'The buzz around here is amazing': Anticipation builds for Royal visit in B.C.'s Capital region
At the Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association in Central Saanich, it was all hands on deck Friday.
“Everybody is excited, the buzz around here is amazing,” said Liz Gagel, executive director of the VTRA.
Fencing is getting a fresh coat of paint, horses are being brushed to look their best and the shovels are out to clean up those horses’ mess.
The reason? They will be receiving a very important visitor this weekend.
“We are hosting her Royal Highness,” said Gagel.
Princess Anne and her husband Vice-Admiral Tim Laurence will spend their weekend touring organizations on Royal duties that are near and dear to their hearts.
“I know that Princess Anne is the patron of therapeutic riding throughout Canada,” said Gagel.
The Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association is a non-profit providing people with disabilities therapeutic horseback riding, including four-year-old Otis Lawson.
“Otis has Mosaic Down syndrome,” said Brett Lawson, the child’s father.
Friday marked Otis’s fourth session. His father says his confidence is soaring and the benefits were seen right away.
“He’s getting a lot of muscle engagement while on the horse that he doesn’t get otherwise,” said Lawson.
Princess Anne will be busy with a number of military-related engagements, including laying a wreath at The God’s Acre Veteran’s Cemetery and attending a Battle Of The Atlantic Commemorative Service at the B.C. legislature. The Royal couple will also be making a stop at the Military Family Resource Centre at CFB Esquimalt.
“(Princess Anne) is very interested in families, especially military family support,” said Jackie Carle, executive director of the centre.
The Military Family Resource Centre helps military families moving into the community after a posting. It also supports military families during a deployment.
“At the end of the day, she’s part of a serving family so she really understands what that means,” said Carle.
Another interest of Princess Anne is food security and community building.
“This is a farm site on top of reclaimed land,” said Alistair Howes, manager of special projects and engagement at FED Urban Agriculture Society.
That urban farm is located in Vic West next to Dockside Green.
Princess Anne will be touring the grounds on Saturday, seeing how the operation grows its food to be sold locally with a portion being donated to other non-profits within the community.
“Princess Anne has a particular interest in trying to figure out how you engage and build community resilience through Urban Projects,” said Howes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
More enoki mushrooms, Lamborghini Urus and promotionally-gifted tumbler cups: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued various recalls this week. Here's what you need to know.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Luciano Benetton says he's stepping down as chairman of family-run brand as losses top US$100 million
Luciano Benetton, a co-founder of the apparel brand, announced he was stepping down as chairman in an interview published on Saturday with Milan daily Corriere della Sera. He blamed current management for losses of 100 million euros (US$108.5 million) that he discovered last year.
Three dead after vehicle leaves road in Shediac: N.B. RCMP
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
1 dead, 3 in hospital after flying wheel crashes into bus windshield on QEW
A man is dead, and three others are in hospital after a flying wheel crashed into a coach bus on the QEW in St. Catharines.