OUR TEAM
Meet our Guest Speakers
Marc-Andre Blouin
Marc-Andre Blouin was born in Quebec City. While he was growing up his father bred and trained Standardbreds. As a teenager he competed in Quarter Horse shows and show-jumping.
Marc-Andre worked for eleven years as a veterinarian assistant for an exclusively racehorse practice, spending the winters in Florida and the summers in New Jersey. He then went to the University of Guelph and obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Animal Biology, specializing in nutrition.
While waiting for funding on his masters project, Marc Andre accepted an offer from an Ontario based feed company as a nutritional consultant in Florida. After working in Florida for two years, he was transferred to Ontario for another two years. Since 1998 Marc-Andre has been the Equine Technical Service Manager for Agribrands Purina Canada.
Marc-Andre has attended Equine Nutrition and Physiology Symposiums and numerous other equine nutritional conferences in Canada and the United States during the last ten years. He presented at the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology in 2002. In addition, he presented at many other equine conferences organized by Purina and other groups such as the OEF both in Canada and internationally.
Marc and his wife currently own and train Thoroughbred racehorses as a hobby.
Guest Speaker in: Functional Anatomy Growth & Development Equine Nutrition
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Dr. Bob Coleman
Dr. Robert John (Bob) Coleman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Coleman completed his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta. Currently he divides his time between being the Extension Horse Specialist and teaching at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Coleman's duties include; Coordinating and conducting educational programs for horse owners throughout the state. Extension activities include short courses, seminars, farm/office consultations, writing technical articles for industry publications, development and production of extension publications, development of instructional videos. Before going to Kentucky, Dr. Coleman was the Provincial Horse Specialist in Alberta, Canada.
Guest speaker in: Management of the Equine Environment
Dr. Rachael Conwell
Dr. Rachael graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in London, England in 1997. Initially, she worked in mixed practice in Wales. She secured a position at the busy prominent equine hospital at the University of Liverpool as the resident in Equine Medicine in 1999. She obtained her certificate in Equine Medicine in 2001. Since her residency, she has worked as an associate equine practitioner in the south of England for 1 ½ years and a locum equine practitioner for several practices. For the last 3 years, she has been employed as the senior assistant at The Minster Equine Veterinary Clinic in York, where she has a variety of roles. She undertakes all aspects of first opinion equine veterinary work. She is responsible for all the internal medicine cases (first opinion and referral) and over-seeing the care of in-patients, with additional anaesthesia duties. The clinic has a high and varied caseload, with full hospitalisation facilities, and a wide range of diagnostic tools. Other than respiratory medicine, her specific interests are the investigation of weight loss, equine gastric ulceration syndrome and post-operative management of surgical colics.
In February 2007, she passed the Diploma examination for the European College of Equine Internal Medicine. Currently, she is in the process of submitting publications in order to fulfill the criteria to obtain diplomat status.
Guest speaker in: Health & Disease Prevention
Dean Donaldson
Dean joined OMAF in July 2003 as Nutrient Management Specialist based in London. Previously, Dean spent eight years with the University of Guelph as a lecturer/researcher at Kemptville College teaching many of the business courses at the college. During his time at Kemptville, Dean also acted as the Diploma Coordinator in both the Agriculture and Equine Programs. Dean has a number of years of senior management experience in the agriculture input supply industry with United Co-operatives of Ontario.
Guest Speaker in: Management of the Equine Environment
Dwayne & Kevin Job
A simple request from a customer in their father's feed store proved to be pivotal in the lives of brothers Dwayne and Kevin Job, the partners and owners of System Fencing Limited which from humble beginnings has grown into one of the leading providers of fencing, stalls and horse equipment in Canada and beyond.
Donald R. Kapper
Don Kapper is a highly experienced equine nutritionist and is currently Director of Nutrition and Technical Services for Progressive Nutrition, LLC. In addition, Don is an Akey Nutrition Research and Development Team Member, North American Nutrition Companies, Inc. He was the exclusive Equine Nutritionist for the 1998, 2002, 2004 and the 2007 North American Sport Horse Registries: 100 – Day Stallion Performance Test. Don has achieved and maintained his credentials as a Professional Animal Scientist (PAS), a certification for those with a degree in their respective animal science field, who have been in practice for over 5 years, passed the certification examination, and who remain in good standing and achieve adequate CE credits every year. He is a graduate of Ohio State University, and is a member of The Equine Nutrition & Physiology Society and the American Farriers Association. Don and his wife Dee own and operate Outer Banks Farm, where they breed and raise Warmblood horses in Beach City, Ohio.
Instructor in: Equine Nutrition
Guest Speaker in: Growth & Development Exercise Physiology Nutrition
Dr. Dan Kenney
Dr. Dan Kenney is a medicine clinician at the Ontario Veterinary College. He is a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and is interested in neurologic diseases of the horse. Dr. Kenney is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. He completed internship and residency programs at Cornell University in New York State.
Guest speaker in: Management of the Equine Environment Equine Nutrition
Randy Luikart
Randy is 55 years old, shoeing horses for 37 years. He won the North American Challenge Cup and the Calgary Stampede farrier competitions in 1982. He was on the American Farriers team from 1979-1984, and was the farrier liaison for the AAEP for eight years and served on the board of the Assoc of Equine Sports Medicine for three years. Randy also rewrote the section on horseshoeing for the horse protection act in 1988. Served also to teach in field USDA veterinary inspectors on equine anatomy and farrier practices for their inspection procedures. Randy also conducted public hearings in the review of the USDA strategic Plan in 1996 and headed the section on self-regulation. Randy specializes mostly in referral performance problems in relation to lame and poor performance of equines.
Guest Speaker in: Functional Anatomy
Dr. Jack McCall
Dr. Jack McCall graduated in 1974 from the Ontario Veterinary College In Guelph, Ontario. He worked in mixed practice for five years before establishing Mohawk Equine Service in 1979, a practice specializing in reproduction and serving several renowned breeding operations in southern Ontario. Dr. McCall has also acted as an Official Veterinarian at the Woodbine Entertainment Group standardbred racetracks for over 26 years As well as a consultant for Vita-Tech Laboratories in their administration Of the CPMA Equine Drug Control Surveillance Program for the last two years. With his years of experience and immense knowledge of the racing industry, Dr. McCall brings a valuable and reliable information resource to the Growth and Development course.
Guest speaker in: Growth & Development
Dr. Suzanne Millman
Dr. Millman joined the faculty of the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in July 2002 as Assistant Professor of Applied Animal Behaviour & Welfare in the Department of Population Medicine. She completed her undergraduate degree in the Department of Animal & Poultry Science at the University of Guelph, and worked in Europe for several years, as a shepherd and as a groom for showing jumping horses, before returning to Guelph to complete her doctorate in applied ethology with Prof. Ian Duncan. Prior to joining the faculty at OVC, Dr. Millman spent two years in Washington, DC as Director of Scientific Programs in the Farm Animals & Sustainable Agriculture Section at the Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal protection organization in North America. At OVC, Dr. Millman is responsible for teaching concepts of animal behaviour and welfare in the veterinary curriculum, and provides expertise about behaviour problems and welfare concerns for food animals and horses.
Dr. Millman has worked professionally with horses for twenty years and provides a consultancy service for equine behaviour and welfare problems. Her research group is exploring how horses form social bonds, impacts of illness and pain on equine behavioural priorities and factors associated with behavioural problems in performance and racing horses.
Guest Speaker in: Management of the Equine Environment Exercise Physiology
Stagg Newman
As a frustrated athlete (too short for basketball, too small for football, too uncoordinated for baseball), long distance running was a natural alternative, no skill needed, just guts and/or stupidity. Stagg was most valuable and captain of cross country team but an aging body and having to work for a living curtailed the running career. Endurance riding proved to be an even better alternative. The horse is the athlete and the rider supplies the brains. Jayel Super and Ramegwa Drubin, aka “The Pony”, who is in the AERC Hall of Fame, strongly disagree with the latter statement. And one can do serious training only on weekends and still compete at top levels so that can one can actually have enough time to work to pay for your sport. Professionally, i.e. in order to pay for his horse habit, Stagg works in telecommunications as the CTO for a wireless company and as a telecommunications consultant.
Guest Speaker in: Exercise Physiology
Dr. Stephanie Nykamp
After graduation from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1997 Dr. Nykamp worked in a mixed animal private practice for two years. She returned to OVC in 1999 for a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery followed by a residency in Diagnostic Imaging at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Dr. Nykamp successfully completed the board certification in Diagnostic Imaging in 2003 and returned to the Ontario Veterinary College as an assistant professor.
Guest Speaker in: Health & Disease Prevention
Dr. Andrew Peregrine
Dr. Peregrine, BVMS, PhD, DVM (Hons) Glasgow, Diplomate EVPC, MRCVS is a veterinary parasitologist and is an associate professor in the department of Pathobiology at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. He teaches parasitology to second and third year veterinary students. He has been an active defendant of strategic deworming use, recognizing the issue of parasite resistance. He has authored numerous scientific papers and textbook chapters and has a special interest in equine tapeworms.
Dr. Mike Pownall
Prior to becoming a veterinarian Dr. Pownall was a farrier for 7 years. Dr. Pownall worked with a farrier/veterinarian in the US with special intrests in lameness and hoof disorders. Upon returning to Canada he started his own business with a clientele consisting of Jumpers, 3-Day Eventers, Dressage, Pleasure Horses and hoof related lameness cases. He also passed the Certified Farrier test of the American Farriers Association. Currently, Dr. Pownall has a strong interest in lameness, dentistry and preventative health management. He also performs therapeutic /corrective farrier services.
Michelle Staples
Over her almost 60 years, Michelle has ridden in several disciplines, and has trained both horses and humans. As an instructor, she taught in a handicapped riding program for six years, and also helped adults overcome their fear of horses. Horse rescue has been a passion for almost twenty years - first by placing unwanted local horses in new homes, then concentrating on placing harness horses off the track. She is known in the Standardbred Rescue world and her active participation in West Coast Standardbreds.
Michelle obtained her Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification, NDART membership, became an instructor in both CPR and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), wrote a county plan for animals in disaster, an emergency pet first aid class, an advanced CERT class for organizing neighborhoods, and a CERT class for animals.
In 2003, Michelle learned about Large Animal Rescue, researched and wrote a book on Large Animal Rescue and has been actively promoting LAR training. Since some LAR trainers do not use live animals in their classes, she has also written a "horse basics" CD-Rom that introduces people to horses, first in the classroom and then in a hands-on class.
Lorraine Stubbs
Lorraine Stubbs is a Canadian International Dressage rider with a long list of achievements to her credit including a Gold Medal in the 1971 Pan Am Games, and a Silver in the 1975 Pan Am Games, a member of the Canadian Olympic Dressage Team 1972-76, the 2nd Canadian to finish in Top Ten at Olympic Games, as well as being the Canadian Dressage champion fifteen times.
Lorraine was appointed Sports Ambassador for U.S.A in 1977 by President Gerald Ford, and in 1991 was nominated Horsewoman of the year, in part because of her double Gold at the Pan Am Games. An International Dressage Judge, Lorriane was the first Level III Certified Coach in Canada.
Jackie Van den Brink
Jackie VandenBrink works as a Ruminant and Equine Nutritionist for Masterfeeds. She has been involved in the feed industry in a variety of technical support positions for more then 8 years. She graduated from the University of Guelph in 1994 with Bachelors degree in Agriculture (Animal Science), and in 1999 with a Masters degree in Science specializing in Equine Nutrition. In her spare time she can be found at horse breeding events and tending to her growing herd of warmbloods and sporthorses.
Guest Speaker in: Equine Nutrition Growth and Development
John Walzak
As the COO, John Walzak helps run the daily affairs of Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA). OHHA's mandate includes purses, racing conditions, member benefits and all matters affecting the industry. Previously, Walzak was on the faculty of the University of Arizona as a lecturer on Racing Law in the Race Track Industry Program, Animal Sciences Department, College of Agriculture. As an associate coordinator of the program he was also involved in the planning and presentation of the annual Symposium on Racing held each December in Tucson. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Walzak was the Director of Operations for the Canadian Pari- Mutuel Agency, a federal agency responsible for regulating pari-mutuel betting. During his 18-year federal government career Walzak was involved in developing laws and policies for regulating pari-mutuel betting transactions, equine medication and the delivery of federal services to the Canadian racing industry. Walzak is the chair of the Totalisator Standards Committee for the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
Guest Speaker in: Growth & Development
Dr. Lori Warren
Lori K. Warren, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as Provincial Horse Specialist for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in Edmonton, Alberta. She is a member of the American Society of Animal Science, the Equine Science Society, and American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists. Warren currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Equine Science Society and the Horse Industry Association of Alberta. She has reviewed articles for the Equine Veterinary Journal, the American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, and the Equine Nutrition and Physiology Symposium’s Production & Management Section. Her current research interests include the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on immune function and dietary modifications that help to favorably alter the nutrient content of horse waste. Warren received her B.S. in Animal Sciences from the University of Wyoming and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences and Equine Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from the University of Kentucky.
Guest Speaker in: Management of the Equine Environment Equine Nutrition
Dr. Scott Weese
J. Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, DipACVIM is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. Dr. Weese is a veterinary internist, with an emphasis on infectious diseases and infection control and he is currently the Head of Infection Control at the Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital. His research laboratory focuses on MRSA, Clostridium difficile, zoonoses, interspecies transmission of bacteria, evaluation of therapeutic animal visitation programs and emerging infectious diseases.
Carmi Weininger
Despite spending more than twenty years thinking I was an extraordinarily well informed rider and stable manager, I came to realize that ill-fitting saddles cause significant pain, restrict performance, and cause trauma, damage, and atrophy. I have devoted myself to understanding saddles and saddle design, and to educating riders about the importance of proper saddle fit.
I have been a rider since 1972, involved primarily in combined training, then hunters and jumpers, and most recently dressage (though I have completed one 50-mile endurance ride). I have taken courses in saddle fit, studied copiously on my own, worked with vets, innovators and bodyworkers in the U.S., Canada and England, and of course with my favorite teachers: the horses themselves. I have learned that the very best fitters hold the same core beliefs about saddle fit, design, and the analysis of fit. I am committed to putting more science and less guesswork into the saddle fitting process, and believe with modern tools to assess fit that this is a realistic goal for all riders.
Eileen Wheeler
Eileen Wheeler works in environment control across several commodity areas. Past work has been in broiler, layer, veal, horse, greenhouse, swine and dairy heifer housing, in order of effort. With a primary appointment in Extension, applied research projects have taken priority with all of Dr. Wheeler's own research being conducted in commercial agricultural settings. Issues relating to ventilation systems command the majority of attention for field projects and educational programs. The Horse Facilities program at Penn State began in 2000 with a series of four bulletin titles: Manure Management, Stall Design, Fire Safety, and Flooring Materials and Drainage. Within two years, horse enthusiasts requested at least 5000 copies of these bulletins. Hundreds more have been copied or downloaded via Internet access. They have been very well received by their intended audience. This audience includes horse stable managers and the professionals that advise them such as veterinarians, Extension agents, and NRCS personnel. Three more bulletins (Ventilation, Fence Planning, and Riding Arena Footing) were published in 2002-03. All seven bulletins include information and diagrams that emphasize the fundamentals behind horse facility and management recommendations. The written materials, and educational programs associated with them, have not been available elsewhere, hence, the strong demand for the information.
