Emma and I often talk together about this life path we currently share and the wonder of it. We feel blessed to have one another in what would otherwise frequently feel like a lonely, isolated journey for us individually.
Emma’s journey is to understand and follow an approach to horsemanship that is based on a strong spiritual relationship with her horses; a connection that employs no force, no restraints, no punishment, no physical or emotional pain for either horse or human. Emma’s desire is to rejoice in the innate beauty of this powerful equine shaman who can teach her the glory of relationship with animals and, therefore, with humans. Because traditional horsemanship and people in the horse industry typically endorse such activities as horseback riding, jumping, dressage, racing, polo, etc., and the incumbent force associated with these sports, Emma finds herself mostly alone in her equine pursuits. She must seek out and travel to the few mentors available who share and practice her horsemanship beliefs to help her grow in her relationship with her horses, Freedom (aka Saoirs – Seer-sha) and Emmy. She has been fortunate in this pursuit to find wonderfully spiritual teachers.
My journey is to be able to create and share meaningful stories through filmmaking. This comes at a time in my life when nearly all of my peers are looking upon retirement as the next phase of their lives. I am 60 years old. Shouldn’t I also be thinking about relaxing into my senior years? My role model was a mother who was still teaching piano when she died in a car accident at the age of 92 – really! As a result, I see at least 30 more years within which to pursue my bliss! So, about 18 months ago, I discovered the joy of storytelling through film in a video class at the Computer Career Institute at Johns Hopkins University. I created Crabtowne Productions http://www.crabtowne.com/ last year, and following the making of my first short film “My Friend Joan: A Conversation,” I began working with Emma on “Freedom’s Choice.” http://www.freedomschoicethemovie.com/ She and her horses are a joy to be around! I must, however, walk this new path without daily professional partners to support me. Everything I need to learn, I must seek out on my own. Like Emma, I have been blessed in finding what I need thus far, and along with Emma, we are moving forward in this new and exciting venture…together.
I grew up on a tobacco farm in North Carolina. We did not own horses, but animals were always a significant part of my life. I grew up with numerous dogs and cats and chickens and ducks, and currently own two dogs (Lizzie and Bubby) and two cats (Westley and Buttercup). In high school, I dated a boy who owned horses, and he would occassionally put me on his most gentle horse for a quick ride around the pasture. I also went on a trail ride in Yosimite National Park in the 1980s on a horse called “Lightening.” That was the extent of my “horse experience.” Nonetheless, and I don’t think this is an accident, I have owned two very large Carol Gregg horse prints for well over15 years - each given to me by a good friend and both currently hanging in my bedroom! (I don’t even think Emma knows this!)
Riding Farboy
She Walks with Horses
Perhaps the horses in these prints have been waiting all this time for me to realize my intended path! Last year, Emma wrote a paper for her coursework at Goddard College called “Horses and the Intuitive Draw.” I have certainly come to relate to her thesis as I have had the gift of filming these amazing animals. I feel such a spiritual peacefulness whenever I am in the presence of Freedom and Emmy.
When I read The Horses of Proud Spirit, http://www.horsesofproudspirit.com/ it was so easy to relate to the author Melanie Sue Bowles and her stories about how these horses came into her life. She began that path having never ridden a horse and really knowing almost nothing about caring for horses. Yet, it was her destiny, and she embraced it with joy and gratitude.
Emma and I are also joyful and grateful in our “Walks with Horses.”
A lot has happened since our last post here. For starters, Emma bought another horse in the early Spring. Her name is Emmy.
Great Big Teddy Bear!
She is a great BIG lovable sweetheart. Emmy and Freedom have become best of friends. I’ll let Emma tell you all about Emmy and her personality in one of her posts.
Emma moved Emmy, Freedom, and herself to a new home late this Spring in Southern Anne Arundel County. The horses have more room to play and Emma is living there on the farm with them so she can be with them all the time. They are all loving this beautiful new location.
After a very wet Spring, a very hot Summer, and numerous distractions, we are back to doing some actual filming for “Freedom’s Choice”. A couple of weeks ago we taped a “formal” interview with Emma that will serve in the storyline of “Freedom’s Choice”. Here are a few pictures taken while we were setting up.
When we first began capturing footage for “Freedom’s Choice,” I would show up at the barn with my cameras 4 or 5 days a week to shoot Emma as she led Freedom through the paces required to take her from a “green” horse to a “trained” horse. Typically, these training sessions could include grooming or batheing Freedom in the barn, working at Liberty with Freedom in the nearby pasture and in the round pen, or perhaps training Freedom to allow Emma to ride her. I was so impressed with Emma’s patient control of Freedom and the loving connection that was beginning to develop between the two of them as the training progressed.
Here’s some rough footage I took of them on November 5th, 2008.
A month later, some dramatic changes have occurred. Foremost, Emma has decided to experiment with a new horsemanship approach for Freedom based on the Nevzorov Haute Ecole philosophy. (See Emma’s post on Nevzorov Haute Ecole for more information.) Freedom has been moved to a more natural environment supporting the approach, and she now gets to choose whether or not she will join with Emma in this new adventure.
The following footage taken on December 6, 2008, just one month later, demonstrates Freedom’s ability to now make her own choices about engaging with humans.
As you can see, Freedom engages and disengages, eats, visits with neighbors, and takes a siesta – WHEN SHE CHOOSES. So Emma and I show up and wait for Freedom’s choice. The humans are not in charge!
(That’s Barbara Johnson Freedom is loving on, our wonderful photographer and friend.)
I am pleased to announce Crabtowne Productions has begun filming ”Freedom’s Choice”, a documentary featuring young horse trainer Emma Cruse and her 5-year-old Appaloosa mare, Freedom.
The footage is being shot in Freedom’s horse facilities in Annapolis, MD, the home of Crabtowne Productions and Emma.
Emma and I are both very excited about the topic this film will highlight…
The spiritual journey Emma and Freedom take as Emma begins to experiment with non-traditional horse training techniques
Emma has been trained in natural horsemanship over the past 18 months. She began training Freedom, still a green horse at age 5, in the Spring of 2008 following the natural horsemanship approach she had learned.
As the training progressed, she began to question ”making” Freedom do what she wanted her to do. Following attendance at a Nevzorov Haute School International Seminar in Montreal, Canada, Emma is considering radically changing her approach with Freedom. Could all aspects of the training now become
Freedom’s Choice?
Our film will follow Emma and Freedom’s new path and watch as they begin to embrace a spiritual relationship that may involve “no force, no restraints, no bits, no bridles, no spurs, and no punishment.”
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Oct 21 2009
