Our Team

Onaqui Catalogue Foundation Team

Samantha Couper, PhD
Chair

Samantha (she/her/hers or they/them/theirs) has been involved with horses since before she was old enough to walk. She spent her childhood and young adult life assisting her mother, a veterinarian, on house calls. And, by the time she was in high school she was working at a performance Paint barn training new foals husbandry behaviors. Samantha has always been passionate about the environment, and studied Geology (an Earth and Environmental Science) in college at the University of California, Davis. She continued this passion at the University of Utah in 2013 where she received her MSc and successfully defended her PhD dissertation in February of 2021. During her time at Utah, she was introduced to the Onaqui wild horses through the many photographers who love this herd. Congruently with this, Samantha was studying the science of Animal Behavior through online academic courses in her free time. Perplexed by the mismatch between the general public’s understanding of horse behavior and the scientific consensus on wild behavior, Samantha wanted to see what was really going on in the wild. She began to talk with locals and compile information and observations that they had been collecting for decades. It quickly became clear that there was a desire for a compilation of this knowledge in the community to unify photographers and visitors to the herd, and thus the Onaqui Catalogue began its infant steps. Samantha also adopted two mustangs, Oberon and Nova, from the round up that occurred in the Onaqui HMA in 2021.


Darlene Smith
Vice Chair

Darlene (she/her/hers) has always had a great love for everything wild. From a young age she spent most of her childhood playing outdoors. Through camping trips with family, she learned the value of nature and the importance of protecting it. Darlene is a professional photographer (Darlene Smith Photography) specializing in landscapes and wildlife. She began photographing the Onaqui herd in 2016 and instantly became hooked. Her favorite place to be is among the horses. She now uses her photography to bring awareness to the American Mustang. When she isn’t out on the range, you’ll find her playing in the dirt. Prior to becoming a photographer, Darlene worked in the Horticulture industry for over 15 years. She is an avid gardener with multiple flower gardens, vegetable gardens, and a koi pond with waterfalls. She loves to hybridize iris plants to see what new varieties she can create.  Darlene and her husband live in Utah.


Melissa Tritinger
Secretary

Melissa (she/her/hers) has work experience that includes decades in the financial industry and now works in the non-profit sector. Melissa is also the owner and person behind the lens of RJStein Photography.  As a passionate advocate for animal protection, especially the preservation of America’s mustangs and burros, Melissa uses the lens to bring awareness to the wild horses across the country through her fine art photography and donates back a portion of proceeds of photography sales to the non-profits that support those herds such as the American Wild Horse Campaign and The Corolla Wild Horse Fund. Melissa’s family includes Rueben, an adorable red roan pony who suffers from Lyme Neuroborreliosis, as well as several other beloved furred and feathered family members.  Melissa’s family adopted two bonded Onaqui mustangs that were rounded up in the 2021 Onaqui HMA Gather–Stargazer and Nora.


Theresa Orison
Treasurer

Theresa Orison (she/her/hers) is a hobby photographer with a life-long love of horses.  When Theresa was young, she had a passion for horses and cared for many as she grew up.  As an adult, Theresa fell in love with outdoor photography, traveling across Idaho to capture its spectacular beauty.  After moving to Utah, she came upon the Onaqui herd and found herself re-connected with her passion for horses and this amazing herd in particular, as she explored the western Utah desert to spend time with them. This led to her joining the ongoing effort to catalogue these beloved wild horses. Theresa has spent most of her career in graphic communications and currently works at the University of Utah as a printing project coordinator. She is married to Sue Robbins and lives in Woods Cross, Utah.  They have four children, 10 grandchildren, and a wonderful outdoor dog, Jazz, who loves to go hiking and on outdoor trips (but not to the horses!).