Dale Gienow

Born in British Columbia, Canada, Dale worked at seven different zoological facilities across the country, caring for countless exotic animals and setting up educational programs at zoos and wildlife centres in the mid to late 80's. In 1990, he developed "Speaking of Wildlife Inc." into Canada's largest live animal educational outreach program, travelling to hundreds of venues each year with displaced wild creatures, obtained through animal rescue agencies and government wildlife authorities. In 2000, Dale established the Muskoka Wildlife Centre, a wildlife rescue and education park that features Ontario's largest collection of live native wildlife. The interactive centre continues to reach over 120,000 Ontarians annually with its message of wildlife conservation, through its traveling education programs and 50,000 visitors enjoy touring the unique facility each year. Dale's work with/for wildlife extends beyond the parameters of his wildlife centre. He has been a television host, documentary producer, a busy animal trainer for the motion picture industry (both TV and the big screen) and is regularly hired as a scientific advisor for wildlife documentary films, aired on the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, NG, etc. Dale also helps the OPP, OMNR, OSPCA, Humane Society and others in the capture, restraint and housing of animals collected through seizure. He routinely helps government agencies to establish protective wildlife legislation, is hired to train government personnel on wild animal identification and captive wildlife protocol, and is a lecturer at many wildlife colleges across the province. Dale's tertiary interests include the practical pursuit of medieval arts and sciences. He is an avid archer with the medieval longbow and has practised the ancient art of falconry for more than 20 years. Dale is also passionate about historical European medieval martial arts. He has fought in armoured harness on the ground for many years, but it is the art of mounted combat that he relishes. Leveraging skills learned from years working on horseback, and the study of historical treatises by Fiore dei Liberi, Dom Duarte, and others, Dale started jousting and fighting on horseback in 2004. He is the founding president of the International Jousting Association - Canada and earned his Level IV Jousting Instructor certificate from the IJA Parent Body in 2009. Dale is also a founding member of the Mounted Archery Association of the Americas and is a member of the International Jousting League. He joined Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts as Mounted Instructor in 2008 and owns "Chivalric Productions", a medieval education and entertainment company. He received an armorial grant from the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 2010.