Our Team
The Team
Arliss & Cassie met in summer of 2002 , in 2006 they purchased 320 acres near Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. From 2006 to 2019 they operated Ace Equestrian a boarding, training lesson barn and show facility. The facility was complete with a beautiful indoor, multiple outdoors and a cross country course.
In 2015 they hosted a Claudia Cojocar clinic that would forever change their lives. After a few years of discussing it and seeing how the industry was moving in Saskatchewan and wanting to be closer to their mentor they decided to list Ace to start a new adventure in Langley, BC. Thorbrooke Equestrian was born, Thorbooke represents their family names Thorsteinson and Bolingbroke.
Horses are their passion, that can be seen on a daily basis as they work together in the barn, and with each horse or student they train. They also have two Children Austyn and Vance, that are also very involved in the day to day activities.
Having worked with all breeds and in many disciplines, they now focus on hunter/jumper as their main discipline. Including dressage as a base for all their horses. Starting young horses with a solid foundation is very important to them, they work on the horses timeline not their own.
Arliss Thorsteinson
Arliss is exceptional at understanding the needs of each individual horse he works with. He believes that solid basics are necessary to producing rideable horse for his clients. He has extremely good instinct and problem solves each situation with a clear path to follow for both horse and rider! As quoted by one of their mentors "the horses just love him" and you can see that with each horse.
Experience
Arliss grew up with a western background , specializing in roping, colt training and being a working cowboy. In 2013 he made the switch to English riding, and has never looked back. Having worked with hundreds of horses and riders over the last thirty years he is confident in helping each horse and rider that crosses his path. In 2015 he decided to dedicate himself fully to his craft and stopped his work as a Journeyman Electrician to pursue training and coaching full time. Arliss enjoys sharing his knowledge with students of all ages and abilities, he is kind and encouraging.
Cassandra Thorsteinson
Cassandra enjoys teaching riders of all levels and working with difficult horses and young horses.
Experience
Having grown up on the back of a horse and in a boarding barn. Cassandra understands the ins and outs of running a 50+ horse boarding facility, managing a show team and lesson schedule. In her younger years she showed multiple horses in various events in Dressage, Hunters and Show Jumping. She was also a member of the Canadian Pony Club as a Jr, and from 2013-2019 ran the Queen City Pony Club. She was also able to compete in the Saskatchewan summer games as a rider in 1996 for Dressage, 2000 for Show Jumping and in 2016 as the head coach for the Equestrian sport for her zone.
Off the horse she is a certified Licensed coach with EC & NCCP, she has worked through the EC course design with Sandra Conrad, sat for four years on the Board of director for the Sask Horse Federation including holding the VP of Sport position for two years and is currently sitting on the board for the BCHJA. Recently she was able to complete the EC requirements for testing rider levels through the program, she believes it is important that we have capable riders and coaches coming up through the levels. She also mentors with Canada's most respected officials and trainers and enjoys continuing her education.
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