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! |
Meet our Board Members
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PresidentKaren Knight
Karen Knight is a consultant and volunteer leadership expert. She has been involved in the social impact sector for over 25 years as a volunteer, leader of volunteers and as a board member. 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 first brought Karen to serve on KTRA’s Board of Directors in 2017. |
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Vice-PresidentDianne 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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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. 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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Past PresidentBill Anderson
Bill is Past President of the KTRA after serving as president for six years, as well as five years on the board as a director and secretary. After a 35 year career with the Canada Border Services Agency, Bill remains active with KTRA and is also President of the Pritchard Community Association and Rodeo Committee. As a horse owner for over 50 years, Bill's lived experience has assisted with moving KTRA forward. |
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DirectorGia Bogetti
Gia was born and raised in Kamloops. She took both western and English riding lessons when she was young and hopes to one day have a horse of her own. In the meantime, her involvement with the KTRA gives her an excuse to be around horses while staying involved with the community. 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 husband and their active adventure pups, Gus and Penny. |
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DirectorSusan Purdy
Susan is a long-time Kamloops resident, raising a family here and also a career at TRU for over 30 years in the Department of Biological Sciences as an instructor. She has had a life-long love of horses, growing up in Zimbabwe she owned several horses over her childhood, and has fond memories of Pony camps, and riding in horse shows. She never won any medals, and sometimes ended up on the ground before a jump, but that did not deter her from her passion for riding. As a young adult moving to Canada and pursuing a career and family, horses were not in the cards. But she was able to re-connect with horses later in life, as well as helping young riders, by volunteering with the KTRA, starting in 2016. As a new Board member, Susan is excited to be able to be involved in the more behind-the-scenes operations of the KTRA. |
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DirectorVongai Mundiya
Vongai is a motivated individual originally from Zimbabwe where she was frequently exposed to agriculture by her parents. She has spent the last 6 years in Canada with the latter 3 being in Kamloops. She currently works for Kamloops Immigrant Services where she assists newcomers with gaining employment in Canada. Vongai brings diverse knowledge and experience from working with non-profit organizations whose focus is the well-being of the community such as the Canadian Mental Health Association and being on the advisory board for a gender equity project being conducted by the Kamloops and District Elizabeth Fry Society. Her dedication to serve KTRA and their adored horses comes from some personal experiences she has had with animals that were therapeutic. |
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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. |
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 |