Meet Our Instructor

Emily McIntosh is a Grand Prix dressage rider and passionate instructor who blends classical principles with natural horsemanship, positive reinforcement, and creative trail obstacles. With over 20 years of experience, she helps both horses and riders build confidence, connection, and joy—one soft, thoughtful step at a time.

But just as fulfilling is watching students grow.

Whether it’s someone:

Gaining confidence in the saddle,
Deepening their bond with a tricky horse,
Trying something new (like bridleless or trail obstacles),
Or proudly earning their USDF Bronze Medal...

Guiding students through these journeys brings me so much joy. My goal is always to break learning down into clear, stress-free, achievable steps—so that progress feels fun, confidence builds naturally, and both horse and human look forward to their time together.

With over two decades of experience training horses, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside incredible mentors and a wide variety of breeds and personalities. Each horse has offered its own set of strengths, quirks, and lessons—and each one has helped shape me into the trainer and teacher I am today.

I’ve always been drawn to dressage—not just for its beauty, but for the feeling of true harmony, like dancing together with your horse. To me, the goal isn’t just precision, but a dance filled with freedom, pride, confidence, joy, and understanding. It’s one thing to ride a flashy horse filled with tension. It’s another entirely to ride a horse that’s relaxed, confident, and eager, saying:
“Yes! I know what you’re asking—watch me do it!”

While classical dressage gave me powerful tools for improving biomechanics, it was natural horsemanship that opened the door to understanding the horse’s mind. Working with sensitive, spooky, or shutdown horses led me to explore liberty work, bridleless riding, creative trail obstacles, and positive reinforcement (+R). Watching once-fearful horses transform into interactive, expressive, and even downright cuddly partners has been one of the great joys of my career.

Specialties:
* Building the horse’s confidence
* Young or green horses
* Spooky or tense horses
* Creating eagerness within the horse/ a horse that wants to do the job
* Building the rider’s confidence
* Breaking down complex problems into simple achievable steps
* Building the gaits of average moving horses
* Working with horses with less than ideal conformation (or temperament) and how to use their strengths to overcome their weaker features
* Musical Freestyles
* Coaching young riders

Learning to Dance

Trot transformation of a barefoot grade quarter horse in two years. No gimmicks or special shoes used. Just the gradual improvement of balance, strength, and understanding.

Overview of Accomplishments:

Grand Prix dressage rider

Many students earned High Point of shows and Year End Champions

A few of Emily’s young students accomplishments:
11 year old year end Champion for First Level
13 year old earned her Bronze medal
13 year old ranked 7th in the Nation for FEI Pony Riders Test

Trained a variety of breeds up the levels of dressage including: Arabian, TB, QH, Friesian, Dutch Harness, Saddlebred, Draft crosses, and more

Chose to build particularly tense spooky horses' confidence by competing in Equine Trail Sports

Won almost all classes
Qualified for Smokey Mountain Trail Challenge at the Southern Equine Expo
Became Champion and Reserve Champion

Two tempi's with balloons!!

2024 Showing Highlights

USDF Finals
* 5th in the Nation for First Level Freestyle on Toote de Szweet HP

Tryon USDF Show
* Won all classes entered at the show
* 78%, 77%, 77% at First level tests 2, 3 (winning above 2nd place by over 8% in every class) - Avatar HP's debut to showing dressage
* 71% at Second 3 on stallion - Azariah HP's debut to showing dressage
*64%, 61% at Grand Prix on Elijah HP

USDF Regionals
Region 2: KY, IN, IL, OH, MI, WI
* Reserve Champion in First level Freestyle Championship on Toote de Szweet HP
* 3rd place in First level Freestyle Championship on Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker HP
* 3rd place in Second Level Championship on Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker HP
* 4th in Third Level Freestyle Championship on Kibbitz HP
* 5th in First Level Championship on Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker HP

KDA USDF Show
* Second Level Champion at KDA show (Whiz's debut at 2nd level)
* First level Freestyle Champion on Toote
* 77% Highest score of the entire show on Toote
* 74% Third Level Freestyle Reserve Champion on Kibbitz

National Dressage Pony Cup
Small Horse and Pony Championship
Largest Dressage show in North America with over 1,300 rides
* 78% at 1st 3 Highest scoring ride of the entire show (not including Intro) on Toote de Szweet HP
* Small Horse Reserve Champion First Level Freestyle out of about 60 Freestyles on Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker HP
* 3rd place in Third Level Freestyle Championship classes on Kibbitz HP

National Rankings
*6th in the Nation for Musical Freestyle Challenge Award on Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker HP
*10th in the Nation for Adequan 4 year old Young Horse on Toote de Szweet HP
* 9th in Nation for First Level Musical Freestyle on Toote de Szweet HP

Whiz and Toote were started as 3 years olds by Emily and shown as 4 year old in 2024