Denny Emerson to Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

On Thursday, February 28, 2019, TSB author Denny Emerson will be inducted into the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo Hall of Fame, during their first annual induction ceremony, taking place at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. Other 2019 inductees include Julie Goodnight Horsemanship, Meredith Hodges, Pat Parelli Ranch, Richard Shrake, and Dr. Robert Miller.

“I spent lots of time in Colorado, off and on, during the years that my son, Rett, was a student at Colorado State University, and during the several years he stayed in Ft Collins, working, after graduation,” ” says Emerson. “I taught numerous clinics in Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, and developed a great appreciation for the quality of the horses and horsemanship in those western states.

“Some of my all time favorite horses were Epic Win, a Colorado-bred, Foxed Again, a Wyoming-bred,  King Oscar, another Wyoming-bred, and Jetting West, a Montana-bred. So to be honored in a part of the United States so noted for its tremendous riding and horse breeding traditions is a special privilege.”

Tickets for the induction ceremony are $25 and available HERE. (Pre-registration is required to guarantee entry.) In addition to the presentation of the awards, attendees will enjoy individual spotlights and stories of the inductees, and a chance to ask a question of a Hall-of-Famer! (Questions can be submitted in advance online: CLICK HERE.)

Details:

Thursday, February 28, 2019
Reception @ 6 pm
Awards Program @ 6:45
National Western Stock Show Complex, 4655 Humboldt Street, Denver, Colorado

On Friday, March 1, 2019, Emerson will be on the grounds at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo, signing copies of his new book KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER at The Right Horse truck and trailer located at the front entrance next to the Colorado State University booth. Come meet Emerson from 1:30-2:30 pm! 40% of proceeds from the sale of his book on Friday will go to support the Colorado Unwanted Horse Alliance.

KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER is Emerson’s second bestselling book, and has been called “invaluable” by Bernie Traurig, President and founder of EquestrianCoach.com, and “a treasure”by Charlotte Kneeland, Executive Director of The American Riding Instructors Association.

For more information about the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo and its 1st Annual Hall of Fame Awards and Reception, CLICK HERE.

For more information about The Right Horse and their mission to promote horse adoption, CLICK HERE.

For more information about KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER by Denny Emerson, CLICK HERE.

Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and videos, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont. 

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Is Your Horse the Love of Your Life, but Completely Wrong for You?

Photo by Heidi Osgood-Metcalf

In his newest book KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER, horseman, Tevis-Cup-Buckle-winner, and gold medalist in eventing Denny Emerson examines the question of whether or not you keep the horse that is the love of your life…but is completely wrong for you. Read on:

Hesnogoodbutilovehimsoicantgetridofhim

If your mental machete is sharp enough to hack through the verbiage of this heading, you can probably also understand and maybe even empathize with the dilemma it implies. Most of us have found ourselves possessed of or possessed by the wrong horse. Wrong for any of a thousand valid and invalid reasons: too hot to ride, too unsound, too poor a mover, too limited over a fence, too unpleasant in the barn, too old, too young, too big, too small—too unsuitable for what we actually need to have.

The Unsuitability Game

Sometimes the unsuitability has come in the flash of an eye. He hobbles in from the field one morning with a non-life-threatening but athletic-career-ending injury. Or, as with incipient navicular disease, it has been sneaking up, month by month. Or we’ve had one too many spin-and-fall-off episodes. Or too many refusals at too many events or shows. Whatever and however the cause or reason, deep down we know that this is not the horse that can take us to places we want to go.

Now What?

If the horse is a pet, and you don’t care if you actually ride or not, and if the unsuitability only renders the horse unfit for riding, you can just keep on keeping on. Or if you are rich enough to turn him into a pasture ornament and still get one or more other horses that you can ride, you are also just fine. You aren’t the person I’m addressing.

But what if you do love to ride, don’t have extra cash under your mattress, can’t successfully ride this one, but can’t bear to part with him? This is a real dilemma that thousands of riders face every day and there’s no easy, one-size-fits-all answer. In the case of long-term unsoundness, there’s the euthanasia issue. In the “old days,” when horses were utilitarian and there was little cash for luxuries, this was done all the time out of sheer economic necessity.

Hard Answers

I know lots of people who basically look at the issue like this: This horse is lame. It’s not a question of whether he will be put down, but when. If I can’t give him away, and can’t afford to keep him and another, then now is better than later since it’s unavoidable anyway, and just a matter of when. For those who aren’t able to face this, I guess they just have to stop riding while they wait for the horse to get old enough to die.

There are plenty of sound horses, though, but wrong for other reasons, like some I mentioned. Just because a horse might be a bad jumper or not have a fancy enough trot to make it in dressage might not mean he can’t make a nice trail or pleasure horse. The rider has to choose. “Do I want a horse that’s a round peg that I’m trying to force into the square hole, or would he be happier in a more fitting job, and would I be happier with one that seems suited to my ambitions?”

The One Key

There is one key in all of this. The right choice has to be your choice. You  are not a bad person if you put down a lame horse now rather than four years from now, unless you think you are. You don’t have to be well mounted, but you probably should be if your main aim is to get ahead in your riding.

So, look at the horse you have. Look at your real goals. Then decide a best course of action. Or not. (Since putting this off is what you’ve been doing anyway!)

KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER by Denny Emerson is available from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.

CLICK HERE for more information or to order.

Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont. 

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