If you're reading this...then welcome! Welcome to the start of my journey in blogging (hang on tight because I have no idea where this could go).
My intention with this blog is to give some written word, or take home messages, to my current students and potential new students. I've always considered myself more on the old fashioned side of things when it comes to technology and note taking, or in other words...I am probably the worst millennial you will ever come across.
Facebook posts? I rarely keep up with sharing content.
Emails? I'm lucky if I send the email to everyone that I intended to, let alone attach the attachment I needed to send.
Google calendar? ... yeah, nope. I've got a big paper book calendar that go with me everywhere.
And when I go to clinics myself or take lessons, I will always write down my takeaways in a journal. It just helps my brain process what I learned and I love going back through old journals to reread my experiences.
So in a way, this is me writing down certain experiences and thoughts but now sharing them with you. So cheers to this new beginning.
This first post will be a quick “get to know me” type of entry so that people can get more information than what is on my "about" page found on my website. Which by the way, if you haven't checked that out yet, please do so!
First off- Hello, my name is Emily, but I prefer Emmy. I am 29 years old and have been teaching professionally since 2016. My favorite color is orange and my favorite animal is a horse......just kidding, it's an elephant. In fact, horses have never been my favorite animal. Maybe because I have been around them for so long (since I was 7) I think of them as just big dogs with big feet.
In my ample amounts of free time (insert giggle here), I LOVE baking and cooking.
I consider grocery shopping my "me time" because I thoroughly enjoy trying new foods from different markets and searching for new recipes. I try my best to give myself time in a grocery store so that I am not rushed and can truly take it all in. (I prefer grocery shopping over shoe shopping for example)
If we ever get to ride together at a clinic, don't be surprised when you see me grabbing a snack from my pocket or in my saddle bag. I don't like to go hungry and that's all there is to that.
I enjoy gardening and spending time outside with my husband, our dog and chickens. You can find us sipping whiskey in front of a fire (when it isn't 95 degrees outside) and listening to vinyls. Again...remember when I said I'm a bit old fashioned??
Horses have been my life since I was 7. They are in my routine and I can't remember a time when they weren't part of my life. I am fortunate to still carry this passion of horses into my line of work today where I get to help people build their relationship with their own horses.
Transitioning into the professional world of horses wasn't the easiest for me and is still something that I am working out. I am lucky to have trustworthy mentors in my life that have guided me along the way to get to this point today, however I know there is still more room to grow.
I joined the professional horse world when I was 23...that's young in my opinion and I knew that when I started. However I also knew that I had a lot of experience and education to back it up, as well as support from my mentors in the professional community already. Over the last 6 years I have gotten closer and closer to what I want to teach and how I want to teach it. And in my experience it takes a long time to work the kinks out.
At the beginning I thought I wanted to be a Dressage instructor.
Then I thought I wanted to take horses in for monthly training and have multiple horses to work a day. And then I realized where my niche is...foundation work.
-Building a solid relationship with your horse so that you can do anything you want.
Dressage? Great! Mounted archery, how fun! Carriage driving? Heck yes, let's do it.
One of the biggest experiences I gained from working in the Performing Arts Academy in France and while touring with Cavalia, was how to create a bond with my horses. That bond was necessary for me to perform well on stage and to essentially keep my job! I had to run with horses on stage who were completely free and who wanted to be with me. I had to stand on two horses that needed to not only like each other and learn how to work together, but who also needed to like me and allow me to stand on them. You can't fake that. And unfortunately I see a lot of that happening in the horse world today. Horses are a mirror and man did I learn that during those 4 years away. I couldn't fake my job in front of 2000 people a night.
I believe that is where my experience trumps my age and why I could join this professional community at 23 years of age.
So there we have it. A little somethin' from me to you to start this thing off (hopefully) right. I thoroughly enjoy having converstaions with my students about horses, their expereiences and what they are feeling because that's real life to me. My goal is to give you the tools you can use when I am not there giving you a lesson so that you can become a more independent horse owner.
Until next time,
E
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