Gina is an Equine Canada Dressage Coach and a BCRPA Fitness Professional who resides in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island.
Gina has had a passion for animals especially horses all of her life! She began riding at ten and had a horse by the time she was 11. She began competing her quarter horse Country Caper and Gina received the prestigious honour of an invitation to compete at the world Congress competition. After College, she worked in the fitness industry for 9 years, and taught hunters and jumpers. She moved to Calgary to further her knowledge and worked with Hunter/Equitation coach Debbie Garside and later with former Canadian Team Member/Jumping Coach Frank Selinger, and during this time she received her Equine Canada Competition Coach Specialist Certification. Gina felt something was missing in her training and when she began to study dressage and realized her passion, which led her to move to Pennsylvania where she worked with her husband, Paul Belasik.
During her time at the Pennsylvania Riding Academy, Gina assisted Paul at “Michigan State University”, where he and Dr. Hillary Clayton preformed standard setting experiments in Collection with his mount, St Grall, and later, Gina assisted Paul with the development of his movie the “Lost Quixotes”.
Following two horse related injuries; a torn hamstring and a fractured sacrum, she found relief and therapeutic value during her recovery while working on an exercise ball. Her riding vastly improved as a result of the exercises she used for her rehabilitation. She realized that these and other exercises would benefit all riders, and Equifitness was born!
Gina returned to Canada where she resides, teaching dressage, fitness, her own “Better Body’s Fitness” a low impact class designed for women, 3rd age fitness, and Yoga. She teaches her Equifitness Clinics and Workshops throughout North America and abroad.
Currently Gina rides and shows at FEI and is working toward Grand Prix.
“They are a lovely combination, horse and rider in a harmonious dance.” – Betty Hair
