El Centro Equine Services

The Drader family: Dustin and Heidi, Dominic and Dylan, Carlo

El Centro client Audrey Campbell and Paris at the MCR Eventing Derby

As 2020 wound down and came to a close, many of us breathed a sigh of relief, and the hope and anticipation of a better year in 2021 was almost palpable.

However, we soon realized that the pandemic was not going away anytime soon, and although Covid-19 protocols eased somewhat in the spring, the summer brought with it unprecedented heat waves, massive wildfires and poor air quality that for many days had horses and riders brought to a halt.

Here at El Centro Equine Services, the challenges that accompanied all of these served to pique our creativity and motivate us to pursue new ventures.

In April, the El Centro Therapeutic Riding Program kicked off, providing the Okanagan’s only year-round service to riders of all ages with diversabilities. We were very pleased to welcome CanTRA certified instructor Michelle Warren to our team. Michelle comes with 12 years of experience and manages the program of 16-plus participants, with a waiting list for this much-needed therapeutic activity.

As restrictions lightened, El Centro’s clients were able to once again participate in larger outdoor group events. 4-H lessons in shifts, clinics with small group sizes and in-house schooling shows at Mission Creek Ranch in Kelowna were a welcome return to some sense of normalcy. In July and October, Dustin Drader’s students were delighted to ride in Mission Creek Ranch’s first Eventing Derbies. These were highlights for all of us, as many shows around the province had been cancelled throughout the season.

In June, El Centro partnered with the Kitchen family of Grassland Grazers Ranch in Beaverdell BC, to provide the first in a series of Horsemanship and Stockmanship weekend clinics. September’s clinic saw another fantastic turnout, with participants especially enjoying the cattle work aspect of the weekend. We look forward to partnering with Grassland Grazers again in 2022 to offer another three-part clinic series! For more information on these clinics, please visit www. elcentroequine.com.

Dustin Drader’s training and coaching style is heavily influenced by the methods of Buck Brannaman, Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance, and he has become known in the Okanagan Valley for solidly starting horses and teaching lessons to riders of all disciplines.

El Centro Equine Services considers it a continuing privilege to be operating out of Mission Creek Ranch alongside like-minded industry professionals such as Daryl and Lynda Ramsay of D&L Equine. The beautiful 70 acre property is centrally located in the heart of Kelowna and has been home to us for over six years.

We thank all of our clients for making it a great year. Team El Centro is a family that encourages each other. Together, we overcame the challenges of 2021 and we are very much looking forward to taking great strides in the New Year.

Kelowna’s El Centro Equine Services

Dustin giving instruction at a clinic

Dustin introduces a young horse to cattle work

CanTRA instructor Michelle Warren with a student, volunteers, and Jandy