Griffin Quarter Horses is a family owned and operated business located in southern Alberta and southern Oklahoma.

Lance Griffin along with his wife Terry and daughter Samantha have been involved with horses for many years. In the beginning you could find the Griffin’s travelling down the road from team penning to team penning with their four-horse trailer in tow.

In 1995, that all changed as Samantha began taking reining lessons – their world was never the same. Lance and Samantha headed to their first reining horse show, which was the first ever Cardston Derby, in Cardston, Alberta.
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‘Myterra Ranch is a family-based business owned and operated by Ed and Connie Masson and their son, Benjamin. Its core land base has been in the Masson family name for nearly 100 years.

Located in the rolling sand hills of east central Alberta, near the small towns of Cadogan and Metiskow, it is home to a Quarter Horse breeding program centered on the great stallion Pepinics Master.

The Masson’s strive to raise horses that are athletic, balanced, trainable, good looking and that have great dispositions. The horses grow up in native grass pastures developing their athletic ability as they run and play up and down the hills, dodging the occasional badger hole and buck brush patch.
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M.C. Equestrian Centre moved to its brand new facility in September 2004.

Previously operating out of a leased facility in Springbank (just west of Calgary, AB) it now has a permanent home in the community of Bearspaw, just minutes northwest of Calgary on the way to Cochrane.

Situated on 160 acres, this hunter/jumper facility can house 40 horses indoors.

The facility has much to offer including a large indoor heated arena with a bright and airy attached barn; a huge outdoor sand ring; individual turn out pens; a tack room with large individual lockers; a lovely and spacious upstairs lounge; a balcony for viewing; laundry facilities; a wash rack; and barn staff that live on site.
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by Julie Smith

The Whitemud Equine Learning Centre (WELC), located alongside the river in the heart of Edmonton, is one of Alberta’s most unique boarding and lesson facilities.

Besides its location mere minutes from the downtown core, WELC is also a not-for-profit organization. WELC has leased the land from the City of Edmonton since 1958, which is protected from development by the City’s “Ribbon of Green” park initiative.

The facility consists of three barns, an indoor riding arena, three outdoor sand rings, two grass show rings, and numerous pastures. It is a spacious operation, but several shortcomings are limiting the expansion that administrator Mari-Lyn Hudson would like to see.
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by Laureen McMillan

Caroline O’Jay has now officially opened her new Calgary, AB, area location of Stoddart Creek Stables in Springbank.

Situated just seven minutes from Canada Olympic Park, the facility includes a 70’ x 180’ indoor arena, an outdoor arena, a heated 22-stall barn, and outdoor riding along the riverbanks.

O’Jay is a CEF Certified Level Two Hunter Jumper Coach with over 25 years experience teaching and training. She teaches students from Pony Division to Junior/ Amateur Jumpers.

Stoddart Creek Stables offers horse owners a professional place to train, which is the primary focus of the facility, and also has wonderful school horses and Connemera ponies available for those riders who wish to learn without the expense of owning a horse.
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Daryle Schmidt’s training centre is located 7 km. out of Drayton Valley near the town of Rocky Rapids. His facility includes a 210 x 155 ft. outdoor arena, round pen, heated barn and turnout pens with insulated sheds.

Schmidt does the bulk of his training here, but when inclement weather arrives, he usually goes to one of the local arenas.

Schmidt has been involved with horses since he was a child participating in 4-H shows. Later, he became involved in team roping and also calf roped and rode bareback horses for a couple of years. In the early 1980s, Ed Smith gave Schmidt his first riding job at the Hafford Provincial Community Pasture in Saskatchewan.
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by Pamela McDowell

There is a plethora of English riding stables that focus on hunter/ jumper training in south central Alberta. Many are highly competitive and very focused on results.

“That kind of pressure doesn’t work for everyone,” says Karen Minchuk, owner and trainer at Woodline Equestrian, south of Calgary. Few riders, and fewer horses, respond well to sarcasm, temper tantrums, or rigid demands.

“Part of my teaching philosophy, particularly with the young kids, is no yelling,” says Minchuk. “I prefer to let kids work out problems on their own with the horse so the rider isn’t rescued. Here we make riders not passengers, and building confidence is part of that.”
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