HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-05-02, Page 3THE HURON EXPOSITOR, MAY 2. 1990 — 3
"Everythingtakes time,. anpatience."
,
By Paula Elliott
Juergen Baingo's dedication to ho
has been sorely tried many times over
many years in the equestrian business,
it always comes back to his love of
beautiful .animals, and to the people
love them as he does.
And now Juergen Baingo has come
Varna, in the hopes of setting up a dri
ing and riding center unrivalled in
region. Operating op the site of Bully G
ly, the former motorcycle racing mec
between Highways 4 and 21, he has natur
on his side. Add three parts hard work an
the formula for success is there.
A native of Berlin, Juergen Baingo
been working with horses all ()Chits life (`
I tell you how many years that is, you
know how old I am", he laughs) and h
been a fixture in the equine communiud
regionally for a number of years. HE buil
the London area riding facility known no
as Wilton Grave in 1976, while working
the London Police Force as a constabl accomplished dressage rider, Mr. B
ingo fell into teaching througum
circstance.
"I didn't want to teach riding at all," h
recalls now. The loss of an instructor a
the stable resulted in a fruitless search fo
a replacement, and one thing led t
another.
"I tried it, and there I was," he say
with a shrug. "I had no choice..I had t
become the teacher."
He took to it like a natural, and so
developed a loyal fan club of students. H
left his job with the Police Department an
dedicated himself full-time to his horse
and students. His great pride was th
Quadrille team, riding in the style of th
great Vienna riding schools in Europe.
"My riders were going over fences wi
no stirrups, no reins," he recalls proudly
adding that in Quadrille "the horses ac-
tually dance".
"Anybody can do it who has the will to
do it and wants to learn".
The will to do it" has had to play a ma-
jor part in Juergen Baingo's life since
those relatively idyllic days. Interest rates
soared from around 9 percent to 22 percent
in the early 1980's, forcing him to hand the
keys to his riding school over to. the bank.
Disheartened, Mr, Baingo left the country
and horses altogether for about two years.
But riding and driving were in his blood,
and soon Mr. Baingo was back in Canada
for a stint of 'freelancing' horses from
Europe. This involved tracking down priz-
ed warmbloods - heavier Hanoverians,
Austrian warmbloods, Fresians and
Trakebners, to name a few breeds - for
select North American customers on the
market. Warmbloods are a versatile group
of European breeds, adaptable for eventing
(dressage, hunter/jumper and cross coun-
try riding). He stayed with freelancing for
about two years before a chance meeting
altered his course and steered him towards
Varna.
!Al Brown, Baingo's business partner,
was working on a London area business
deal that required a horse -knowledgeable
consultant. Juergen was called onto the
scene by a person in the know, and a fast
friendship was forged.
"It was a meeting of the minds," recalls
Brown, who with wife Jan and his
'daughter had recently moved to a home on
Lake Huron, just up the road from the
would-be site of Bannockburn River
Equestrian Centre. Both men were looking
for a new direction: Al Brown for his
business efforts - he has a Chartered Ac-
countancy background - and Juergen Ba-
ingo, for his equestrian aspirations. They
bounced a few ideas off of the each other
until the day that the !fully Gully proper-
ty came on the market. They purchased
the property in May 1989 and haven't look-
ed back since. If anything, their present
plans for Bannockburn are beginning to far
surpass their original expectations.
"There's still a ton of work to be done,"
Al Brown remarks, squinting into the ear-
ly morning sunshine over the 50 acres of
creek, pond, pasture and gully. Cleaning
rses
his
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ABLE AT THE REINS - Master'horseman Juergen Beingohop,es to instill his love
of driving and riding in area enthusiasts. Former students still travel from London
to his Centre near Varna, on the site of the former Hully Gully complex.
up the property has been the top priority
for the past months, and the change is
remarkable. Al Brown notes that over 1,200
old tires were hauled off of the property,
the pond was cleaned and drained and the
land graded in places. There was one day,
he recalls, when they made 20 separate
trips to the dump with nothing but oil
drums.
, "We found this property, which is
perfect...now all we need is some people."
The people that Brown and, Baingo are
looking for will be the horse people "..who
want to do what we're doing,: says
Juergen. And what they're doing is
something very special indeed.
The pride and joy of Bannockburn River
Equestrian Centre right now isn't a horse
at all...it's a Gazelle. A 350 pound, indepen-
dent suspension bright red Gazelle, in fact,
and Bannockburn has the exclusive North
American rights to it. The first of the two -
wheeled all -terrain driving buggies arrived
from German recently, and Juergen Ba-
ingo has been almost inseparable from it
since.
"The main thing that we wanted this
(property) for is the Gazelle," Al Brown
says, watching Juergen rip around the
track in the Gazelle, jouncing along behind
the single horse pulling it uphill, downhill,
turning on a dime and cantering over clods
of dirt and wood. It's phenomenal to
watch, and even more phenomenal to
experience.
"You can't really imagine what it feels
like until you're in it," Juergen Beingo
says, reins in hand, as he steers the horse
Santana up a steep, bumpy incline at
speeds unheard of in a normal driving rig.
The sensation is much like having a
Hospital turns
FOOD SYSTEM WORKING OUT
At the latest gathering of the Seaforth
Community Hospital Board of Governors,
held on April 24 in the new Hospital boar-
droom, it was reported that the new
"Aladdin" food service system has been in-
stalled and is working out well. Testing is
being done on the performance of the
system and a few questions have yet to be
answered about the use of the system in
the 'Meals on Wheels' program, but the
general consensus is that the Aladdin con-
tainers are satisfactory.
waterbed pulled through a ploughed field:
definitely turbulent, but amazingly smooth,
"The first time 1 saw it, I thought it was
just a little metal box on wheels."
The little metal box on wheels runs at
about $3,700, and Baingo hopes to have 15
or so at the Equestrian Centre in the not -
too -distant future. The main thrust of the
Centre will be as a driving facility, and
Brown and Baingo are looking at buying
specific horses to drive the Gazelles.
OUT FOR 'A SPIN - Santana muscles up in front of Juergen Baingo's Gazelle driv-
ing buggy on a brisk morning workout around the Bannockburn Equestrian Cen-
tre property. The Gazelle is the only one of its kind in North America at the
ment, an all -terrain driving unit.
Presently, there are nine warmbloods on
the farm, and muscling them up after a
lax winter is the order of the day - all day,
every day - at Bannockburn right now.
With the summer coming up, the push is
on to draw people to the sport of driving
and Brown feels that the market is there.
"If you don't sail, you want something
else to do," he points out, adding that he's
already begun distributing leaflets to
tourist stops in the area. They figure that
once people try the Gazelle, they'll be
hooked. Its a pretty safe bet. The driving
lessons will be offered at $27 per hour.
"You have a man, a horse and $5,000
worth of equipment tied up," he notes,
commenting on the price of the lessons.
"We'd ideally like to start a club in the
area. We want to get people interested in
buying their own."
If all goes as planned, and clientele
builds through driving and the odd riding
lessons ("Some of my riders are still com-
ing all the way from London to here.")
Juergen Baingo would like to see an arena
on the property. The $250,000 price tag is
a bit prohibitive at the moment, so he's
taking life one step at a time. Riding and
driving demand patience and hard work,
and so, does a lifelong dream like the one
he's building at Bannockburn.
mo -
"Everything takes time and patience. If
you don't have time and patience, and
can't take criticism...you shouldn't be
riding."
A DOG'S LIFE - One of the puppies at the Bannockburn River Equestrian Centre
catches some z's in a sunny corner of the barn.
smokefree on Canada
LAWN AGREEMENT REACHED
The Hospital Board Property Committee
presented their report, and it was agreed
that Tom Philips and CEO Don Smith will
continue to search for a purchaser for the
hospital's used transformer. A number of
creative suggestions were put forth for its
possible use, but it was agreed that the
transformer will be relegated to the PUC
yard for storage if a taker cannot be found
in the near future.
Four tenders were received by the com-
LOTS
CHOOSE
The
next 0 the TD Bank. Itasah thins deltlast week, butnaf steadygflowint he
of
bargain hunters made their way in to check out the 200 plus Items up for grabs.
The sale continues to the end of the week. Elllott photo.
TACK AND ATTACK - A few of the dogs
romp in the newly outfitted barn where
Juergen Baingo cleans harness after a
brisk morning workout around the Ban-
nockburn property.
mittee for grass cutting contracts for the
1990, and it was moved that the Board sign
a contract with Lawnmaster. Their tender
came in at $195 per cut, at approximately
20 cuts a year.
HEALTH DAY PLANS
The Public Relations Committee noted
that plans for Canada Health Day, slated
for May 12, are well underway. A blood
pressure clinic will be set up at the
Seaforth Town Hall, and medication educa-
tion and videos will be set up for the the
public. Also, May 12 will signal the official
establishment of the Seaforth Community
Hospital as a smoke-free building.
Designated areas will be set up for staff
and patient smoking, well ventilated and
removed from the main public and patient
areas of the hospital.
In addition, a staff "Stop Smoking" pro-
gram will be offered in conjunction with
the smoke-free policy to assist Hospital
Seaforth license
bureau closed
Health Day
staff members why Alligtat wont to tags uua
opportunity to quit smoking altogether.
"We want to lend whatever support we
can to those efforts," it was remarked.
It was noted that the Canada Cup com-
pany is producing a styrofoam cup that is
labelled as 'environmentally friendly' and
that dissolves quickly. The Board was
questioned as to whether this product is
currently being used at the hospital.
In reply, a Board member commented
that he doesn't "..think there's much use
in switching to an environmentally friend-
ly styrofoam cup that we're going to end
up putting into a green garbage bag. -
After some discussion, it was suggested
that the hospital might consider looking in-
to a composting system to handle some of
their waste removal.
PENNY SALE ON THE GO
The Hospital Auxiliary reminded the
Board about the annual Penny Sale, which
is taking place this year in the trailer
beside the Toronto Dominion Bank. The
sale extends until May 5, when the draws
will be made for the 200 plus items that
are up for grabs.
hall$ re$ld ntjl, phen•
fntom*tion to Cern-
'K.lWp &alit n Nthatire
•nt mna loci►tltrn unit'.
Seaforth and area residents can no
longer renew their drivers license in
Seaforth. The service will still be offered
at the Ministry of Transportation in
Clinton.
The Seaforth location, at Oscar's gift
shop on Main Street since November, clos-
ed the license bureau April 30. Oscar's pro-
prietress, Jean Hasson, said a sign announ-
cing the closing was posted on the front
door for two weeks. She also said the store
was closing for "personal reasons", and
that the bureau might open again
somewhere else in Seaforth.
If you're thinking of driving to Mitchell
to renew your license, don't. One month
ago the license bureau there c'osed and
now Mitchell and area residents must go
to Stratford to renew their license.
Wed,, Apr. 25
-May 4
Hospital Auxiliary Penny Sale - Beside the
Y.D. Bank • Draws to be held May 5.
Wed., May 2
1:30 p.m. — Senior Games - Shuffleboard at
SDCC
7:30 p.m. — Ringette Fashion Show at Arena
7:30 p.m. — Huron County Br. Ontario
Genealogical Society will meet at the
Huron County Museum - Archives - 110
North St., Goderlch. Topic - Archival
Holdings here - Visitors welcome.
Thurs., May3
8:30-9:30 a.m. — Fitness is Fut SDCC
1:30 p.m. — Seaforth Happy Citizens at the
Legion Hall
Fri., May 4
5:00-7:00 p.m. — St. Thomas Anglican Church
Spaghetti Supper at Parish Hall
Sat., /5
8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. — Giant Yard Sale at Arena
— Penny Sale Draws beside T.D. Bank
Mon., May 7
7:30 p.m. — Senior Games - Cribbage at SDCC
Tues., May 8
8:30-9:30 a.m. — Fitness Is Fun at SDCC
10:00 a.m. — Senior Games • Walking at
Victoria Park
2:00 p.m. — Seaforth Women's Institute
Agricultural Meeting at the home of Mrs.
Mary Nolan. Mrs. Don Pullen - guest speaker
7:30 p.m. — Senior Games - Bridge at the
Legion
8:00 p.m. — Seaforth Hospital Auxiliary
meeting In Board Room
Wed., May 9
1:30 p.m. — Senior Games - Solo at Legion
1:30-4:00 p.m. — Shuffleboard at SDCC
7:30 p.m. — Senior Games - Boston Pool at
Gordon Murray's Residence
8:00-9:00 p.m. — Fitness is Fun at Arena
8 p.m. — Seaton') Horticultural Society
Iic School
meeting at Seaforth Pub
4
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