Emily Merkel
Trainer
Emily Merkel is a CHA certified riding instructor and has been at Willowbend Farm for 15 years. Currently she co-coaches all 4 winter teams with Laura, teaches lessons, coaches at shows and events, and rides her horse Brownie as well as the other horses and ponies in the Willowbend family. She is a true horse person with no fear of a pitchfork or a 4am wake up call for a horse show.
Emily started riding almost 25 years ago at the age of 7. “I spent my first decade of riding at Loftmar Stables where I learned all of the basics of riding and horse care (my mom thought mucking stalls for lessons might deter me from wanting to make this into a career but she was wrong). In 1997 I switched to Willowbend Farm and life has never been that same. Laura encouraged me to become CHA certified and allowed me to begin teaching at summer camp.”
From there Emily went off to college at Boston University where she rode for their IHSA team with Holly Hill Stables and earned a B.A. is Biology. Additionally she has traveled to Australia where she was the assistant manager and trainer at a boarding stable in Perth. For the last decade Emily has been permanently back at Willowbend, teaching, coaching, and riding. Emily spends a great amount of time watching and learning from other riders and coaches, particularly Laura, and always is working to fine tune and enhance her skills and a rider and a coach. “I believe that understanding how your position and balance affects your horse is the key. It is all about simple physics. My goal for my students (and myself) is to be soft and balanced so they can form a positive working relationship with their horse. The point of riding is to learn to communicate with your horse and enjoy the results of that partnership.”
Emily’s students benefit from her experiences and insights. With her riding and scientific background she bring a lot of information into the ring with her. Willowbend is very lucky to have someone of Emily’s caliber onboard.
Emily was the runner up for Coach of the Year for the NCEL B League in 2011.Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.