Ron Marino & Pax

2025 Sports Honourees

Ron Marino began working around horses when he was in grade school, mucking stalls and taking care of the property and animals at Get-A-Way Farms in Nobleton, Ontario.  Managed by the parents of his best friend, it had an outstanding reputation and getting hired from there was not hard for anyone.  It was a prestigious place and had all the facilities for horse training, including an indoor swimming pool, for the horses!

A couple of summers into his equestrian experience, Ron discovered that he loved racehorses, and he loved riding them.  Before he could legally drive a car, Ron and his two best friends (Chris and Joe) pooled their money and jointly purchased their own racehorse.  On days that their horse was racing, the boys would wear suits to school and get picked up mid-day to go watch the event.  It was exciting and rewarding, and Ron thought he would surely be involved with horses the rest of his life.  Somewhere in his twenties though, his body realized that maybe his career wouldn’t be with horses.  His “real job” would end up being in finance and nearly three decades into his investment career, he jokes, “My day job pays for the horses”.

Did you know that Canada has a registered and protected National breed?   Pax, is that horse, the Canadian Horse.  He was as wild as they come when Ron first met him, living outside 24/7 with about 40 other Canadians on a beautiful property.  He only ever came inside to have his feet trimmed or vet visits.  He was not at all trained and certainly never had a saddle on him.  “He was the fire breathing dragon I’d always wanted.”

It took more than a year of trust-building, training and groundwork before Ron would even attempt to ride Pax.  There was a small audience of family and friends to witness the “rodeo” that day, but the suspense quickly faded when the two (Pax and Ron) began to slowly saunter around the arena as though they’d been riding together forever.  Canadian Horses are not like other horses, and Pax would be unlike any other horse Ron has ever crossed paths with.

Ron doesn’t like the word “breaking” or the word “training”, so we’ll just say that Pax…educated Ron, twice.  Of all the horses Ron has ever worked with or met, Pax has needed the most understanding and has far exceeded everyone’s expectations with the things he’s learned and enjoys doing, like shaking his maracas when he feels like it. 

Through Cheval Canadian Horse Association of Ontario, which Ron co-founded in an effort to bring more of the Canadian Horse-loving community closer, Pax has become an ambassador of sorts.  He (Pax) loves to make appearances at local fairs and events, especially the Summer and Fall fundraisers held annually at Winsong Farm in King City where he (Pax) lives.

Ron is very passionate when he talks about his experience with Pax, “Many horses are made to do things, but Pax has learned to do things, and in turn, taught me so much”.