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The MAG (Sudbury Star): One Life - Rick lit up the lives he touched
Posted By Janice Leuschen
Rick Smith was raised on a farm in Azilda and became one of the top designers of horse-show courses in Canada, on the verge of becoming an international course designer.
"Rick would design the courses the horses would jump over," said Rick's wife, Cathy Inch. "You have to plan it. You have to be in charge of the builds. You have to be there all day to change the heights and move the jumps around.
"One of the top course designers in the world, who is actually doing the Beijing Olympics, took Rick under his wing, because he loved his natural talent and feel for it. He said, 'Rick has a real feel for the level of the horses in the show and for the ground and the footing. He knows exactly where to put a jump.' "
Rick loved the outdoors and horses. After high school, he and his wife at the time, Michelle, started a business at her father's farm where they boarded horses, offered riding lessons and built an indoor arena.
Sometime after his marriage ended, Rick and Cathy Inch bought her father's farm and the couple began building Foothills Farm - a full-service equine facility, offering riding lessons, boarding horses, hosting shows at different levels and running provincial-level shows throughout northeastern Ontario.
"The two of us were basically the workings within the business," Cathy said.
Rick did the work of 10 men. He was a blacksmith and shoed all the horses. He was a full-time farmer and grew all the hay and oats fed to the horses. He obtained his AZ drivers licence, which allowed him to drive a transport truck that accommodated 10 horses. And, if that wasn't enough, he had cattle on his father's farm.
People within the show horse circuit recognized Rick's ability for course design, but what drew people to him was his easy-going nature.
"He got along with everybody," Cathy said. "What they adored about Rick was his ability to get along with the ring crew. And the ring crew just loved him. He could handle anything at the drop of a hat." Ring crews, which build and dismantle the courses, work long days and it's easy for people to get frustrated and quit.
"He had a genuine interest in people and he was just a real quality person," Cathy said. "He was not hard to like. He had the best sense of humour.
"He always looked at the bright side of everything. So many people said he just lit up their lives. Never, ever did you catch him on the downside."
On January 25, Rick was snowmobiling with a friend near Biscotasing. After encountering a barrier on the trail, he sat down on his machine with a beer in his hand and died. He was 56.
"Rick and I had the most unique relationship, because not only were we husband and wife, but we had the same interest in horses and we worked together as business partners. We spent a huge amount of time together and we travelled together. Rick was also my fearless leader. I followed him everywhere, because I believed in him so much.
"In one of the sympathy cards, one of my friends wrote, 'It's funny that you ended up marrying someone who seemed to be made just for you."
Rick's funeral was held in an airplane hanger on a neighbour's farm and even then, not everyone could fit inside.
Cathy now manages the business with the help of her brothers, Rick's brothers, customers, friends and their 16-year-old son, Jedd.
Cathy said Rick was a terrific father, adding that Jedd has all the best qualities of his father. Rick has a daughter, Natalie, from his first marriage.
"So many people are trying so hard to fill his shoes," Cathy said. "Of course I'm going to carry it on. It's what I do. It's what Rick would have wanted me to do. He was so proud of his farm."
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