Meet Our Staff
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Executive DirectorAshley Sudds
Ashley moved to Kamloops from North Vancouver in February 2014. She used to teach at Pacific Riding For Developing Abilities in Langley. Ashley started riding when she was 13 years old, her favorite discipline is Dressage. Before starting with Therapeutic Riding, Ashley worked for Crown Packaging, taught piano lessons and volunteered with Girl Guides. Ashley is a certified CTRBI CanTRA Basic Instructor. Ashley is also a certified PATH Intl. Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor. Along with her Therapeutic Riding certifications Ashley is a Registered Coach through Equestrian Canada. |
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Head InstructorCherise Avril
Cherise moved from Kelowna to Kamloops in February 2018. She is a certified CanTRA Intermediate Instructor. She taught therapeutic riding in Kelowna for many years, as well as worked at a veterinarian clinic. Cherise just finished a Community Mental Health Certification and is working towards her Equine-Facilitated Wellness Certificate. She grew up around horses, and has loved them as long as she can remember! Cherise started riding at the age of three and got her first horse when she was thirteen. She enjoys hunter/jumpers, as well as dressage. |
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Office AdministratorMirjam Henderson
Mirjam moved to Kamloops in 2017 from Clearwater, BC. Mirjam was born and raised in Switzerland and came to Canada in 1996. Mirjam completed her Admin/Bookkeeping Diploma through Sprott Shaw College as well as Tax Pro Level 1 through H&R Block. Mirjam is also an equestrian herself and has enjoyed competing in Cross Country on her Arabian gelding Fly! |
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Barn StaffRachel Blaine
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Weekend FeederAlanna Hobson
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Meet our Board Members
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PresidentBill Anderson
Bill is the President on the KTRA Board of Directors and is an active volunteer. He has owned horses for 45 years and is very knowledgeable on equine management and operations. Bill spent 35 years with the Canada Border Services Agency and as the Director responsible for the delivery of border services in the B.C. interior, he has sound experience in human resources management, financial budgeting and controls, policy development, and operational program delivery. Bill also served as secretary on the Kamloops GALA Board of Directors for three years and also is a member on the Advisory Commitee for the Mens Health Initiative in the B.C. interior. |
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Vice-PresidentKaren Knight
Karen is a recent transplant to Kamloops, having moved here four years ago from Victoria. She is a member of Toastmasters International, where she served as District Director, in charge of the almost 300 clubs in Southern British Columbia. She is an avid reader and the mother of a fourteen-year-old son. Raised on a cattle farm in Northern BC, Karen has been riding since she was a toddler. She has a deep and abiding love for horses and a huge respect for the good that they can do for the physical and emotional health of all who can spend time with them. It is this love and respect that brought Karen to serve on KTRA’s Board of Directors. |
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SecretaryGail Pack
Gail embraces the love of nurturing children and the equestrian world and she found that KTRA represents the best marriage of both worlds. She has been a volunteer at KTRA for the past five years that Gail and her husband have lived in Kamloops. They currently own a 20 acre hobby ranch in the Cherry Creek area and raise and train four horses – two standard sized horses and two mini-sized horses. Gail retired after 35 years as an elementary teacher where she taught many children with disabilities who were integrated into her classroom. Gail currently operates a business that provides home school tutoring to several local area children with special needs. Formally, Gail obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia and an additional two year Diploma from Simon Fraser University in elementary education. She remains an accredited teacher with the Ministry of Education. Additionally, Gail, has been involved for many years in equestrian training and competition. With her back ground, Gail can provide a unique voice at the Board level in support of the KTRA philosophy. |
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TreasurerKari Bishop
Kari moved to Kamloops from Langley with her husband and two children in 2007. They live on a hobby farm just outside city limits which she shares with her three horses, three dogs and two cats. While her son has now outgrown the horses for his other sports her daughter is still horse crazy! Kari has ridden horses her whole life and just recently returned to the sport of endurance riding on her 21 year old partner, Poet. |
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DirectorDianne Kostachuk
Dianne has been a member on our board since August 2013. She is a Director of Operations for Community Integrated Health Services at Interior Health Authority with a wealth of knowledge for accounting and numbers. |
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DirectorBeth Buchanan
Beth has been a member on our board since May 2018. She grew up in Calgary surrounded by horses and competed in show jumping throughout the province. Beth has called Kamloops home since graduating from Thompson Rivers University Law School in 2016 and now is a practicing lawyer at Mary MacGregor Law Corporation. |
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DirectorGia Bogetti
Gia is a recent return to Kamloops after five years in Vancouver. She was born and raised in Kamloops and is thrilled to be back. Eager to get involved in our community, and have an excuse to be around horses, Gia joined our board within a couple months of moving back. A former athlete and swim coach here in town, Gia is now a corporate lawyer with Forward Law LLP. She spends much of her free time exploring the outdoors with her active adventure pup, Gus. |
Interested in becoming a KTRA Board Member?
KTRA is governed by a Board of Directors who are dedicated to ensuring our Association's budgetary, human resource, and basic operation needs are met. They meet on average once a month and are in frequent contact with the KTRA staff in order to plan and coordinate as required. We are looking for additional Board members so if you think you would enjoy contributing time and a unique skill set to our organization please complete the application package found below, thank you!
| ktra_board_of_director_application_package_-_updated_2022.pdf |