Emily Valerio, APF

From the day my life began I knew I was going to spend the rest of it with horses. I was always infatuated by their effortless beauty and the spiritual presence each and every horse offered. I started riding at a stable at the age of three and that’s where the dreams began. I begged and begged for a horse and finally convinced my parents that when my sister graduated high school we could start looking. On the day of her graduation my smile reached from ear to ear, not because she had just completed a milestone in her life but because I was finally going to get my very own horse. That’s when I met Chief – the inspiration to all my endeavors. I always had dreams of becoming a horse trainer but in 2012 natural hoof care practitioner, Geri White, gave a talk at a local horse club and I was instantly hooked. I began observing her work and traveling on the road with her in the summertime. By the age of 14 I had been accepted into the Equine Sciences Academy as their youngest student and began trimming my own horses with Geri’s guidance. I have always approached horse care and handling from a natural standpoint but when I graduated high school I wanted to get a taste of both worlds so I attended Centenary University. During my years there I was part of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and the Intercollegiate Dressage Association. I also worked at a myriad of barns including Centenary’s, and involved myself in as many equine activities as possible. I completed Centenary in three years graduating with a degree in Equine Studies in 2020. (Source)