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- The 2008 Juno Awards
The Calgary Saddledome
Sunday, April 6 at 6:00pm - UNICEF's Tap Project
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Saturday, March 22 at 1:00am
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2 of 6 albumsSee All
Four-Legged AthletesUpdated on April 1, 2008 at 12:43pm
2007 International ChampionshipsUpdated on April 1, 2008 at 12:42pm
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Music Player
UNICEF Team Canada is enormously grateful to Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans for donating the use of their song, “Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!” as our team's theme song, in support of our work with UNICEF's international campaign against childhood and maternal HIV-AIDS.
“Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!” reached number one on CBC Radio 3's Top 30 Chart, and is the title track to the band's album nominated for the 2008 Juno for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Solo). The band has already won the 2008 Canadian Indie Award for Folk or Roots Group of the Year.
Corb's song is a paean to the horses and riders who over the centuries have answered the call of duty through mounted service. It is an inspiring anthem, which reminds us that as we represent Canada and the cause of the world's children in this ancient cavalry sport, we ride in the shadow of people whose willing sacrifice created of the code - indeed the very word - of chivalry.
The team will play “Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!” as our theme song at competitions and at public events.
Thanks Corb!
“Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!” reached number one on CBC Radio 3's Top 30 Chart, and is the title track to the band's album nominated for the 2008 Juno for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Solo). The band has already won the 2008 Canadian Indie Award for Folk or Roots Group of the Year.
Corb's song is a paean to the horses and riders who over the centuries have answered the call of duty through mounted service. It is an inspiring anthem, which reminds us that as we represent Canada and the cause of the world's children in this ancient cavalry sport, we ride in the shadow of people whose willing sacrifice created of the code - indeed the very word - of chivalry.
The team will play “Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!” as our theme song at competitions and at public events.
Thanks Corb!
Patricia Best
06 March 2008
Click here for the original article.
Former Liberal Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin was sending around an e-mail last week extolling the truly remarkable achievement of Akaash Maharaj and encouraging people to donate to Unicef's Unite for Children campaign.
So who's Akaash Maharaj? Most of the time he is the Toronto chief executive of a not-for-profit organization working in conflict resolution and is a former national policy chair for the federal Liberal Party.
But on Feb. 20, as team captain, he took three gold medals and a bronze (out of four disciplines) for Canada in the International Tent Pegging Championships in Imphal, India.
Amazingly, he had competed in the arcane, dangerous, 2,500-year-old sport for the very first time in Oman only last year.
So, for those of you who don't know tent pegging (which would probably be 99 per cent of you) it is one of only 10 recognized disciplines of the global governing body for Olympic and international equestrian sport. It's a skill-at-arms sport from cavalry days, in which clearly fearless competitors use razor sharp lances and swords to spear targets while riding at a breakneck gallop.
As the team captain, Mr. Maharaj is the first Canadian to compete and he filled out his team on the spot in Imphal by picking up local teammates on the eve of the championship. The four rode to victory against internationally renowned teams from the region.
Mr. Maharaj, who has declined corporate sponsorship and instead donated his team's naming rights to Unicef, has donated most of his medals to Unicef, which plans to auction them at an event this summer for Unite for Children, which funds HIV-AIDS projects.
The Canadian team boasted some big-name staff; former Ontario Lieutenant-Governor Hal Jackman was its honorary equerry and Mr. Tobin was the team's honorary steward.
"I'm honorary cheerleader and supporter," he told Nobody's Business, adding sardonically that the federal Liberal caucus "might do well to replicate" the skills in tent pegging. Mr. Maharaj, Mr. Tobin says, "competes like a warrior and gives like a true holy man." A captivatingly written account of the adventure can be found at Mr. Maharaj's blogsite, at maharaj.org.