If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It

Emily Gill and her Morgan Pirouette to Platinum

By Virginia Aulin

When she was 11 years old, Emily Gill was called out of school by her parents and she remembers thinking, “Oh, no! I’m doing badly in Science and shouldn’t be leaving class.”

Her mom made a weird excuse. When they got home, she handed Emily a halter and lead rope and said, “Go get Kahlua.”

The Morgan yearling was in a horse trailer; Emily’s parents had him bought and shipped him from Canada as a surprise.

Almost 20 years later, “We still talk about it. I’m now a trainer and I would never suggest that an 11-year-old get a yearling. But ignorance was bliss for us. And, we had a lot of luck.”

It may have been an unusual approach – but nearly two decades later it led to another surprise: With Kahlua, Emily has met the qualification criteria at the Masters Level to be awarded an USAWE Platinum Lifetime Medal. “I have been working towards being part of the international program and, without knowing it, I accumulated the scores for the Platinum Medal!”

Sara Barnwell, USAWE Region 5 Director, says: “We are so excited to see Emily accomplish this huge milestone! Emily is a great example of the very best of Working Equitation.  She always takes time to support, encourage, and cheer for others, especially the youth riders who have benefited tremendously from watching Emily compete.”

Emily fell in love with Working Equitation when she was in Florida for the season in 2019. “It was Valentine’s Day and there were roses in the obstacles,” she recalls. “There was a Columbian woman doing amazing stuff – like canter side pass over the poles.”

When she went home to Ohio, Emily took a WE clinic with Erica and Howard Peet “and it was so much fun.”

Emily is motivated by the challenges WE offers, especially the Ease of Handling bull lines. And, “I do the one-handed riding – you’ve eliminated an aid and have to become softer and rely on your seat and legs.”

Kahlua and Emily have done a bit of everything together – from Hunter/Jumpers to Dressage. He’s on the smaller side – 15.1 ½ hands – and sometimes Emily felt others thought he shouldn’t be in the Dressage ring since he wasn’t a big bay Warmblood.

But he’s extremely handy, which works well in the WE world. “If I want to do a sharp line, I know I can do it on him. He doesn’t tell me no.”

Emily adds, “Dressage can get boring – going around in circles all the time. Someone described WE as ‘Dressage on steroids’ and I agree. But, also, having elements to move around really helps horses improve. I’ve helped my students’ horses, who were having trouble with flying lead changes, get better by going around barrels, for example.”

She appreciates that she can put her own spin on things in the ring because you don’t have to follow an exact pre-determined order of specific moves. As a trainer, Emily focuses on kindness – for students and horses. She applies this to Kahlua also: “Kahlua taught me that the willingness in a horse is so important. He has the best brain and tries really hard. So I’m careful with him now. I would never push to where he’s hurting.”

And she shares wise advice for us all: “It’s pretty crazy that horses let us do all of the things we do together. Every day we should kiss our horses and say thanks.”

More about Emily:

Emily started riding at a young age and quickly grew into a horse crazy little girl. With the help of a supportive family, Emily was able to dabble in many different equestrian sports and started in the Morgan horse world. It was with the Morgans, that Emily started her partnership with Coulee Bend Kahlua.

With Kahlua, Emily began to advance up the levels with help of her trainer, Francesca Nicoletti. Just recently Emily and Kahlua have earned their USDF gold medal together. Earning their bronze, silver and gold medal as a team.

In 2013, she began attending The University of Findlay, where she participated in their English Equestrian program. Emily was able to participate in the hunter/jumper and eventing programs, as well as the dressage focus, giving her an extremely well-rounded background. At Findlay, Emily competed on the IHSA hunt seat, IDA and eventing teams with much success. In addition, she was able to start young colts as well as schoolmasters, while continuing to develop Kahlua. Emily also had the opportunity to travel to Germany and train for two weeks in 2015, where she received her Small Bronze Medal, qualifying her to compete overseas.

In addition to her experiences at the Findlay barn, Emily interned and rode for Olympian Michael Barisone. Emily has also trained with Jeremy Steinberg, George Williams, Lendon Gray, Courtney King-Dye and Scott Hasler. In 2016, Emily was given the opportunity to travel to Aachen, Germany with the Dressage Foundation. During that time she interviewed with the German Riding School and was accepted into their program.

Upon graduating from Findlay in 2017, Emily moved to Germany for three months where she worked for the Hannover Verband in Verden. Here, she prepared young horses for the auction hosted by the Verband

In 2018, Emily’s Equestrian Enterprises was born. Based in Canton, Ohio, Emily began making a name for herself as a qualified, knowledgeable trainer. Along with running her business, Emily was able to give back and coach the Findlay IDA team to numerous wins. She received the Christian Kennedy Scholarship which allowed her to travel to Wellington, FL to train with Olympian, Oded Shimoni. In addition to her training, Emily is an assistant trainer for Lendon Grey’s Dressage For Kids Winter Intensive Training Program.