Ken Horton was obsessed about curling. He honed his skills at the Crossmyloof Ice Rink in Glasgow, eventually teaming with skip Robert Kelly and the front end of Willie Jamieson and Keith Douglas to win the Scottish Junior Mens title in 1976. They were the home team at the Uniroyal Junior Men's Championship in Aviemore, losing in the semifinal to the eventual winner, Canada's Paul Goswell. The following season, Robert aged out and the three schoolmates moved up a position, adding Richard Harding at lead. They fell short at the juniors but shocked everyone by winning the men's championship and representing Scotland at the World Championship in Karlstad, Sweden. In Part 1, Ken shares stories from his early days to the 1977 Silver Broom and depicts what Scottish curling was like in the 1960s and '70s.
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Episode 94 - Andrea Schoepp
Andrea Schoepp could focus on the game and nothing else. Her skills developed from curling outdoors with her family in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At the age of fifteen, Andrea skipped her team, including her mother Elinore at third and Monika Wagner at lead, to a bronze medal at the European Championship. Her and Monika would go on to reach the world championship final four times, winning in 1988 and 2010. Andrea explains her ambiguous feelings on the Olympics, despite winning a gold medal when curling was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Winter Games in France. Andrea shares stories from her many world championships and Olympic appearances, including a bicycle mishap near the Korean border and warming up to curl on the ski slopes. She recalls the challenges of building a team in Germany and the disappointment of failing to qualify for the world championship when it was held in her hometown in 1992.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Episode 93 - Toby McDonald
Toby McDonald always chose to wake up with a smile. From his beginnings at the St. John's Curling Club, Toby had a passion for the sport and its evolution in Newfoundland and Labrador. His crowning acheivement was winning the Brier in 1976 with skip Jack MacDuff and the front end of Doug Hudson and Ken Templeton. Their victory was the first for Newfoundland, which joined Canada in 1949 and the Brier in 1951. It would be another 41 years before Brad Gushue captured another title for the province. Toby shares memories from his early days to coaching at the 2022 Brier and everything in between. He revisits the 2006 Olympic games and explains how Russ Howard joined Brad, Mark Nicols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam to win a gold medal. Toby passed away on January 24, 2025.
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Special Episode - Don Finkbeiner
Don Finkbeiner speaks at the banquet celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Manitoba Men's Provincial Curling Championship. Resby Coutts provides the introduction and later shares a story of Mark Olson's grandfather in-law's dog to close out the evening.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Episode 92 - Bryan Wood
Bryan Wood led the seventies. Woody learned to curl on a two sheet natural ice club in the small community of Justice, Manitoba. His legacy began when he was recruited by Don Duguid at a urinal in the Granite Curling Club. He went on to become the first player to win five purple hearts in Manitoba, winning the Brier and Worlds with Duguid in 1970, '71 and his final Brier with Barry Fry in 1979. Bryan shares stories from his legendary curling exploits, including getting lost after the first Brier victory celebration.
Posts
