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Tuesday, February 02 2016 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

Emily Keene’s Passion for Dressage

By Katie Navarra

Emily competing in a Prix St. Georges class in Parker, Colorado.

Emily competing in a Prix St. Georges class in Parker, Colorado.

Invisible communication between horse and rider takes years of practice. It may be the most important skill all riders, and especially dressage riders, strive to master.  “The communication in dressage is so subtle it feels psychic or ethereal,” said Emily Keene, a Santa Fe, New Mexico, dressage trainer.

It takes introspection, years of training and persistence to learn. Without a doubt, it takes hours of practice in the saddle and Emily has found that tango dance and Bikram Yoga, two activities that require similar skills, help her in and out of the saddle. “Both dressage and tango are about subtle communication that’s mystical when you get good,” she noted.

Inconspicuous communication isn’t the only similarity between the equestrian discipline and the sensuous Argentine dance. “It’s also fun to note the similarity in footwear. Expensive, beautiful and torturous to break in,” she laughed.

Yoga, too, is like dressage, only without the partner element. “Yoga takes determination, persistence, patience and focus. You have to work on where you are, not where you wish you were,” she said.

She’s learned it’s important to have interests other than horses.

“I want to love this for the rest of my life so I have to give myself personal time. It prevents burnout and makes me better at what I do,” she said.

Emily has found that dancing the tango has many similarities to dressage.

Emily has found that dancing the tango has many similarities to dressage.

Lifelong Love Affair
Before Emily was 5 years old, she was enamored with horses. “My favorite pastime was making believe I was a trainer. I had a stable full of imaginary horses that I rode and worked with,” she said.

Her parents enrolled her in riding lessons at the ATA Riding School in Draper, Utah. Within the first two months, she started working at the barn. “I stayed on at that barn for many years, and started teaching and training there,” she reminisced.

As a teenager, Emily led trail rides for the stable, which is located at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. “I learned so much about how to keep people safe and manage herd dynamics. You don’t have a lot of control when you’re a guide, but you have to keep everyone safe and hopefully they’re having fun as well,” she said.

Leading a group of riders up into the mountains, Emily quickly learned to match the right person with the right horse. She experienced how quickly things can go wrong and developed an appreciation for preventive action and minimizing risk.

“I learned so much about how truly valuable horses are in the human experience while guiding and teaching people from many walks of life using the most generous horses. I didn’t learn to show until I was in my 20s, but I gained something in those early years that was far more precious,” she said.

Not only did she become a skilled instructor, she discovered an intuition for understanding each horse’s personality and finding what it takes to help each horse achieve his fullest potential. She appreciates the ability within each horse, even those not necessarily bred for dressage.

With patience, she’s been able to train the most unlikely candidates for the discipline, including Domino, a Thoroughbred/Tennessee Walking Horse cross who spent much of his life on a ranch in Montana and was used in a few beginner lessons. He came to Emily when he was 21 years old. “When he came to me, he really couldn’t walk, trot or canter because he didn’t have a real trot,” she explained.

Instead of holding a true trot, he would fall out of the gait into a lateral “walk.” Aside from needing some training, he also needed some TLC. “His feet were super long, he was totally swaybacked and ewe-necked,” she said.

Starting slowly, Emily began a training and conditioning program that allowed him to stay in training until he was 25. Within those few years, the pair was schooling 4th Level movements. “I’m most proud of him because he’s not a poster child for dressage,” she said.

At 25, he was given a two-year break. When Emily rode him again at 27, he was eager to get back to work. “He was glowing with happiness and pride to have me back,” she said.

Emily Keene and Duke

Emily Keene and Duke

Dressage, Discipline of Choice
Over the past 28 years, Emily has taught western, jumping and dressage. She’s had an opportunity to participate in competitive trail riding, endurance racing and hunter events. Through her experiences in diverse disciplines, she’s found an appreciation for the specific skills needed to succeed. But dressage has long been her favorite discipline.

“I love the lines of dressage — the grace, the power. I love the poetic aspect of it, the roundness, suppleness. I love that horses love it; it’s so touching when a horse starts to try so hard, because they love it too,” she said.

Not only is dressage beautiful to ride and watch, she believes it’s a discipline that makes horses feel good. “I think they enjoy the gymnastic and restorative nature of dressage. I find that they get a lot of personal empowerment and joy from it,” she said.

Her dressage career has spanned 21 years. During that time, she’s found success in the competitive arena with the riders she’s coached and the horses she’s trained. She schools all the Grand Prix movements and has shown to PSG (recognized) and I-1 (schooling).

She’s earned her USDF bronze and silver medals and the USDF Horse of the Year, 4th Level aboard Index, a Trakehner gelding.

She’s also collected multiple regional and state championships and reserve championships across New Mexico. Currently, she’s focused on adding a USDF gold medal to her list of accomplishments.

In addition to her competitive accomplishments, she takes pride in watching her students evolve from beginners to well-polished equestrians.

“I’m proud to take riders through the progression from very specific, overt body changes like put your leg here, through to when the conversation starts to sound more like instructions for the horse: ask him to come more up, or bend right and then finally to instructions that border on esoteric: hold the space for him and let him do it or tell him he has room within the aids,” she said.

Taken out of context, those instructions don’t mean much, but when there is a deep enough foundation, they make perfect sense.

“I get such a thrill from that level of communication, when I feel the rider get it and see the horse get it … it’s such a magical experience,” she concluded.

Visit www.keenedressage.com.

 

About the writer: Katie Navarra has worked as a freelance writer since 2001. She’s been a lifelong horse lover and competes in ranch horse events with her dun Quarter Horse mare.

Photos courtesy of Emily Keene

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Tagged under: dressage, emily keene, New Mexico, santa fe

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The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

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We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on o We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on our socials where we share some of the lovely stallions, and their breeders featured in each month's magazine. Our first feature on this #STUDSunday is...

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You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

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