After serving twenty-three years on the CTHS Ontario Board of Directors, Peter Berringer, the current President, has elected to step down from the Board.
“After considerable thought and with great mixed feelings, I feel it is now best for me to move on, allowing a new vision to guide and represent the Breeders of Ontario. I have other opportunities I wish to pursue and spend more time with family while dedicating more time to my training business and enjoying my farm,” stated Peter in his letter to the Board.
Peter will be missed by the membership and the CTHS Ontario Board. He has been a leader who was approachable, who built the needed relationships to have CTHS Ontario maintain their presence at Woodbine in support of providing the Sales twice a year. Peter and the various members of the Board elected throughout the past 23 years have not had it easy. When Ontario Racing was formed and funding was taken from the CTHS Ontario Division, when the Sales Pavilion was no longer the home of the CTHS Office / CTHS National offices, it was Peter who led the discussions with Woodbine to continue their operations and provide a venue to host the annual Sales. “During this critical and transformative period as President, I am proud of the many achievements for Ontario Breeders that the Board has been able to achieve.”
When asked if there was anything he would have liked to have accomplished that he did not during his time in office, Peter replied, “There are many continuous and ongoing breeder issues needing to be addressed from breeding, selling and racing financial incentives; growing and improving industry awareness; employment and horse welfare for the industry to be sustainable and flourish.
“However, the main issue of significance to me was discovering and trying to secure the PMTR funding. It was to be paid directly to the CTHS for the breeders of Ontario, with this issue now very controversial and a divisive topic, but would be a game changer for Ontario breeders, creating significantly more available funding dedicated to breeder incentives and awards.
“It would be my hope that the newly-elected Board continues to thoroughly investigate the PMTR funding issue, what I contend is owed to the breeders of Ontario going forward.”
As the new Board establishes themselves, Peter will be preparing for the upcoming racing and breeding season. In addition, he is presently exploring other opportunities to continue to realize his passion of ensuring the breeders and racing participants are well-represented in the industry.
The Ontario CTHS membership thanks Peter for his tremendous commitment to the breeders. “I have gained many hours of available time as I won’t be the breeder’s representative on six additional Boards / industry committees and assisting in managing the day-to-day activities at the CTHS Ontario office.” Peter has graciously offered his assistance to the new Board should they require it.
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