakhir, I got to know him on a different level that I usually get the know the horses I ride. And Gakhir is really my best friend. From riding in the ocean in La Baule, to trail riding in Florida, to be showing at the World Championships in Denmark – he has really been a Steady Eddy and he is my guy.”

“I do ride at home; mostly 8-10 horses a day,” Erynn continues. “It is not that I’m a flat rider, but I don’t practice very often. I don’t school the horses at home, and I don’t jump often at home – I mostly only jump the horses in the ring. I’m very much part when Ilan is jumping and riding the horses, it is just not me doing it. When I ride the horses, I get to trail ride and do things they don’t get to do every day, so I try to create my relationship with them doing different things versus being the person always riding and jumping them.”  

I think every rider had horses in their careers that changed their life and I think there are ages and stages.

“The first horse that changed my life at an international level was Robin van Roosendael (Skippy II x Goldspring de Lauzelle)," Erynn tells. "I got him when I was quite young, but he was my first horse riding on the senior team and the first time I did was at the Spruce Meadows Masters, and it was also the first time in history that Canada won the Nations Cup there. Robin took me places that I never thought I would go.”

“After Robin there was ten years where I didn’t have a Grand Prix horse, where I instead rode a lot of hunters and dealing horses,” Erynn tells. “Then Appy Cara (Guidam x Casco) came along and put me back on the team and back in the spotlight. From then on it has only been upward and forward with teams and championships. When Appy was sold to Ramiro Quintana to do the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, I started working for Ilan.”

Every horse you do a championship with, is a special horse.

"I went with Darkos Promise (unknown x Semper Odem) to the WEG in Tryon, with Fellini S (Vermont x Rash) to the Pan American Games in Lima and now Gakhir is the first horse I have done multiple championships on seeing I got to do the World Championships in Herning with him last year and the World Cup Finals this year.”

“So, when you talk about special bonds, and when you talk about Henrik von Eckermann having King Edward, and Martin Fuchs having Leone Jei, I can only talk about these amazing horses that I done amazing things with for a short period of time. It is different,” Erynn points out. “To have had Gakhir for three seasons now is a very long time for me and he is my guy. In La Baule, when I got to ride him in the ocean – that is something I will never forget. To be able to do that on any horse is special, but to be able to do that with him was really important to me. We used to say 'Erynn and Gakhir On Tour 2022', and now it is 2023 and we are still on tour.”

“I haven’t had a horse that won me millions, so I don’t have a specific money maker,” Erynn smiles. “My best season on record for earnings and success would be 2021 leading into 2022 when I was the leading female rider in the world starting 2022 coming out of the 2021 season. Probably Gakhir was the one that summer, but in total it is hard to say because it hasn’t been one horse that’s been around for a long time. I had a horse in 2021 called Jack van’t Kattenheye (Diabeau x Canadian River), who also did really well. He was double clean in the Nations Cup at Spruce Meadow, I won a ranking class on him at Spruce Meadows, I won a ranking class on him in Florida so probably in that one season he was a crucial part.”

“It is one thing that I’m pretty good at and that is getting to know the horses quickly. And honestly, if a horse comes into the barn that doesn’t really suit me, there is no pressure for me to do that horse. It is a dealing barn and Ilan must put on the best rider he can for each horse, to make the best results. So, if it is a horse that is maybe a bit too big or a bit too slow and that doesn’t suit what I do best, it is not my responsibility and somebody else normally gets that horse. I’m in such a unique situation so it is not like it has ever been a horse specifically bought for me that I have had to struggle with to make it work,” Erynn says. 

“However, when we got Robin back in 2001, he was a massive horse, a huge horse and I’m a small person and I thought it was completely insane to make me ride that horse."

The idea when I got him was that he would like the American system and that he would like the forward ride, but he actually didn’t, and he didn’t really want a light seat. 

"So instead, he taught me how to ride a bit more connected. That horse changed my life, so probably the hardest to get to know and the most rewarding horse was him. We are talking 20 years back, so it is a long time ago and there have been many horses in between,” Erynn smiles. 

“Of course, some horses are harder to lose than others and some I get to know more than others. It is just perks of the job and downside to the job,” Erynn says. “The perks are that I get to ride these amazing horses – like this year at WEF, I was noted for dragging the most amount of FEI horses, but that doesn’t mean that they all going to stay. Lucky for me, I can create a very fast bond to a horse at a high level. Sometimes the first time I ever show them is at FEI level and most of the time the lowest I ever jump with them is 1.40m. So, I think that is proof that our program works, with Ilan getting the horses ready and putting me on them in the ring. Showing is just something I have become very good at, as well as adapting to the different individuals.” 

Some horses are more special to me. I try to buy all the special ones their own halter, since I think that if I get them a halter maybe they are going to stay for a while.

 “There is an upside and a downside to everything, I guess," Erynn says. "Now I get to ride many different horses in different places and hopefully when they get sold, I get to cheer for them when they are successful with their new owners. There is an upside to that to, to ride a horse that you really like and then see them do great with somebody else.” 

However, the only horse I ever wanted back is Appy Cara.

"He is the one that went to Ramiro, and he went to Ramiro just for the Olympics and he would at that time have been my best shot at going to the Olympics myself. At that time, that horse was so important to me. He was a little bit unconventional and a bit hot and had some quirks, but it was an instant love affair with him. So, he is the only horse that I ever really wanted to get back,” Erynn tells.

“Appy was so important to me because between Robin and Appy I was out of the big sport for almost 10 years, and back in those times I was mostly known for being a hunter rider and I was running my business in Toronto,” Erynn tells. “I was very good at it, showing the hunters in Florida and had a big business, but there was always that desire to get back to the top sport. I actually asked for Appy myself – he belonged to Keean White at the time, and I saw that the horse was a bit difficult, and I asked Keean to give him to me to ride. So, I knew from a distance before even sitting on Appy Cara that I wanted him and he took me from being a pretty local Canadian rider back up to the Nations Cups, competing at Spruce Meadows and he put my career back in the spotlight and I just had a love affair with that horse. He wasn’t for everybody, and more people probably didn’t like him than did like him.” 

“If somebody told me today that I could have him back at my farm to retire him, I would take him. I just love him,” Erynn closes off.

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