We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Susan Sutherland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Susan below.

Susan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The Mustang Ambassador Program was formed after I met Jaime Wade at a wild horse adoption in Wyoming in 2009. We both previously had adopted and rescued mustangs and wanted to make them more visible to the general public and help share the plight of wild horses and burros. These majestic animals are frequently rounded up from public lands and lose their wild freedom. The goal was to make the mustangs ambassadors to the Pikes Peak regional community and that was the genesis for the organizations name. We also liked the acronym “MAP” as our signature programming encompassed equine-assisted learning for youth to provide a navigational tool for their personal growth and self-leadership skills. MAP’s objective has been to leverage students’ interest in horses and, while teaching them how to care for the equids and ride, they are also taught personal skills related to: responsibility, communication, problem-solving, relationships and resilience. As one of our student said, “MAP teaches us things that we don’t learn at school”. We refer to these events as Summer Youth Equitation and Leadership Programs.
Having seen the powerful impact of equine-assisted learning with youth and adults, MAP has expanded into military support with our Horses for Heroes programming. Horses for Heroes offers hands-on, interactive experiences designed specifically for military personnel seeking self-discovery, resilience, and well-being through the power of the equine connection. Participants engage in a variety of equine-assisted therapies, horsemanship activities and mindfulness practices, all tailored to foster personal growth and healing. With the large military population in the Pikes Peak region, we believe MAP can provide a much needed role to those who have served the USA.

Susan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was fortunate to grow up on a family farm with ponies and horses. Horses were a integral element in my upbringing and taught me about care, responsibility and safety. They were also a motivating factor for working hard. However college and a fascinating career in the financial services industry took me away from the farm and to the city where horses were not a practical part of my life. It was not until 30 years later when I started to notice news stories and documentaries about wild horses. This piqued my interest in learning more about them and led me Front Range Equine Rescue (FRER) in Larkspur CO. After learning a great amount about the wild horse situation from FRER’s founder, I visited a wild horse management area in the Pryor Mountains of Montana. This was a incredible experience where I saw wild horses roam freely in the sub-alpine meadows nestled in the mountains of Montana. It was not much longer that I visited FRER with the expectation of adopting a mustang that was in their care. On my visit, there were two young mustangs, one with some saddle training and one that was barely halter trained. The later was from the Pryor Mountain herd and had a very soft eye but was still a very scared little mustang. I struggled to decide which horse I should adopt and then it hit me – just adopt them both!
After a couple years, we were still moving slowly on training. At about that time, I met Jaime at a Pryor Mountain wild horse adoption near the herd area. I adopted another young mustang there as did Jaime. As we got to know each other, I asked if she would help train the first Pryor Mountain mustang that I adopted from FRER. She agreed and transformed him into a wonderful partner and amazingly steady program horse. Over the course of a couple years, we decided to expand on the riding and training programs that Jaime had established in the eastern Colorado Springs area by forming MAP as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit. We had designs on growing the program and to do so, I bought a 400 acre ranch in Ramah, CO in 2017. We built a barn and an arena and cross-fenced the ranch to facilitate caring for additional horses and running equine-assisted learning programs. We named the property Wild Spirit Ranch to reflect on the former wild status of the mustangs bit also all the spirit of all wild animals. Since 2017, we essential doubled the number of equids in MAP’s care and thanks to Jaime’s amazing programming skills, expanded on the equine-assisted self-leadership skills with our young students. In addition to those programs, MAP conducts weekend riding lessons, natural horsemanship clinics, equine-assisted mindfulness sessions and most recently, Horses for Heroes, to support our military community. We are very proud of how MAP’s horses, most of which were adopted, rescued and/or rehomed have helped youth and adults gain skills, enhance confidence, reduce stress, strengthen resilience and generally benefit from a relationship with a horse in a safe and supportive environment.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

As unfortunate as the pandemic was across the globe, MAP’s Summer Equitation and Leadership Programs was a beneficiary as parents wanted their kids to get outside a do things. We saw roughly a 30% increase in students from 2019 to 2020. That growth has been supported by the fact that approximately 65% of students are repeat participants and have attended up to six years in a row. We view that as testament to the value parents and students place on the programs. We also use social media to gain visibility which is helpful but word of mouth is our biggest source of students.
Now, as we embark on MAP’s Horses for Heroes programming, we have partnered with a Marine Veteran and horseman, as well as a licensed mental health therapist and horsewoman, to augment our ability to reach the military community and provide highly experienced expertise. We are also diligently networking with various military support organizations to promote the value of equine-assisted therapy and help active and retired military members

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

In the early phase of MAP as a non-profit, the established summer equitation programs supported the horses and the programming. As we looked to grow, I was able to purchase Wild Spirit Ranch thanks to my corporate job. Since then, we have added many horses to the programming and sanctuary. The Summer Youth Equitation and Leadership programs continue to support much of the horses’ care and feed but MAP has also expanded it’s programming as previously described. To augment the program revenue, MAP also participates in the GIVE! Campaign to support small and medium size non-profits, GoFundMe and other social media. Writing for grants is also an avenue MAP utilizes for operating capital and specific needs. We have learned that pursuing many avenues for revenue is a key to success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://map1.org
• Instagram: mustangambassadorprogram1
• Facebook: mustangambassadorprogram

Image Credits

Horses for Heroes photo courtesy of Eugene Divine.