Welcome

Emee Ermel grew up in Germany and fell in love with horses at a very early age. She started riding at the age of 7 and quickly became addicted to everything to do with horses and dressage. She rode school horses and owned several horses before leaving for Texas to go to university. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge of the US dressage system and limited funding forced her to not ride for almost a decade.

She never lost the passion and when she was able, she purchased Cadence, an OTTB. His sensitivity and varied background taught her so much about the importance of creating a strong bond with horses. He also insisted she rediscover the importance of riding with invisible aids and ride with feeling first. Although many thought he would never be successful, Cadence has the amazing ability to read his riders. He can turn the volume way up for certain riders and be that 'hot in a good way' dressage horse and then also dial down and be a very safe pony ride for others. He is a wonderful teacher of riding from your seat and is patient when he needs to be.

A few years later she also purchased Fabio, a Haflinger. He also taught her so much about creating trust with a horse who has had negative experiences. He was also hyper-in tune with her energy, which forced her to step back from focusing on dressage goals and focus on connecting with him. Working on the ground and learning the importance of truly understanding how horses communicate has been a long winding process, but with amazing outcomes. He was the horse multiple trainers dismissed as crazy or having no potential, but they proved everyone wrong and established a very special bond. 

Then a few years later she discovered Walker, a beautiful black Oldenburg. He trotted into her life as a big bouncy foal at 6 months of age and has been the culmination of her training journey. From foal to now, they have been on this learning journey together. And what a wonderful experience to take a blank canvas and create a beautiful portrait. He had some interesting challenges physically. Because he grew so fast and so large, he had soundness issues that could never truly be resolved until recently. Mentally, he was also a puzzle because he comes across as such an extroverted, confident horse, but it really is a front to hide his insecurity of not wanting to make a mistake. He easily becomes overwhelmed and learning to navigate that boundary has been tricky. Every time Emee wanted to focus only on dressage goals, Walker brought her back to reality and made her focus on connection and communication.