'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.