Karmen Cook
Karmen Cook is a World Champion trainer, rider, and instructor with over 40 years of experience. Growing up riding bareback through the backcountry, racing the hills and through the forest cultivated her love of and partnership with horses. Her goal is to help others find and build a solid foundation that benefits not only the rider, but the horse as well.
With a strong dressage background that she uses in all training of horses and riders, Karmen adjusts her program for all disciplines. She believes the basics are fundamental, starting the horse with a solid foundation and progressing from there. Her goal is to build the horse up, not break the horse down.
Karmen finds it extremely important that the rider learns to truly feel and hear the horse. There is a strong focus on learning to read the horse, developing correct feel, and learning to safely and clearly communicate. She strives to build riders who can ride any horse while understanding that riding is about far more than simply getting on and directing.
Karmen has spent her life putting the horse's best interest first. She believes that when the horse is given a solid foundation and is listened to and understood, both horse and rider benefit. Her training emphasizes progressive development, self-carriage, correct horsemanship, trust and confidence building.
Karmen prefers to start riders bareback (or progress to) with an emphasis on having fun and learning together with the horse. Her foundation allows riders and horses to progress in the direction that best suits them.
Karmen took her horses to college with her and exchanged training for barn board. She leased a barn before purchasing her current farm property in the perfect close-in Silverton location. She has been training and teaching top award-winning students in 4-H, OHSET, and open circuits for over 30 years.
Emmersen Cook
Emmersen Cook is a versatile horsewoman with experience spanning competitive showing, training, ranch work, equine veterinary medicine, and backcountry horsemanship.
From a young age, Emmersen competed extensively in 4-H, earning numerous medallions and High Point awards. At the Marion County Fair, she earned High Point honors across a wide range of disciplines, including Intermediate and Senior Performance, Jumping, Ranch Horse, Reinsmanship, Driving, Combined Driving, and Training-Level Dressage. She also competed at the OHSET State Championships, where she earned a Reserve Performance High Point and over 30 Top Ten placings. She earned Performance High Point for the North Valley District for three years, with her senior year being canceled due to COVID, and medaled in nearly every event she competed in.
Her competitive career continued at the World level, where she earned a World Championship and Reserve World Championship, along with multiple Top Five placings, at a World horse show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She later competed as a walk-on athlete for Texas Christian University's NCAA Division I Equestrian Team, an opportunity that allowed her to further develop her skills in a highly competitive collegiate program. She was the first walk-on athlete in eight years. While riding for TCU, her school ranked #3 nationally and had a successful 9–1 season.
Beyond the show ring, Emmersen has pursued a wide range of hands-on equine experiences. She has led trail rides to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, worked as a wrangler in Yellowstone National Park, and handled horses in challenging backcountry environments, including encounters with wild bison. She has also driven Percheron teams while hauling authentic stagecoaches, adding unique experience in traditional driving and working-horse disciplines.
Emmersen has complemented her practical horsemanship with experience in equine veterinary medicine. She has worked as an Equine Veterinary Assistant at Reata Equine Hospital in Weatherford, Texas, gaining experience with high-end reining and cow horses, as well as at Bella Vista Equine Veterinary Services. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Science from Texas Christian University, with a minor in Human-Animal Relations, further developing her understanding of health, behavior, and the relationship between humans and animals.
At the core of Emmersen's horsemanship is the belief that to truly work with horses, you must first understand how horses think. She believes effective training begins with understanding the horse's perspective, learning to recognize their communication, and building trust rather than simply asking a horse to perform.
Today, Emmersen brings together her diverse competitive, veterinary, ranch, and backcountry experience to provide a well-rounded approach to horse training, riding, and horsemanship. Her goal is to develop confident, willing horses and capable riders through clear communication, consistency, and a strong understanding of the horse as a whole.