My name is Emily and I’m obsessed with horses.

I have been around horses since I was a tiny baby, thanks to my moms side of the family being cattle ranchers. My mom tells me I was put up on one of her cousins horses and that’s where it all started. I didn’t want to get down and wouldn’t stop bugging her about getting my own horse since then.

When I was 6 I joined a 4H group called the “Rainbow Riders”. It was around then that we got our first horse, Playmate. She was a beautiful Chestnut Quarterhorse Mare and a purely gentle soul. Still one of the sweetest horses I can ever remember. I could often be found playing out in the pasture and just spending time with her, she was a perfect babysitter.

When I turned 10 I started in Pony Club, which is where I learned to really ride. Pony Club wasn’t like 4H, where the parents could help you with almost everything. You actually got in trouble if your parent helped you! Pony Club, despite it’s silly name, is for Stadium Jumping, Dressage, and Cross Country Jumping. I got up to level C1 (The levels started at D3 and went up to A, which is Olympian level) before life got too busy and I decided to quit.

From there, after I turned 16 and got my drivers license, I started working at a ranch out in Selah called Paso del Mundo, where we had moved Playmate and then Gretta (another Chestnut Mare that we had gotten for my Pony Club days, this time a Thoroughbred), and eventually Chief. A mostly Gaited horse barn owned by Becky Hyde, I learned even more about management, and the most about training. Here I helped start and finish young horses, evaluate horses for sale for prospective owners, problem solve behavior issues for clients, teach adults and kids how to ride, lead trail rides and help clean up after, feed, provide medical aid and maintain a boarding facility of over 100 horses. Becky taught me more than she will ever know and I am eternally grateful for every lesson, some she didn’t even know she was giving.

Once I graduated High School I tried to go to Yakima Valley Community College to become an Equine Veterinarian, but my hatred of math quickly changed my mind. Instead I moved to Seattle (taking Chief with me miraculously! Read about him on his gallery page) and attended The Art Institute of Seattle. From here, horses took a back burner, even though I still had Chief with me and would ride every now and then. It wasn’t until after I left AI that I decided I wanted to get more serious about horses again.

I found an online program called the Animal Behavior Institute, and they had a certification program in Equine Behavior and Management. It wasn’t too expensive and even better, it was 100% online, which allowed me to still work full time. I decided to take it and have since earned a certification for Equine Behavior and Management. I have also become a licensed Class A CDL Driver, which means I can put my driving skills to use as an Equine Transporter soon!

Even after 20+ years working with horses, I still learn more every day, and look forward to a lifetime of lessons learned, and taught with these amazing creatures. The knowledge, appreciation and respect I have learned from these wonderful animals compares to nothing else in the world for me and I can’t wait for you to join me on my adventures with horses!