Faculty
Eleanor Blazer is a fourth generation horsewomen
who has trained and traded horses most of her life. Owner and trainer of two World Champion ABRA
horses, Blazer was a nutrition specialist for Western Reserve Farm Cooperative
in northeast Ohio for more than 20 years.
The author of numerous articles and the syndicated column, The Way of
Horses, she is considered among the leading experts in horse nutrition. She
counsels horse lovers world-wide on the science and art of feeding horses.
Blazer
is a member of the Texas American Buckskin Association, the National Snaffle
Bit Association, American Quarter Horse Association and the Ohio Horseman's
Council. Visit her at: www.thewayofhorses.com
Named
Horsewoman of the Year, Nancy Cahill has trained multiple AQHA world
champions, including World Champion western riding horses, and she was chosen
five times to coach the AQHA Youth World Cup team. A graduate of Texas A
& M, Nancy has been training horses for more than 30 years and has
developed a practical and successful philosophy for getting the most from horse
and rider. Visit her web site www.nancycahill.com
Norma Fay
holds a B.S. degree from Ithaca College and is a personal trainer, group
fitness instructor, weight management consultant, ski instructor and motorcycle
safety instructor. She has extensive experience in the design and delivery of
fitness programs. Norma holds a variety of certifications and specialty
certificates from The American Council on Exercise, Aerobics & Fitness
Association of America, Professional Ski Instructors of America, Motorcycle
Safety Foundation and others.
Norma has been a presenter for Exercise
Etc., one of the country's largest providers of fitness education programs and
is now in private practice in suburban Boston, MA. Her love of
teaching, in many different areas, as helped countless individuals achieve
their personal goals. She
continues to enjoy her lifelong horse passion with her Friesian gelding.
Cathy Hanson, named AQHA's Most Valuable
Professional, travels the AQHA show circuit with several World Champion horses,
including Sure Bet Chip, 2008 Youth World Champion in Trail. Cathy began riding at the age of 4, and at
17 went to England to study dressage and jumping. She tested before the British
Horse Society and earned her B.H.S.A.I. certificate before returning home to
open her training stable. She is past
president of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association, and is a member of
AQHA's Board of Directors.
An active clinician, she was a member of
the coaching team for the Youth World Cup.
Her training and teaching techniques are frequently featured in many
equine publications. She is the
co-author of the book Natural Western Riding. Visit her at: hansonqh.com
Simat Whipp,
instructor for the online Equine Massage course, has simple goals: to teach
students so they can help equine athletes find comfort and harmony through massage,
touch and positive energy. Her experience as a high school biology teacher
benefits both the online equine massage student and the horse.
Whipp
spent her youth on a small farm in Iowa. It was there that she developed
a deep passion for all animals, but especially horses. Her early
experiences with riding took place in hilly pastures, driving cattle and
sorting calves. She has enjoyed more than 40 years showing Quarter Horses,
American Saddlebreds and Morgans in Western Pleasure,
Hunter Pleasure, English Pleasure and lower level Dressage.
Ruth E. Kochard
has been fascinated and involved in the world of horses, she says, since
Secretariat won the Triple Crown and "I got my first pony."
A competitive rider of hunters, a
trainer, instructor and farm owner, Ruth graduated cum laude from the
University of New Hampshire and then cum laude from Pace University School of
Law. After working with a large firm as
a commercial litigation attorney, she relocated to Virginia where she owned and
operated Windan Farm, a commercial enterprise
offering training, sales, riding instruction and boarding.
Ruth operates her own law firm in Richmond,
VA, specializing in equine law.
In reining circles, Todd Martin, a Reserve Limited Open
Derby and Futurity Champion, is known as a star on a "fast" rise who
rides to win. In addition to his Derby
and Futurity Championships, he is an NRCB and SWRHA finalist and an AQHA world
show qualifier.
Martin specializes in training reining
horses at his ranch in Boerne, TX just north of San Antonio, where he also
coaches amateur riders and prepares reining horses for sale.
Martin is a member of the NRHA, TRHA,
SWRHA, NOTRHA and is an AQHA Professional Horseman. An active clinician, his training articles
have been published in horse magazines around the world.
Dr. Jack Sales is pretty fast when it comes to answering
equine health care questions. Maybe he’s so fast because he was the
veterinarian for no less than six All American Futurity winners—those are
American Quarter Horses, the fastest horses in the world.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Sales
was a partner in an equine practice which specialized in race horses at Sunland
Park and Ruidoso Downs. Today he teaches
and spends much of his time on research and education projects. He is a member of
the American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical
Association and the American Association of Equine Sports Medicine.
A lifetime
of love for and involvement with horses create the foundation for the
award-winning work of photographer Lynette Smith.
Based in Wenatchee, WA, Lynette is the
owner of Lynette Smith Photography www.lynettesmithphotography.com. She is a member of the Equine Photographers
Network and the American Quarter Horse Association.
While
photographing horses is her passion, her profession has her photographing
everything from pets of all kinds to nature scenes and weddings.
When it comes to equine safety and
rescue, you must say that Michelle S. Staples
"wrote the book," for certainly she did. Staples
is the author of “Save Your Horse! A Horse Owner's
Guide to Large Animal Rescue”. Her book was the first written on
the subject and is the basis for her online Equine Safety and Rescue course.
Staples holds an Associates in
Science degree in Agriculture, is trained and certified in Large Animal Rescue
through various instructors, and has completed Emergency Medical Technician
training. She is on the following disaster response teams: Humane Society of
the United States (NDART), Noah's Wish, and Red Rover; and has taught American
Red Cross CPR, Neighborhood Emergency Services Team (NEST) and Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT). Michelle has also written classes and
presentations for others.
She is the owner of the publishing
firm Red Jeans Ink (www.redjeansink.com)
and she owns and maintains www.saveyourhorse.com, a free,
all-inclusive large animal rescue site providing information and services,
including a newsletter, to the Large Animal Rescue field.
Cherie Vonada has been riding,
training and teaching the techniques of success in the show pen for more than
two decades. As owner and trainer,
Cherie rode First Rate Mos to the title of AQHA
Reserve World Champion Junior Trail Horse.
She has ridden horses and coached numerous riders to state and national
titles in both English and Western disciplines.
The author of a book of competitive Trail
courses, Cherie is a member of the AQHA Professional Horseman's Association and
has served as an officer of Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association and the
California Professional Horseman's Association.
Gord Wadds
is a World Champion trainer known in many horse show circles as the
"master of the longe line horse",
consistently winning longe line classes with a
variety of breeds. But that is only the
beginning of successful careers started the Wadds Way….he trains and campaigns
a multitude of great horses, having won Superior western pleasure titles with
34 horses, AQHA championships and
garnering a long list of futurity champion titles.
Gord, a graduate of St. Andrews
College, Aurora, Ontario, Canada and the North Texas Farriers School of
Horsemanship, trains out of his ranch in Ovid, MI. A professional Equine Appraiser, Wadds is a
frequent clinician at horse show expositions.
Visit his web site at: www.gordwadds.com
Understanding
Equine Behavior is the foundation for training horses, so when you want to know
how best to communicate with your horse, teach something new, or change a
behavior pattern, ask Dr. Jennifer Williams,
“the equine behaviorist.”
Jennifer Williams, PhD earned her
Masters and Doctorate in Animal Science with emphasis on equine behavior,
learning and welfare from Texas A&M University. In addition to teaching Understanding Equine
Behavior, Dr. Williams runs
www.equinebehavior.net, serves as an expert witness on cases involving
equine behavior, and writes articles for magazines, including Equus, Trail Blazer Magazine, Stable Management, AQHA
Journal, Dog Fancy, Cat Fancy and others.
She is the author of “How to Start and Run A
Rescue.”
Dr. Williams works with a variety of
horse behavior problems associated with rescued horses at Bluebonnet Equine
Humane Society (BEHS) which she co-founded in 2005 and now directs as
president. Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society
You could
say that Vickie
Zapel likes to take things to extreme.
Starting at age 11 with an untrained 2-year-old Thoroughbred filly, over
the years she progressed through various show circuits, competitions and events
until reaching the top—now she holds an ESI Professional Riding Instructor
Certification and is certified for judging Extreme Mountain and American
Quarter Horse Association Trail Challenges.
A two-time national champion, she is the winner of multiple national
awards for extreme-mountain trail competitions, she hosts clinics and
competitive horse shows, lectures and aids in the development of competitive
trail facilities and sport promotion.
An
advocate for the benefits of Competitive Trail for any horse, she teaches the
course, Ride Competitive Trail to Win,
a professional certificate course that stands alone or can be used as an
“elective” course toward an AA or Bachelor of Science degree in Equine
Studies. Visit Vickie at http://www.ridecompetitivetrail.com/