WB Equestrian Alumni Page

10/16/2026

A trend I don’t love currently in the horse world is being super discipline specific. I think that leads to grumpiness and burn out in both horses and humans. Doing the same thing rider after ride, lesson after lesson, show after show is a recipe to sore muscles and boredom.

My advice – try something new! I’ve mostly ridden hunter/jumpers but I’m happy to report I’ve ridden on trails, hunter paces, western (pleasure, ranch, reining), tried polo cross, jumped in a side saddle, galloped on a track, done some eventing, dressage. Even with in hunter/jumpers I love a good pairs class, hunt teams, a derby, gamblers choice, or ba****ck dollar bill.

Cross training different disciplines is great for working on specific skills. Riding in anything but my jumping saddle helps me sit the canter better. Riding ba****ck helps me not lean… so does riding in a side saddle. English riders tend to underuse their legs and outside rein when turning. Guess what helps that – riding western and neck reining.

For horses cross training can not only help with specific skills but also keep them fresh mentally. And as a huge bonus, often can help bomb proof them for when unexpected things happen. A horse who is mentally engaged is happier to work making them more enjoyable to ride.

And finally for coaches…. You could tell when I was struggling with burn out teaching because lessons would get a bit “weird.” All the sudden we were barrel racing, jumping chewy.com boxes, playing games, doing trail patterns, team jumper challenge in costume, or whatever other wacky idea I came up with that day.

What’s the thing you most enjoyed trying? Something unexpected that helped your main focus the most? Or maybe something you haven’t tried that you want to?

10/09/2026

Last winter when applying to jobs out west I had to set up a youtube channel to upload videos to. (Basically to show I could do things with horses.) Since then I decided to add to it so I didn't have to store so many videos on my phone. And then I had the idea to start re-creating demos we would do at camps. A few days ago I did one about diagonals. Next up - part of the horse. I'll take suggestions too.

09/21/2026

Get the weight out of your saddle!

Just my two cents today - I’m seeing too many riders sitting way too much. And sitting so deep they have no weight in their leg. Getting out of the tack is a great way to give your horse the freedom to move forward. It makes you easy to carry (which is your primary goal as the rider). And when you do sit, your weight should still be in your leg!!!

I found 3 photos of myself at the canter with varying degrees of contact between my seat and my saddle. The first one I’m faking sitting the canter in an equitation flat class because it was a slower horse and I didn’t want to pump or lose my heel (or my stirrups for that matter). The second is on Ed schooling for IEA to allow the older (and fabulous!) lesson horse to roll around a jump course with ease. And the bottom is on Wheels where I’m sitting a little deeper to keep him under wraps at his first show, and to keep myself from being launched somewhere.

I was taught to change the amount of contact into the saddle you simply bend or open your knee joint. If you’re reading this then thanks and that’s your homework for the next few rides.

On a related note maybe we’re seeing more issues with saddle fit and back soreness because we’re using our saddles as chairs instead of just something our stirrups attach to….

09/20/2026

Good luck to everyone this IEA season! Especially all of our alums. Look up, add leg, clean your boots!

09/13/2026

Thoughts from Montana – Riding Out

Many riders learn to ride in a well-manicured indoor but it’s like learning to drive in an empty parking lot. That’s great until you need to get out on the beltway. What I’ve seen with riders is anxiety creep in if they need to ride out. And the stress increases if the footing isn’t perfect.

We were at a team meet a few years ago and there was a puddle in the corner. That puddle – you could easily go inside or outside of and still be straight - was so distracting barely anyone had a decent course. After that I made negotiating environmental conditions a skill to practice regularly.

If the sprinklers in the indoor would cause wet spots I’d put a cone on them and have riders make decisions on navigating them. In the outdoor when the puddle was huge (the footing was solid) I set a small jump in the puddle.

To get out of the arena, we sometimes held lessons in a nice flat-ish field. With very young riders I liked to take them on ten-minute lead line trail rides up the driveway. Anything to get outside. At shows, take the time to hack around before and after your class or even go school in all the warm up areas. And that’s not to mention trail riding, hunter paces, and cross-country schooling.

I’m not saying to throw caution to the wind, swing the gate open, and gallop into the sunset. Start safe and simple for sure. But I will tell you it is such a breath of fresh air to feel confident riding out.

09/07/2026

Thoughts from Montana – Joy

The horse lifestyle is tough - long days, tears, disappointment, injuries, sweat, bugs, and mud. If you don’t have a sense of joy, you will be swallowed up by the stress. Do you have that underlying sense of gratitude, wonder, whimsy, purpose, and peace right now?
Long story short, when I was a little girl I wanted to be a cowgirl and a jockey. There aren’t many cows in Maryland, and I am too tall to be a jockey.

I think in a way jumping worked as a compromise. For most of my riding career I found joy in jumping anything and everything (chewy boxes, Xmas trees, traffic cones). It eventually got stale. Times change, people and horses come and go, life gets in the way. I couldn’t get out and “cross train” different disciplines as much anymore which made me bored (more on that another day).
Two summers ago, I went on a pack trip in Idaho and with in the first hour out on trail - as we started to climb up the west side of the Tetons - my joy came back… Fast forward to this summer in Montana riding the trails and playing “spot the cow”…. It was fantastic!

For me getting out of the ring to find new challenges was the solution. It could be that, changing barns, a new mount, a new lesson night, or simply a conversation with your coach.

We all know riding is hard, but it is not supposed to lack joy.

09/03/2026

Thoughts from Montana – Disclaimer

There is the potential with this to offend East Coast based English riders. I don’t mean to, but I do think many of us would agree that we need some change. We have issues with horse welfare, toxic culture, lack of support and sportsmanship, and often a lack of joy. We post about the lack of skill, knowledge, drive, desire etc. from current riders but we don’t offer solutions. We get instantly defensive but complain that people can’t take constructive criticism.

Some of what I have to say will be met with “we can’t do that because of” which is valid. Montana is a world away, especially in terms of amount of land and it’s not the same climate as the Mid-Atlantic. Not to mention there is a difference in state laws and liability concerns. Plus types of horses, costs associated with those horses, availability of resources, etc.

Please just take it as food for thought....

Pic from my "office" this summer

08/31/2026

I spent the summer in Montana at a working cattle and guest ranch as a wrangler. It was amazing! Great people, great place, great horses. I did a lot of things I've never done before (anything with cows) but also got back to my riding roots in a sense. There was an old school WB vibe to a lot of it actually - fun, challenging, pushing your comfort zone. I have some thoughts I plan to share over the next few weeks so look for that coming up.....
Emily Merkel

07/09/2026

06/01/2026

Before the summer heat set in we said happy trails to Maggie. She's now in greener pastures. Between her unsteadiness, the melanomas, and age it was sadly time. Personally, she was one of my favorites - the rare lesson horse who can be kind and quiet but also super fancy when asked. She was originally with us as a boarder then we saw an ad for her years later and luckily snatched her right up. Her only quirk was you had to bribe her with one single peppermint to catch her.