Emily Sorensen

Background:  The beginning of a lifetime relationship between Emily and the sport of dressage began with the meeting of an 8 year old girl and an opinionated buckskin mare named Tally.  Tally was a school horse in the riding school at American Sporthorse, Alexsandra “Sandy” Howard’s training facility in Watsonville, CA.  Emily progressed though several horses available to her in the riding school as her riding skills became confident and effective.  Her show career began with a 20 year old Arabian named Kerazon.  After the first trip down the centerline, it was clear that Emily would be back for more.

At the age of 14, Emily’s family purchased their first horse, Cristiano.  “Cris” wasn’t yet 2 years old and his breeding seemed bizarre for dressage.  Cris’ sire is the Andalusian stallion, Indiano XVIII, and his dam was a Holsteiner/Thoroughbred, Christiana.  Emily was drawn to his temperament and willingness to try until he succeeded in whatever task he was presented with.  This faith in the awkward yearling has paid off.  Emily has done all of Cris’ training herself with the guidance of longtime trainer, Sandy Howard, and has brought him from a yearling in the pasture to now schooling Grand Prix at the age of 9.  Cris excels in the show ring, earning 8^th place nationally at Fourth Level in 2006, and finishing 2007 with an average score of 66.25% at Intermediare 1.

A highlight for Emily and Cris happened in 2007 when they competed against Sandy and her FEI horse, Rondo.  The test was I-1 and the result was a TIE!  Both Emily and Sandy received a 66.0%.  Emily also trains regularly with Tanya Vik. 

Emily’s young Dutch horse, Syrano, started  his show career in 2005 at First Level when Emily was still a in the Jr/YR division.  He gained the high score award in the First Level Team Championship at CDS Junior Championships, took fifth place in the 2007 Region 7 USDF Jr/YR division, and was 13^th place in the USDF national year end awards with a median score of 67.175%.  Syrano is now training at Third Level and Emily looks forward to showing him again in 2008.   

Philosophy of training:  “As the trainer of a dressage horse, I’m one piece of a vast network of professionals who all have the horse’s best interest at heart.  The farrier, the veterinarian, chiropractor, saddler, the rider, barn owner, and many other specialists all work to bring the horse to its full potential.  I am committed to approaching the training of horse and rider as a group effort. 

“In my role as a trainer, I surround myself with professionals for whom I have great respect and from whom I continue to gain immense knowledge.   My longtime trainer, Sandy Howard has introduced me to many of these dressage professionals.  In addition to Sandy, my most influential trainers have included Tanya Vik, Joan Bolton-Kress, and Mary Wanless.  Pieces from all of these professionals show up in my daily riding and teaching.

“When I ride a new horse, I first assess their physical development and prior training.  I have a strong background in biology and biomechanics that helps me pinpoint any areas that may be weak, or represent trouble spots for the horse.  Armed with an understanding of the horse’s current abilities, I then assess the rider and rider’s goals.

The rider’s purpose is to guide the horse to the best performance he can give for his current abilities.  The rider has to be very patient at times to allow the horse time to develop, just in the same way that the horse has patience for the developing rider.  In the successful dressage partnership, the boundary between horse and rider seems almost non-existent.  It’s my pleasure to be part of the network that brings a horse and rider to this feeling, be it for the pleasure of the sport, competitively, but hopefully for both.” 

We offer periodic clinics with outside trainers to provide our own trainers and clients with other training perspectives. Clinicians have included FEI "O" Judge Axel Steiner, US Equestrian Team Member Arlene “Tuny” Page and USDF Gold Medallist and "R" Judge Melonie Kessler. We frequently offer the use of our facility to the East Bay Chapter of the California Dressage Society for educational events. Please check our News and Events Page for upcoming clinics and other programs.