We were at horse headquarters to find out what it takes to make a champion. Mel talks with Emma Veros, 4H showman with Sonny’s man on the move “Cooper.” Emma says she is up at 5am everyday getting the stall cleaned, getting her horse ready and says it’s a lot of work other than just coming up and showing your horse but it is a lot of fun and definitely worth it. Emma just came off the show ring and tells us what she showcases with Cooper. She says it shows how well you and your horse work together on the ground. You go through a series of motions of trotting, pivoting, backing up and basically it shows how much partnership you and your horse have. She says a lot of people who are really good at it who are at the world shows in Oklahoma, where she just got back from, they could do it without a lead line if they wanted to. Emma says it’s really cool for her and it’s her favorite class just because of how much respect you and the horse have, and you have to have a partnership in order to be successful for it. Emma says she does practice without the lead line to make sure it is not just the chain that’s telling him to do his work but it is actually me and her body language making sure he responds off of her. She says another thing that helped her out a lot was she taught Cooper everything he knows when it comes to showmanship. She got the horse when he was four and they worked out together. Cooper was her first show horse and they learned together, and she says that really helped when it comes to just becoming a pair because they were learning together. When asked how many hours do you have to put in to actually train the horse for a show like this, she says she is usually at her barn every day, brushing riding, doing chores and she also works at the barn she is at and if she is not at the barn, she is usually riding six days a week. Emma says it’s countless hours, but it is definitely rewarding. Emma won the blue ribbon at the Erie County Fair.
For more information about the Erie County Fair visit ecfair.org
