Cheryl McNamee-Sutor

Cheryl's goal is to educate horse owners on how to develop a trusting and respectful partnership with their horses. The training methods she uses and teaches are ones that promote a horse's confidence and willingness to please.

As the President of Equusite.com (The Ultimate Horse Resource), Cheryl teaches her methods of horsemanship online in a simple step-by-step fashion to ensure that horsemen and women of all ages and disciplines are able to understand and use her methods easily.

It is through teaching the horses' owners that Cheryl finds her greatest rewards, "Every day I see horses receiving harsh punishments for behaviors that were taught to them. It is most important to realize you are training your horse every moment you are near him, whether you intend to or not," Cheryl explains, "Bad habits and behaviors are formed during these times that the owner or rider does not necessarily know he/she is teaching them. This is the first step towards understanding and dealing with 'problem horses'."

Cheryl began her career with horses over a decade ago, as a counselor at a summer riding camp. Four years later, she went on to train at local breeding farms where she learned and experimented with everything from imprint training all the way through breaking, riding and showing. "For several years, I kept logs on the horses I trained. I'd write down goals for each training session, what techniques I'd use and the responses and results I'd get from each horse," says Cheryl. It was this approach that has gotten Cheryl to where she is today. She explains that, by keeping training logs, she was able to clearly define her goals and easily break the training process down into steps, which gave her a clear-cut plan to follow.

Approximately three years ago, Cheryl decided to begin sharing her training experiences with others through the internet. She wanted to be able to offer training advice to others who could not afford expensive trainers. It all started with only an article or two on ground training, and ended up growing much larger. Now, Equusite.com has hundreds of articles on everything from equine behavior to training and healthcare. There are even fun games, contests and free clipart for those who wish to have a little fun in the process of learning.

After taking the entire year of 2001 off to spend with her newborn son, Cheryl is now back in action at a new local stable, Diamond Gaits Farm in Elgin, IL. Cheryl is teaching basic balance seat lessons to beginner through intermediate english and western riders. If you are interested in lessons, please email cheryl@equusite.com.

"It is through education, patience and consistency that we can break the language barriers that separate us from horses and begin to put the fun and pleasure back into horse ownership".

Cheryl Sutor
http://www.equusite.com