Horse club founder rides off into the sunset

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 11, 2004


Things have been a little less colourful around the Burnaby Horseman's Association barns at Burnaby Lake this summer after the retirement of one of the club founders and guiding lights - longtime city resident Winn Roff.

The octogenarian equestrian lover was instrumental in having the barns, stables and riding ring built at the Avalon Avenue entrance to Burnaby Lake, and she put up quite a fight with the powers-that- be to make sure it was done.

It was in the late 1960s when Winn was among the first people to recognize that the rapidly changing landscape of Burnaby was resulting in decidedly fewer places for the horsey set to keep their charges.

Once up on a time, Winn's own horse was stabled at the Lubbock's farm, near the corner of Canada Way and Burris, but that was closed when the new Highway No. 1 was built. Later, she stabled her horses at a farm near Sperling and Lougheed - near the site of a hidden five-acre hobby farm that continues to operate.

Winn was among that small group of horse owners who decided that Burnaby Lake was the best place to keep their horses in the city, and she embarked on a very ambitious campaign to convince Burnaby city council of the merits of their plan.

It was over 30 years ago when she rode her horse onto the steps of Burnaby city hall to petition the mayor and council for new horse trails in the central valley region.

Winn was never one to do things quietly, and the newspapers made a lot of hay out of her treatment of the local politicians.

"It's OK to give Daddy his topless waitresses, but the family needs access to horses," she told the decidedly male-dominated city council of the day.

Winn also proved that she was more than just a good talker.

She helped dig out the foundations, climbed ladders to help nail down the roof and even delivered beer to the crews that did the work when she was too busy with other chores.

That first barn opened in 1973.

Earlier this summer, Winn and her husband Jack were feted at a potluck dinner where she was presented with a framed print of a cowboy riding across the plains and a plaque commemorating her work as a founding member of the group and a lifetime of volunteer service.

Though Winn and Jack are getting older, they still travel across town as often as possible to be able to visit the Burnaby Horseman's Association stables, where they continue to enjoy their time with the horses.

And today, thanks largely to Winn's dedication and hard work, young people in Burnaby still have the opportunity to ride horses in the middle of third-largest metropolitan area of Canada.