“The Motts” at home

BY DIANA JANOSIK-WRONSKI


THE AMAZING THING in talking to the Motts about life at home is you quickly realize their life and radio are totally inseparable. And so are “The Motts”: they all come as a single unit!

“The Motts” as radio fans know them, are Carol and Paul Mott who hosted a long-running talk show on the airwaves of a major downtown Toronto station. The other Motts are their daughter Jessica and son Garret. Carol is a well-known horse lover, so they also have ‘four-legged Motts’ including their six horses, two golden retrievers named Darcy and Chase, and one cat, Chrissy.

“God’s country”

Carol Mott openly, and on the air, refers to the area in and around Caledon as “God’s Country.” Like many of us who yearn for that little bit of country heaven in our everyday existence, Carol and Paul were working downtown and living in Oakville, while thinking about and looking for a potential cottage. One night when they planned to go to a hockey game in Erin, their real estate agent called to tell them that a suitable property had literally just come on the market, suggesting that they look at it on the way.

Carol knew she was ‘home’ from the minute she hit the driveway! “I loved the feel of it. It was a ranch style house on a hill, and it was just like my parents’ house—the feel, the country décor, and the room layout,” she exclaims. There’s light flooding the foyer from an overhead skylight at the entrance, and a big country kitchen table where family and friends sit and all the work gets done. “We do have a lovely dining room when needed, and a living room too, where I like to sit and have some quiet time reading a book,” she adds. When they were working in the city, “The Motts” could come home and contrast their daily urban hustle and bustle with country serenity and peace as they look over their acreage, the barn and their horses. It is a house and cottage, all in one! “Our farm, or ranch, as Paul likes to call it, is Dream Acres,” reflects Carol.

His and hers around the farm

Her favourite thing about living here is being out with the horses. “For me, being hands on with the horses daily is my escape and joy. They have such unique personalities and talents.”

The Motts have mainly Thoroughbreds. However, first to join the family (and who may have precipitated buying the farm) was Razzmatazz, one-quarter Clydesdale, who was featured on a cover of Horse Canada. Razz was the first horse that Carol’s daughter, Jessica, saw and fell in love with at first sight. No one else could measure up. He was only four years old and just learning to jump when they saw him at the breeder’s farm, which specializes in these crosses. Jess was only twelve and just learning to ride. Despite both of them being so green, Carol was able to successfully coach them, as well as riding Razz herself.

When brought to Dream Acres, Razz wanted no part of being on his own without his friends, and the Motts were very worried that he was going to jump the fence, as he kept circling and eyeing it. “So we called our boss and said we had to take another day off as our horse was going to jump the fence. That was one of the strangest reasons for missing work he’d ever heard!” An electric fence installed higher than the split rails took care of the situation, plus a friend in the form of a second horse.

This horse was Laprade (Sadie around the barn), a Thoroughbred mare who had injured herself at the track, and who was the daughter of El Prado, one of the leading sires in North America. As she needed a little downtime before being ridden, the decision was made to breed her. “Our first foal was born and we were there for the delivery and helped out when needed. It was such an exciting time for us. The night of his birth was magical, as the other horses were as quiet as can be until after he was born. Then every one of them started this lovely soft nickering which sent shivers down my spine. No one can ever tell me that they don’t make connections or know when something ‘big’ is taking place.”

The beautiful bay colt was called Dreams Matter, combining the names of the farm and his sire, Matter of Honour. “Dreams Matter was the perfect name,” Carol continues, “because they do, and we are living ours here.”

Along the way the stable expanded and others soon joined the Mott herd, including Candy who retired with them and died last year at 31, and Sgt. Pepper, the ‘wannabe’ racehorse who had grown up too big and easy going, and ended up a superb hunter-jumper under Jess and Carol’s guidance. “She is a lovely rider!” Carol says of Jess. “That Jess and I have been able to do this together and have something we both love so in common is wonderful.”

Toronto listeners got to participate in another foaling. “After an on-air contest to name the filly, ‘Dream Crusader’ was chosen for her. We put the video of the birth on our web site and had quite a reaction from our listeners. So many told us it was amazing to watch and something they would never have a chance to see. There were a few that said their stomachs turned! We’ve since had another; her name is Max around the barn, but she will race under Maximum Ride, after a James Patterson book that both Jess and I enjoyed.”

His favourite thing is definitely their pool! That’s Paul’s place to ‘hang out’, other than the big garage with lots of room to putter about. Then there’s always hockey with their son Garret.

Toronto listeners have shared the Motts’ love of their home and how different life in the country truly can be. “It’s beautiful country. Toronto wants to come and have that relaxed feeling…like meeting the neighbours at the dump on Saturday morning!” they both laugh.

“Off the record”

“My kids learned early in life to ask for things to be ‘off the record’!” says Carol. “Debates at the dinner table had a tendency to go ‘on-air’.” This helped make the show charming and endeared them to their fans; it was everyone’s family and life’s events to which they could relate. But on more than one occasion the Mott kids would hear about their family discussions via school friends whose parents were also listeners. That certainly put an extra dimension into child-parent relations, as anyone with family knows!

In effect “The Motts” also became, by accident, social arbiters of school and community activities, like certain types of fundraisers, or school projects “when you get out there and say things.” Occasionally a classroom project has been known to change because of on-air banter, the day after the teacher assigned it!
Their kids, however, have become inextricably linked to “The Motts” in other ways, as life has moved on its ever sinuous course.

A door closes and another opens

Radio mirrored life once again last year in a dramatic way for the Motts. Most readers are aware of the sudden and traumatic departure of “The Motts” from Toronto airwaves. Despite increased ratings, new ownership meant a new direction—without them. No one could believe it happened, and “The Motts” and their listeners alike were devastated.

But, you can’t keep good radio people down!

Carol and Paul Mott have developed their name and reputation over many years in broadcasting, including advertisers. Their client base has been built up, forming an integral part of their careers. “We only endorse the things we really believe in,” says Paul. So, how could they parlay all this into a new life?
It was their son Garret, a university student, who suggested the web site because initially they were forced to ‘go on line’ by a lot of their listeners! When Carol and Paul left the radio station, their only email address had been at the station’s office and a huge number of incoming emails mounted up after they went off the air. These they took home to answer from their newly established home email address.

One thing led to another, and they came up with the idea of having a web-based show, originating in their Erin home. They shared this idea over dinner one night with a good friend, John Ivankovic, a successful business consultant. John became instrumental in creating a plan to attain the new ‘dream’ and “The Motts” have now joined the ‘new media’ on the internet. Declan West designed a beautiful web site, made it user friendly, and put up with numerous cries for help from Paul and Carol. The Motts stream their show daily, Monday thru Friday, from 11 a.m. until noon at www.themotts.ca. However, the Motts are the first to say there has been an almost overwhelming learning curve.

During planning stages for the show, Erin Radio was approached to record commercials for clients, rather than going into Toronto all the time. Another problem was that internet radio was not currently available while driving. You had to listen to it on your computer, by going to the Motts’ web site.

When Jay Mowat, the general manager of Erin Radio, and Erin Montgomery, Operations Co-ordinator, graciously offered the use of their studio, “The Motts” offered them a few hours of programming as a thank you. But they wanted the show daily! Paul and Carol happily report, “Erin Radio 101.5 FM is made up of great people who volunteer their time and talents. The atmosphere is energizing and has made radio fun again! Rick and Shelley Sargeant of Bolton Radio 105.5 FM and Country Caledon 102.7 FM also wanted to carry the show, and we are thrilled to have Whistle Radio 102.7 FM in Stouffville joining us too. More stations are on the way!” So, “The Motts” are now broadcasting their show from the Erin Radio studio, sending it to the other stations, and streaming it on the internet at the same time.
In addition to her job as a local automotive sales consultant, their daughter, Jess, is now their producer. “She grew up with it,” is their comment on her qualifications. With their connections, “The Motts” are still able to host the high profile people that listeners previously enjoyed, and fans have contacted them recently from as far away as Azerbaijan!

The Erin Radio studio is just 5 minutes from the farm (with a stop for coffee), and quite a lovely change from their previous 3-hour daily commute. It also means that taking a break from work for a few minutes enables them to muck out the barn during the day, or take a dip in the pool, or make a quick dash into town for inevitable daily errands. “We are now on the main street more often,” says Carol. She has also been able to do more charity work locally, for instance the Children’s Wish gala at the fall Canadian Show Jumping Tournament, and for Bethell House.

Sometimes things come by a serendipitous route, as the Motts declare, and their dreams are being fulfilled here in the hills, in “God’s Country.”