Through his past and present roles David has been responsible for all aspects of financial management, reporting and forecasting. As well, his duties have included overseeing the corporate governance, risk management, internal IT, administration and legal liaison.
David has held various senior management positions, which include being an officer for both private and publicly traded companies in healthcare, IT development, land development and construction. He has successfully coordinated with Asian companies on joint ventures in construction, land development and technology projects.
Adding further breadth, David has been a senior member of a Chartered accounting firm, held positions with the department of Economic Development within the government of Alberta and has had significant experience with public markets and associated fundraising efforts, including the Canadian TSX (TSXV), United Kingdom AIM (sub of the London Stock Exchange) and Germany’s Deutsche Borse (Frankfurt Stock exchange).
Additionally, David continues to serve as a Managing Director of Indo China Development Inc., Director of a risk capital pool and several community based non-government organizations.
David has two autistic children who joined Opening Gaits in September 2021. We welcome David to the Board as role of Treasurer.
At the age of nine, my family moved from Vancouver Island to a hobby farm in a remote area of northern British Columbia. There, I was given my first pony—and with it began a lifelong passion for horses.
Over the years, we had several horses, but it was my “heart horse,” a bay grade mare named Nubbins, who truly touched my soul. She was my friend and confidant for 32 years.
Although I never had the privilege of formal riding instruction or equestrian mentors while growing up, my hands-on experience has allowed me to develop strong riding and horse-handling skills.
After Nubbins passed away from old age, I took a break from riding. In 2005, during a period of depression, a counsellor helped me recognize just how essential horses were to my well-being. That realization led me into the world of horse leasing—a path I have never regretted. Since then, I have chosen to lease rather than own horses and have enjoyed many memorable backcountry riding adventures.
I moved to High River in the spring of 2023 and began looking for a way to connect with like-minded horse people. I started volunteering with Opening Gaits Therapeutic Riding in March 2025 and immediately felt at home. It has been deeply rewarding to be part of an organization that harnesses the healing power of horses to support others.
While I am now retired, I am an accomplished freelance writer and my background is in marketing and communications. I have decades of experience as a volunteer, board member, employee, and contractor with a variety of non-profit organizations.
In addition to volutneering with Opening Gaits, I serve as Chair of 100 Women Who Care Foothills, am a co-founder of High River Writers’ Ink, and am an unofficial “Friend of High River Rotary,” assisting with the promotion of select community events.
Growing up as a competitive equestrian, Alex was eager to find a way to stay involved with horses once she had to give up her horses mid-way through her university studies. In 2013, she found Opening Gaits and quickly fell in love. From 2013-2017, she was involved in various ways – an instructor, assistant instructor, Board member, and volunteer. Alex moved away to pursue her MBA in 2017 and work in various cities, and finally came back home to Calgary in 2021. The first thing she did when she returned was resume her involvement with Opening Gaits.
Alex received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 2018 and has been working as a strategy consultant ever since. In her “day job”, she helps clients tackle their most strategic issues, such as how to prepare for the energy transition. She’s worked in Calgary, Toronto, and Helsinki in this role.
Alex brings a combination of business strategy and project management experience, along with years of horse knowledge and a passion for brining these incredible animals into people’s lives.
Monica joined the board as a Director in January 2023. She had retired and was looking for a way to give back to the community. As a teenager, she rode and showed competitively and her love for horses has never diminished. As an adult, she enjoyed watching her daughter ride and show competitively as well. Opening Gaits was a way to not only give back to the community, but also give her an opportunity to spend time with horses. It was a win-win situation!
She brings a vast amount of corporate and entrepreneurial experience from areas of IT to finance and HR consultancy. For a period of time she ran her own web based business promoting practitioners of complementary and alternative health and provided writing and editing services as well. She is well known for her strategic approach to problem-solving and business growth.
Volunteering has been a passion of Katie’s since she was young. As a young adult, she fell upon a therapeutic riding program on the West Coast – this blended her passion for horses and volunteer work. In 2014 Katie adopted a rescue dog and joined the St. John’s Ambulance Therapy Dog Program as a Handler and Director for their Board. Six years flew by visiting with first responders, easter seals campers, youth at risk, palliative and hospice care patients.
Katie has been a Corporate Administrator and Contracts Manager for a private consulting firm since 2015. Supporting and working alongside boards, shareholders and stakeholders, she is excited to blend her professional skill-set with her passion for animal therapy volunteering with this wonderful program.
I was raised on five acres in the North Thompson River Valley BC. I was introduced to horses at a very young age, my mother and I would ride four miles every other day to get the mail, and the neighbour would come with her horse every spring to plow our garden.
