MAY 2026 | Active Aging Week 7
WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR Equestrian events and disc golf added to Manitoba 55+ Games
BY JIM TIMLICK
The Manitoba 55+ Games will welcome a pair of new sports to its lineup when the 2026 edition of the province’s largest multi-sport competition for seniors kicks off June 9 in Morden, Winkler and the R.M. of Stanley. The two additions are a one-day disc golf tournament and a three-day equestrian riding competition. Both will be featured as demonstration sports this year, but Games organizers say they could eventually be upgraded to permanent status if there is sufficient interest. The disc golf competition will take place on Tuesday, June 9 at Stanley Park, located near the base of the Pembina Escarpment in the R.M. of Stanley. It will feature both men’s and women’s competitions with two divisions: 55-plus and 65-plus. The competition will be open to anyone who pre-registers, and organizers are still determining how many participants will take part.
Eric Giesbrecht, who is helping organize the tournament and is president of Pembina Valley Disc Golf, said the Games will be a perfect opportunity to showcase the sport to a demographic that may not be familiar with it. “We’re trying to grow both the junior division but also … what we call the age-protected groups, which is 50-plus, 60-plus. The only way to do that is to get people to try it, to offer it, and see if it’s something people want to do,” she says. For the unfamiliar, disc golf is a flying disc sport like traditional golf, in that players try to throw a specialized disc into an elevated basket using the fewest throws possible. The number of disc golf participants has grown steadily in North America for the past several decades. Giesbrecht says the main reason for that growth is the game’s accessibility. “You can have someone as young as two years old … all the way up to people in their 70s. As long as you can walk the terrain, you’re pretty much good to go. It’s such an accessible sport,” he explained.
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Birds Hill Park will host 55+ Games equestrian events this year.
Stanley Park is home to an 18-basket disc golf course. Organizers are planning to shorten it to 12 baskets for the 55+ Games, with a morning round followed by a break and then a second round in the afternoon. Giesbrecht called the Stanley Park course one of the finest in the province and is excited about how the Games will provide the community with a chance to share this “undiscovered gem” in the Pembina Valley with the rest of the province. “We have one of the best courses in Manitoba here and we’re looking forward to showcasing it,” he added. The equestrian competition will be spread over all three days of the Games and will take place at the Manitoba Horse Council’s facility located in Birds Hill Provincial Park. It will feature a total of nine different events, including distance riding, dressage, competitive trail, eventing, working equitation, show jumping, barrel racing, driving and ranch classes. Kylee Tonita, the Manitoba Horse Council’s technical co-ordinator of events, coaching and officials, says the sport of equestrian is a great fit for the Games since many riders are 55-plus and the sports offers for lifelong learning. “We’re very excited to be able to offer this with the Games,” she said. “For this first year, we’ve tried to start small with (events) that will be quite easy to run, just to kind of get people’s interest going. We should have quite a bit of fun. The equestrian community is really quite collaborative, and we like to meet new people. Our goal for this first time… is really just to have fun and encourage each other as much as we can.” It is yet to be determined how many
riders will take part in this year’s Games, but Tonita said the MHC was pleased to receive 40 responses to an initial call to members for applications earlier this year. All riders will be required to have some previous riding experience and must have their own horses. n
Disc golf makes its 55+ Games debut this year.
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