Meet Our Trainers
Dry Creek Equestrian Center Staff
Professional Hunter/Jumper Trainer- Kendall Pray
Kendall Pray has been riding horses since she was five years old. She began with weekly western pleasure lessons at a mixed dicilpine barn in Nothern Illinois and graduated to hunter/jumpers after 2 years. At the age of twelve she started "training" horses that were boarded at the barn where she was taking lessons. This is about the time she also began teaching younger kids to tack up and ride. While Kendall leased other horses, she never owned a horse until she was fifteen and by then she was able to re-train a racehorse fresh off the track. She took this horse to local and rated shows in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky and proved to be extremely successful.
Never one to sit still, Kendall continued to ride and improve other people's horses.
In 2004, Kendall left Illinois to attend Kansas State University where she was a member of the NCAA English Varsity Equestrian Team.
Kendall completed her college degree from KSU in 2008 with a B.S. in Kinesiology and a minor in Animal Science as well as a certificate in Equine Studies. During her four years at KSU, Kendall took classes on foaling broodmares, training weanlings through green broke horses, equine nutrition, health care, barn management, judging, genetics and problem solving. She also earned her personal training certification from the American Council on Exercise and a variety of other group fitness certifications.
Kendall sold her horse in '07 and rode Cutting and Roping horses for a few years until she was introduced to a woman needing help with her Oldenburg gelding. After the initial ride, it hit her how much she missed riding hunters and jumpers. She continued riding this horse and soon others at High Horse Stables and other facilities in Manhattan KS.
For the last 4 years, Kendall has been studying the finer points of Dressage and flatwork with the primary focus of improving power and adjustibility over fences. Kendall has worked with a variety of trainers over the years to add to her arsenal of horsemanship including Dean Smith, Scott Robinson, Jennifer Mosier, Gord Munroe, Niel Badcock, Kris Killam, Richard Rheinhardt, and Amy Larson. She specializes in young horses, introducing them to groundwork, longing, and starting, as well as handling and preparing stallions for breed inspections. She has also spent years studying warmblood breeding programs, and has begun a program here at Dry Creek.
In the summer of 2010 Kendall was hired by Dry Creek Equestrian Center as the Head Trainer, her exceptional skills have fit well with the goals of this tremendous facility. "Produce the best horses, teach the best students and have a great place to visit".
Since she took on the position, Dry Creek has seen many of their horses and riders win Champion ribbons in local and rated horse shows in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. One of the most important things to her is introducing new riders to the world of horses, and she recently started a competitive Show Team for student riders to increase their knowledge of the show ring while sticking to a budget. Kendall is also working towards her Professional Association of Therapeutic Riding (PATH formerly NARHA) certification, and her United States Hunter Jumper Association Trainer Certfication. Ken, Kendall and the Dry Creek team are very excited about the young prospects they have in the barn and have set their sights on training for a debut in the Grand Prix ring in the next 2 years.
Call (785) 587-8180 today and set up lessons with Kendall Pray!
Western Trainer- Megan Kulas
Assistant English Trainer- Emily Pownall
Emily has been teaching for 7 years, though she started riding at the age of 6. She found her love for instruction when she was a counselor at several summer camps. She started her horse career in Saint Louis working and riding for various trainers in the area. She has experience showing in the local arenas as well as the A rated shows. She has enjoyed bringing many students up through the beginner ranks and into the start of their jumping and showing careers. Emily joined the Dry Creek team in the Spring of 2011.