08/08/2024
Who am I? My name is Linda Sutton and I am a trainer, instructor and mentor. Through my business LCS Horsemanship, I help horses and humans build a stronger connection through relationship based training. Whether your interest is trail riding, liberty, Western, English, or simply improving your current relationship, I can help you learn to be a better leader and a more balanced rider to help your horse be their best.
I am a life long rider and when people ask ‘how long’, I jokingly but truthfully respond that my first ride was ‘in vitro’ as my mother and grandparents also had a passion for horses! I grew up on a farm in rural Illinois and was a life long member of 4H. I spent most summer weekends either showing my horses locally or joining in on a group trail ride.. My specialties were Western Pleasure, Western Equitation, Trail and Driving.
I rode many horses at this time, but my ‘steady eddy’ was an Arab gelding named St. Andrew ( Andy). He was my first experience with training and he taught me a lot! By the end of my show career in my early 20s, we were either winning or placing in the top three in most classes. He was a horse with a LOT of patience and a great confidence builder!
My next two teachers were an Arab mare named AZ Sheila V (named after Sheila Varian) and an unregistered Arab gelding named Shadow. It was in between these two horses that I started my journey into relationship based training. Both horses were athletic and both horses were high energy, but Sheila was proving to be very difficult and I wanted to do better with Shadow. I wanted to learn how to teach him higher level skills like flying lead changes and cow work, something I was failing at with Sheila.
In 1995, a beloved friend and student begged me to attend a demonstration being given by Pat and Linda Parelli in Madison and that was a game changer for me. Now I understood why the methods I was using weren’t working! I continued learning through PNH until 2005 and was working on Level 4 in their program at that time. Shadow and I could not only do ‘flyers’, we could do them bridle-less and ba****ck! He was an amazing horse and showed me what was possible with time and patience and there was a clear, defining line between Sheila (traditional training) and Shadow (relationship training) that remained throughout their lives. While Sheila remained reactive and unconfident, Shadow continued to grow in his confidence and his abilities. At the end of our journey together, he was a master at the sideways canter among other things, handy with cattle, an amazing trail horse, and a reliable and gifted partner in my business, He knew how to read exactly what I needed when working with other horses and often ‘ad libbed’ without direction from me with absolute perfection.
In 2010, I took a break from horses for 4 years due to a personal situation and a need to focus on myself and healing. My Missouri Fox Trotter gelding Dreamer went to stay with that same friend during my recovery but she passed away from cancer in 2014 and Dreamer needed a home. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to rejoin the horse world, but I knew I couldn’t abandon him. I brought him back to Illinois and after a couple of years, I decided I was ready to start training again. Little did I know that he would replace Shadow as my partner and become a crucial piece of my training program. He is so calm, sweet and supportive with the ‘new kids’!
Enter Magik in 2017, a then 10 month old calm, confident gelding I felt would help ease me back into c**t starting because of his ‘quiet’ nature. I should have had a clue when he stepped off the trailer confidently and walked fearlessly into the pasture with Dreamer. Oh boy! That ‘quiet’ c**t became the most athletic, smartest, and naughtiest little punk I’d ever owned! While Shadow could be proud and cocky, Magik lives there! I once saw him ‘herding’ a bird in the pasture that was trying to get some morsel it saw on the ground and didn’t have Magik’s approval to be there. He was relentless! Needless to say, I had to jump back in with both feet if I was going to keep up with him. He owns the term ‘should have been a lawyer’ because of his love to argue if he feels what is being asked is beneath him and thinks he has a better plan. He demands to be played with and if you don’t provide the guidance & stimulation he needs, he will start playing a game that you don’t like! Over time (he’s now 8), he has become my best friend, the one I go to when I want to be silly and try something new. He’s such a quick and confident learner!
In 2019, I traveled to Wisconsin to help a long time friend with her horse and a spark was reignited. In 2022, I moved back to Wisconsin and officially reopened my business and what an amazing response I have received! I am no longer with PNH, but still follow and love Linda Parelli. These days I am a blend of her teaching and others in the field, including but not limited to Warwick Schiller, Luke Gingrich and Tristan Tucker (TRT Method). I am constantly looking for better, clearer, and easier/softer ways to create a bond with horses and achieve goals that help them be successful, too. My belief is if you’re doing it right, your horse will enjoy the journey, as well.
Nowadays, my specialties are working with the ‘problem’ horse and creating clear, kind and fair communication between human and horse to build a better, safer and more enjoyable relationship for all. Whatever your discipline, I can help you achieve your goals and have the relationship you have dreamed of. Let’s get started!
