Eleanor Blazer

Eleanor Richards Blazer is a fourth generation horsewomen who has trained and traded horses most of her life. Now actively showing in AQHA and ABRA amateur competitions, Eleanor 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.

Eleanor is a member of the Texas American Buckskin Association, the National Snaffle Bit Association and the Ohio Horseman’s Council.

Visit her at: www.thewayofhorses.com

.

Nancy Cahill

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

Nancy continues to compete on the AQHA circuit and is busy year-round doing hands-on clinics.

Norma Fay

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

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

 

Elizabeth Johnson

Elizabeth Johnson, has worked and studied with top veterinarians in the field of saddle fitting, nutrition, biomechanics, farrier science, herbal medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine. She also has formal education in environmental science, biology, and equine science.

Liz offers rehabilitation on competitive and companion horses and dogs. In addition to massage, her practice examines nutritional issues,
environmental effects, and uses complimentary modalities partnering with veterinary medicine.

A lifelong experienced horsewoman and former veterinary technician, she is the Southern California Coordinator for Equinolgy and Caninology, an international educational program for equine and canine bodyworkers taught primarily by world- renowned veterinarians.

Liz participated in a Cal Poly Pomona research project on the effects of massage in stride length. This study showed great success for equine bodywork in this area.

She and her husband, Dr. Mark Johnson, who is a wildlife veterinarian, live in Bozeman Montana with their 2 rescue dogs, Louie and Luna.

 

Ruth E. Kochard

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 Univerity 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.

 

Todd Martin

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

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.

 

Lynette Smith

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.

An active rider, Lynette’s private life is filled with the companionship and adventures of her Labrador Retrievers.

 

Michelle S. Staples

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”.

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

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

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

Vickie Zapel

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.

Visit Vickie at http://www.ridecompetitivetrail.com/