By Jennifer DeMaro
Portraits by Nikki Duyn
In the world of horse trainers, there’s a special dream that many hold dear: for their family to share their passion and love for horses. Kim Norman and her daughter Emily have that bond, which resulted in a magical journey that took them all the way to the 2023 Pony Finals.
Along the way, Kim and Emily encountered special individuals who served as guardian angels, guiding and supporting. Kim, a trainer at a small barn in North Carolina, is the mother of four young riders and noticed early on that her daughter Emily possessed a natural affinity for horses. At the age of 4, Emily started her riding journey. “Emily took to riding quite naturally and has always loved being outside with the horses and doing chores,” Kim said.
At the age of 8, Emily started to get the attention of local judges and trainers. “They started commenting on her grit and determination. That’s when I knew I had a different type of trainer’s kid,” Kim said. Emily’s journey was fueled by both natural talent and her strong spirit in the face of challenges like alopecia, a hair-loss condition. Dealing with alopecia at such a young age could have been daunting, but Emily’s determination seems to have turned into a source of strength rather than a setback. Embracing the talents of her daughter, Kim kept providing opportunities for her daughter to flourish.
Pony Trip
Kim is always in pursuit of finding appropriate ponies and horses for her students and family. It was a trip to Wellington in 2022 that changed the trajectory of Emily’s riding career. “We were on a scouting trip for a pony for Emily’s best friend and had tried ponies all day to no avail. Someone who knew we were looking for a pony reached out and suggested we contact mother and daughter duo Monica and Maddie Rauschenbach,” Kim said.
The Rauschenbachs were able to help Kim and her student find the perfect pony lease. “While discussing the specifics of my student’s lease, I casually asked if they had a pony available for lease for a well deserving, hard-working kid,” Kim said. Monica, the mother of Maddie, understood completely what Kim was asking. Monica’s own hard-working daughter worked her way up through the ranks and is a rising star for U.S. show jumping. Maddie represented the U.S. in the FEI Jumping Junior Cup in 2018 held in China and participated in the 2021 USEF Horsemastership Training Series.
The casual ask about a lease for Emily turned into what dreams are made of. “It was easy to talk to Monica and Maddie, and it seemed all the stars had aligned,” Kim said. At the time, the Rauschenbachs had a pony named Sol, now named Future Investment, whom Maddie was working with. Sol, a 12.2-hand 4-year-old palomino Welsh/Quarter cross, had just been purchased from Hank Duyn, a well-known trainer out of Venice, Florida. Hank is known for starting horses and fixing problem horses.
Hank, like parents Kim and Monica, has passed down his passion for horses to his son, Cody. At the age of 10, Cody worked with Sol to transform him from feral to domesticated. His father instilled in him at an early age that kindness and patience is what gets the job done. Sol, now ready to become someone’s precious pony, found his way to the Rauschenbachs’ farm so they could continue to work with him before he found his own child rider.
An Amazing Gift
Sol’s purpose became clear the moment Kim asked Monica if she had a pony for Emily to lease. Sol came to mind, and the rest is history. Emily jumped at the opportunity to work with Sol, with the assistance of her mom, and Emily and Sol were a match made in heaven. Although Sol was on a lease to Kim, the Rauschenbachs decided to gift Sol to Emily—a gesture born out of a pay-it-forward sentiment that Monica and Maddie feel strongly about.
Kim and Emily were over the moon. “Honestly, I was blown away by the generosity and selfless gesture. In the few months we had Sol we fell in love, and Emily adored him,” Kim said. “It was such an unexpected opportunity to add Sol to our family.”
Emily’s determination and passion for riding took them all the way to Pony Finals in 2023. But they weren’t the only family excited about Emily and Sol qualifying. Cody and his mom, Nikki, packed up the car and drove all the way to Kentucky from Venice to see their once-feral pony be a competitor at Pony Finals. Emily and Sol’s adventure is far from over: Watch for them at Pony Finals 2024! They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in this case, it took three very accomplished young riders—Cody, Maddie and Emily—to raise a pony.
Photos by Nikki Duyn
