In the outdoor world, we often talk about grit, skill, or passion. But for many women, the real turning point isn’t a perfect cast or a steep climb. It’s the moment another woman quietly helps her take the next step. Not teaching from a distance, but standing beside her, sharing what she knows, and learning in return. That kind of mentorship can change everything. It keeps women engaged, builds confidence that lasts, and opens doors to experiences they might never try alone.
In Montana’s high country, Jessica Suvak and Cress Whitman are living proof.
Jessica, originally from Cleveland, arrived in Montana as a committed fly angler. Fly fishing had already reshaped her life. “It connects me to nature and people in a way that has never happened to me before,” she says. “Without fly fishing, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t have the friends that I have today and my community.”
What she wanted next was to push deeper into the backcountry, and for that she needed horses. She posted online looking for someone to ride with and met Cress, a horse trainer who grew up homeschooled and racing through lessons so she could get back to her red mare. “I fell in love with horses immediately,” Cress says. “I realized really quickly that that helped me breathe and helped me process and transfer life lessons out of the saddle into the daily routine.”
Both women arrived with experience. Jessica knew fly lines and alpine cutthroat. Cress knew mountain trails and the way a good horse reads the ground. Neither was starting from zero. They simply wanted to get better together. “It’s been a fun little trade-off of mentorship,” Jessica says, “bringing the knowledge that we both had and bringing it together.”
Their *Ascend* story follows them on horseback into a remote basin, where a cold lake rests beneath steep ridges. The ride in is steady and quiet, the kind of travel that gives you time to think. For Jessica, the change is not just in the scenery. “I feel like my whole body chemistry has changed from being out here,” she says. “Being out in nature, I’m always at ease. I’m at peace.”
At the lake, they build a fire, rig rods, and wade in for cutthroat trout. Storms slide through and the wind picks up, but the mood stays light. Jessica remembers how heavy it all felt when she first started. “Advice that I wish someone taught me early on in my fly-fishing journey was not to take it so seriously,” she says. “You’re never gonna be the best. It’s always about growing and honestly, it’s about fun. Just get out there and have a ball.”
For Cress, the lessons of the day echo what horses have been teaching her for years. “I always say one of the most incredible things to see is a little girl on a horse,” she says. Wherever she has gone, the horse community has been there, ready to welcome her and share experience. That same spirit now shapes the way she rides with Jessica.
Their story is not about one woman leading and another following. It is about two women with solid foundations choosing to help each other reach the next ridge, the next cast, the next level of confidence. Their adventure is proof that women thrive in the outdoors when they lift each other up, share what they know, and make space for one another to grow. Skills can be learned from experience, but staying comes from community.
Watch the Ascend episode to see how Jessica and Cress’s day in the mountains reflects what is possible when women invest in each other’s time outside.
Learn more at ducks.org/ascend.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
Start the Conversation