Wellington Dressage Rider Emily Jackowski Ups Her Game

Emily Jackowski, of Millbrook, NY, does her winter training in Wellington, Florida. Every winter and spring, Emily and her horses travel south to train and prepare for the national competition season. This year, it was especially challenging and exciting for Emily as she planned to compete at the Young Rider level with her recently acquired Grand Prix horse from Spain named Toto.

She also has plans to compete her emerging 5-year-old horse Oh My in the national 5-year-old division.

Emily is a successful horse rider who loves the international and Olympic competition of Dressage.

“It’s a really interesting sport. It’s not something that’s easy to understand just by watching it,” Jackowski, who’s been active in equestrian sports since age 5, said. “But once you know how it works, it’s super interesting. It can be quite relaxing to see Dressage in action. The horse seems to gracefully dance and delicately trot, often in time to background music. The goal is to make the moves look as effortless and seamless as possible. It really is beautiful. It’s the partnership you create with the horse that’s special. It’s essentially dancing,” the young equestrian explained.

There’s so much more to Dressage than what meets the eye. It requires great skill by both rider and horse, and training for competitions can be very intense. Jackowski trains five to six days a week, usually two to three hours at a time. To rise up in the ranks, there are specific moves she has to practice, including tempi changes, an exercise in which flying changes of canter lead are put together. (THINK: Horse choreography!) And of course, doing a lot of lateral work and stretching is important, too.

In addition to Toto and Oh My, Jackowski has two other horses that are part of her Dressage team. “I try to keep my training varied, so I don’t drill movements all the time. It’s important to keep it interesting for the horse and make sure they’re not overworking,” she explained.

Jackowski’s main trainer Wes Dunham, from Woodstock Stables has trained many horses and riders from training level to International Competition. In addition to Wes, Emily was also trained by Courtney King-Dye, an accomplished US Olympic team rider and by Suzanne Hamilton-a USDF Gold Medalist Grand Prix competitor and USDF judge. Her goal this year is to bring both of her horses to the prestigious U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, held in Wayne, IL in August. Only the top US Dressage riders in the country are invited to compete for the national title and final 2024 ranking.

“It’s a great event. All of the top riders for the U.S. are there. You get to watch, not even just compete. It’s quite an amazing experience” she said.

Jackowski’s horses live and train at Woodstock Stables in Millbrook and during the months of January, February, March both she and her horses are in Wellington, Florida training and competing in preparation for the upcoming 2024 season. When they’re not competing, they relax, play, and just enjoy their down time.

Jackowski, who loves animals, stresses that it’s important to treat the horses with love, care and respect.

“We’re on equal terms. We’re teammates,” she said. “I treat them with respect, and some of the horses I ride have much more experience than I do. It’s almost like your horse is your mentor in a way. Even though they can’t speak, they can tell you things from how they’re behaving or how they’re reacting. Being aware of that is very important for the sport.”

Dressage has helped Jackowski in areas of her life outside of riding, as sports often do for young people. Motivation and care and respect for animals are just some of Jackowski’ s key take away lessons from Dressage.

“It’s taught me a lot about discipline and being compassionate,” she said. “It’s about sticking with something, the time and energy you put in to make something happen. It’s taught me a lot about animals, people and feelings.”

Jackowski has a deep connection with all of her horses. She recalled how sad she was about four years ago when one of her horses died. “It’s always very sad when something happens to them. Horses have a long lifespan, about 20-25 years. So, you expect to be with them for a long time. When they’re young and something happens to them, it’s especially sad,” she said.

In addition to riding her own horses, Emily has a select list of private client horses that she is trains for the Dressage season. She has also started her own P.E.M.F business where she treats client horses in the Millbrook area, Wellington area and at competition shows utilizing The Sport Innovation blanket, leg wraps and laser tools.

Emily plans on attending college and is leaning towards a business/pre-law degree. She will also further her Dressage career and continue to compete on a national level and eventually an international level.

Emily Jackowski can be reached at emilyjackowskidressage.com, find her @emilyjackowski_dressage on Instagram or email jackowskiemily36@gmail.com