The Humans of New York (HONY) started as a photoblog and grew into a collection of stories, quotes, and portraits featuring the people of New York City. It was started in the summer of 2010 by photographer Brandon Stanton. Through his lens, Stanton captures candid moments of real people’s lives on the streets of Manhattan and documents them on his blog — HumansOfNewYork.com — to better understand our cities, ourselves, and humanity at large.
In our own HONY-inspired rendition, Humans of the Valley, the Valley Gazette aims to spotlight the wonderful people living in the Ottawa Valley, their lives and unique stories.
Olivia Joerges
Staff Reporter
“I always knew I would end up somewhere on the water, but I would never have imagined how adventurous my life would become,” said Dominique Sutherland.
Sutherland pursued horseback riding and competitive swimming growing up in Winnipeg and across Ontario. Horseback riding was a huge part of her life growing up, a hobby that later inspired her sister Chantal to pursue racing on an international level.
“My Dad was very strict,” she stressed. “So back when I was riding at Woodbine [a horse racing track in Toronto], I’d always have a chaperone with me.”
When she attended an all-girls boarding school in the Peterborough area, she was able to take her two horses with her so she could continue riding throughout high school.
“My horses were so important to me; there was no way I was leaving them behind,” she said.
Sutherland comes from a family of astute and successful businesspeople to whom she attributes her success today in business innovation; it’s simply in her blood.
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