Emmet County 4-H Success Story
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Email4-H Success Story with Emily Love
My love for horses and my passion for riding started around the age of 7, when I noticed photos of my parents with horses placed around our home. I did what any young eager girl would do, I asked to take riding lessons! I was hooked after my first ride and it became evident to my parents that I was committed to the sport and all that it entailed.
When I turned 8 years old, my parents bought a 14 year old Arabian gelding named Sea-Skor who became my forever heart horse/unicorn/zebra. (I literally dressed him up as a zebra at our county 4-H fair.) But it was extremely important to my parents that I understood the amount of work, money and time that went into owning a horse. I don’t know how many times I was told that “horses aren’t like a soccer ball you can throw in the garage at the end of the day.” And they were right!
Participating in 4-H helped me understand the responsibility side of owning a horse. It taught me animal health and care, and how quickly that can add up. Because of my 10 years in the Wild Riders 4-H group and doing required annual reports, I quickly became well educated in many areas. And if I didn’t know the answer to a specific situation or question, 4-H taught me how to have a voice and how to speak up. I needed my voice to be heard no matter what the situation entailed.
After graduating from Petoskey High School, I went to Albion College in the fall of 2011. I brought my newest gelding with me and that was the best part of College for me. During Spring break of my Freshman year, I visited my parents who were vacationing in Miami, Florida. We went to see the biggest equestrian touring show in the world, “Odysseo” by Cavalia”. For the first time in my life I saw something that I could actually see myself doing, something that I wanted to do!
I found my way talking to the right people and somehow got the opportunity to move to France to train with the equestrian director of Odysseo.
So I worked my way through the Academy, French and all, working with people and horses from all over the world at their performing arts a academy. I finally made it to “Odysseo” in January of 2014! I was an artist for them for two years and performed in Dressage, Liberty, Roman Riding, Jumping and Trick Riding. I created bonds with those horses that can never be broken. I was even fortunate enough to adopt two of those horses.
My years spent in 4-H have allowed me to dedicate my life to horses and I’ve now made a career out of it. I currently live in the Nashville, Tennessee area with my soon -to be - husband who I met in the “Odysseo” show, and I specialize in Horsemanship and Dressage. My 10 years in 4-H taught me so much about horses and horsemanship, the significance in speaking up, leadership skills, self-confidence to meet challenges, and mostly, a strong work ethic. I would not be here today - doing what I love - if I hadn’t fallen off Sea-Skor at a Jumping Show at our county fairgrounds, or if I hadn’t done a 4-H report on “colors of horses.” 4-H was a foundation in my education and it’s now my job to give a solid foundation to people and horses today. -Emily Love
