Megan Poole 'smashing' barriers as first Gold Cup Ambassador who is also a little person
'You should try, no matter what. Break the barriers … there is a first time for everything.'
Like many young children on P.E.I., 20-year-old Megan Poole grew up watching the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade.
For Poole, watching the colourful floats, marching bands and giant balloons pass by was magical, but it was the grand finale of the Gold Cup and Saucer Girls cruising by in their convertibles that really made an impact on Megan.
She wants to breaks barriers and that's exactly what she is doing … she's smashing them.- Frankie Molyneaux, Gold Cup Ambassador co-ordinator
"I was the kid in the middle of the street waving to all the Gold Cup Girls … I never missed a parade," she said.
When the call came out this year to be a 2016 Gold Cup Girl, or a Gold Cup Ambassador, as they are now known, Poole threw her hat in the ring — and what a history-making hat it was.
Poole is not only a 2016 Gold Cup Ambassador. She is also the very first Gold Cup Ambassador who is also a little person.
"You should try, no matter what. Break the barriers … there is a first time for everything," she said.
'You only have one life'
Poole was born with dwarfism, a medical condition that causes slow growth, but genetics have never defined Megan.
She is a young woman who is all about breaking barriers and living life on her terms, and that is the message she is sharing in her role as 2016 Gold Cup Ambassador.
"We don't all have to be the same size and shape and weight to do something," she said.
"You only have one life, so you might as well do what you want to do. Instead of holding off because you think you might not be able to do it."
'She lights up a room'
Gold Cup Ambassador coordinator Frankie Molyneaux was in charge of interviewing and choosing the 2016 Gold Cup Ambassadors.
She said Poole adds a great deal to this year's team.
"She's so friendly, she's so easy to talk to. She lights up a room, she's just such a great person and I thought she was an inspiration for this whole industry," said Molyneaux.
"She wants to breaks barriers and that's exactly what she is doing … she's smashing them."
Molyneaux said it just makes sense for the Island's diversity to be represented in the ambassadors.
"P.E.I. is a cocktail of different people and I think it's important to have different people doing this job. We can't have the same-looking people every year, we can't do that," she said.
"We have to encourage people from every background and every single walk of life to come and do these things … You deserve to have this chance and this opportunity."
Beyond the race track
The Gold Cup Ambassadors role extends far beyond the race track and exhibition grounds.
They also visit sick children in the pediatric unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and seniors living at the Prince Edward Home.
Making these visits helps to connect young and old alike with the fun and history of Old Home Week. It helps people who are not able to get the races, the exhibition or the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade feel like they are included and belong.
Inclusion and belonging
And inclusion and belonging is something Poole feels passionately about.
Megan is in her second year at Holland College where she is studying human services.
Her goal is to work with people of all ages who have different challenges, and ensure they feel like an equal member of society.
"That's fun and it's kind of the field I am going into. It's cool to go visit the kids that might not be able to go to parade day," said Poole.
"For them to see us in our outfits and for the older people who don't get to go out, it just kind of brightens up their day a little bit."
Molyneaux, herself a past Gold Cup Ambassador, has no doubts Poole is the right person to brighten up people's days.
"She's always smiling, she's always happy, she always has her chin up and I just think she is an incredible person."