RTR Ranch Retreat - Mossleigh

About Daryl

As early as Ten years old, Daryl knew that some day he’d be raising and working horses at his own ranch. Runnin’ the Race Ranch Retreat is everything he dreamed of… the mountains, the horses, the outbuildings, the pasture.

Growing up as a city boy in Calgary, he was introduced to horses by his uncle who was a traditional cowboy. That tradition brought history, strength and depth to what it took to survive on a ranch in St. Paul, Alberta. Spending every chance he could Daryl would start learning and understanding more about horses through his Uncles horsemanship methods.

After a few years of riding and training his own horses, Daryl started roping, picked up a Roy Cooper calf roping book, learned from the pictures, and taught himself to rope calves and steers. Shortly after, he attended Mount Royal and the University of Calgary, he joined the  University of Calgary rodeo team dreaming of being a calf roper. It was there he ended up finding new passion in bull riding and his entire career outlook changed. He was rodeoing from that day on and living the life of a cowboy.

He became a member of the Canadian Bull Riders Association and was a top 10 Bull Rider three years running (1996-1998). Competing in the PRCA Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association where he fulfilled a lifelong dream to travel to Texas and defeat pro Texas bull riders, who are considered the best in the world.

After retiring from competition, he began using his education in Sports Management and NCCP National Coaching Certification Program training kids and adults in various sports. He has expanded that coaching and passion into the world of Natural Horsemanship. Allowing his knowledge to help kids and adults live there dream to be a cowboy or cowgirl.

There’s nothing he enjoys more than a sunset bareback ride on Whisper, along with his beautiful bride Amanda riding beside him.

About Amanda

Every morning Amanda wakes up and walks to the pasture to whistle in the horses, her heart explodes with the truth that her dreams as a little girl growing up on a northern Alberta farm have come true. Hanging the laundry on the line in such a peaceful, serene setting makes it a joy and not a chore. With her sparkly purple headband and blinged out jeans, she harrows the yard with her 1977 Massey-Ferguson tractor.

She fell in love with horses when her grandpa would take her riding as a child. That passion to ride and own horses grew, along with her determination and perseverance that she could conquer her fear of these large animals.

After high school, Amanda attended the Fairview College Equine Program in Fairview, Alberta. She completed her practicum in Purcell, Oklahoma, began training horses on the side and went back to school to become a Registered Massage Therapist. With two degrees under her belt, and confidence increased, her dreams of becoming an award-winning barrel racer from Texas grew so strong that she followed them all the way to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and Queen Creek, Arizona. There she rode and assisted other trainers. For the next five years, she spent six months in Canada and six months on the road in the Unites States to further her training.

Seeing the benefit of massage after ten years of practice, she traveled to California to complete an Equinology course on Equine Massage. She combines her Massage Therapy for riders with her Equine Massage to bring out the best in both horse and rider. Amanda is an insured instructor that works with all ages of kids and adults to teach private and group riding lessons, summer camps and barrel racing. Her focus is on natural horsemanship training and lessons inspired by the Parelli method of training she learned at the Parelli Campus in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

She also participates in the Alberta Green Certificate Program for Olds College which provides trainees with opportunities to enter a variety of agriculture-related, structured learning pathways as a part of their senior high school program and to earn a credential leading to a career in agribusiness.  It is an approved complementary program of studies available to all Alberta high schools.