Impact

Tiana attended Lakeland College for Equine Sciences program from 2020-2022. Acquiring her first horse, Foxy, she enjoyed the program immensely and later added Rowley as her therapy companion – her first cattle dog.

In year 2 of her studies, Tiana was very excited about helping to train Slim the horse. She also spent many hours encouraging and being encouraged by her classmates as they handled the responsibilities of the Student Managed Farm. After graduation in the spring of 2022, she was accepted a job at Chilco Ranch, West of Williams Lake B.C. Her knowledge and learned skills from Lakeland College were vital as she spent many hours on the range moving cattle.

She then took a job at RJ Game Farm in Saskatchewan that same fall working with bison, learning how to weld and doing lots of work from the seat of a tractor. She even taught Rowley how to unwrap a bale!

Tiana’s experience at Chilco and the agribusiness knowledge from college had taught her that having only one horse was not a long-term plan, so she bought JuneBug to invest time in and a second dog to train, Skate. Working at the game farm and helping out with local brandings was fulfilling to a point, but she longed to be work with her horses and dogs. After a job hunt, Tiana found just what she was looking for! With the freedom on the range and herding of cattle, she was able to continue training her dogs and her horses.

Throughout Tiana’s life, she was always the one who seemed to effortlessly make people laugh, had a dry sarcastic wit and an ability to pull off any outfit! She loved life deeply, and really wanted to make sure others felt heard, understood & loved. When she passed away unexpectedly in the summer of 2023, friends from Lakeland, former classmates from her high school band, jazz band & choir; her former dance troupe and friends gathered to honour Tiana and the love she had poured into them.

JuneBug was donated back to Lakeland to have students finish her training. JuneBug’s subsequent sale at Lakeland, together with other funds, we have created this fund to help alleviate future students’ financial burdens. And make it just a little bit easier to manage.