Meet the team

Gayle Cartier - Senior Instructor and Lead Facilitator

Gayle is Cartier Equine Learning Center's senior instructor and lead facilitator of Cartier Equine Center's youth program. Gayle knew early in life that horses would play a major roll in her career. Feeling passionate about horses since she was a young girl, Gayle always had a desire to teach kids to ride. Hundreds of hours of coaching experience drew her to address the importance of matching skill level and ability to horse and rider. Gayle's entire career has been developed around teaching, specialized in developing junior riders and is now the head equine-assisted learning facilitator. Gayle has a degree in equine studies, specializing in teaching from Humber College in Toronto. She has her Rider Level 4 Western, Coaching level I Western and Coaching level I English from the Sask Horse Federation. Gayle is a level III Principal equine-assisted learning instructor as well, holds a Level 1 EAGALA certification.

Janice Boucher - Assistant Facilitator and Youth Program Coordinator

Janice facilitates the Cartier Equine Center's youth program and youth program coordinator. Janice began riding horses with her brother Daryl at the early age of eight years old. Over the years she has been involved in a variety of sports activities. More specifically, Janice excelled in archery, winning the World Championship in 1995, the first Canadian to take such an honor. This drive for excellence has provided her an opportunity to be large part of the development of each of the equine-assisted programs. Janice is passionate about the students she interacts with and has found great success with this personal approach while encouraging individual participation. Janice holds her level III Master equine-assisted learning certification, Level I EAGALA certification and is currently working on her rider and coaching levels through the Saskatchewan Horses Federation.

Daryl Cartier - Head Trainer and Assistant Facilitator

Daryl is the head horse trainer at Cartier Equine Learning Center and talented facilitator. Daryl began riding long before he could reach the stirrups. He started his career breaking and riding horses for the family business. Daryl has an uncanny ability to communicate with horses and stands as a professional that has a true understanding of foundation training. Daryl's horse training techniques have been instrumental to the creation and the foundation to the equine-assisted building block learning series. Not only does he teach at the Cartier Equine Learning Center, assist with facilitation at the Cartier Equine Center's youth programs but continues maintain 15-18 outside horses a month in training for Cartier Farms. Daryl currently holds his Rider Level 4 Western, Coaching level I Western from Saskatchewan Horse Federation, a certified master horse training instructor and level III Master equine-assisted learning certification.

Roger Boucher - Assistant Facilitator

Roger has worked as a peace officer for Corrections Canada in Prince Albert for the past 28 years. Boucher also instructs self defense, arrest and control at the Staff College for new recruits transferring to the different centers across the prairie region including the Aboriginal Healing lodges Hobbema, Maple Creek and Willow Cree. Roger's enforcement and corrections experience in conjunction with his years of teaching and coaching afford Cartier's Equine Center's equine-assisted learning programs professionalism and valuable acquired knowledge. Roger is a quiet spoken man with hundreds of hours of continued education in problem solving situations and has excelled in guiding youth through team building exercises and communication development as part of his professional resume. Roger holds his level III Master equine-assisted learning certification and is currently working on his rider and coaching levels through Saskatchewan Horse Federation.

Grant MacKinnon, C.Eq.D. - Facility Production Director

Grant is a certified equine dentist by trade, one of a handful of qualified dentists traveling and specializing in equilibration or three-point-balance, providing dental care to approximately 1000 horses each year. MacKinnon continually researches the field of equine dentistry to assist him in his quest to attain the highest level of excellence. Feedback from his clients is critical to his research efforts, as is the continued correspondence with leading equine dentists from around the world. MacKinnon also provides the dental care for the horses at the Cartier Equine Center and finds it a pleasure to demonstrate the fine art of horse dentistry to either the students enrolled in the Cartier Equine Learning Center or the participants of the Cartier Equine Center's youth programs. Grant also works as Cartier Equine Center's Production Director, orchestrating the various productions held at the Center. Grant holds his level III Master equine-assisted learning certification.

Tamara MacKinnon - Program Director

Tamara, Cartier Equine Center's program designer and marketing director, was born and raised in the United States where she learned to ride in the Rocky Mountains. Her experience with horses comes from 17 years of swimming Idaho's infamous Snake River and packing into the back country wilderness to camp, hunt and fish. Professionally, MacKinnon has chosen to work in the field of program development and marketing where she attributes McDonald's Corporation with giving her the foundational skills necessary for her to find success with national business dealings. As a national marketing director she was in charge of a team responsible for the development of local store marketing concepts and incorporating them nationwide with a cooperative advertising effort. Tamara now provides Cartier Equine Center with marketing and program development, event organization & scheduling.