About
Two decades inside the sport. Now applying the science.
Emma Edwardson is not an outsider looking in. She has lived the demands of elite equestrian sport — and now she has the academic framework to change it.
Emma Edwardson
Emma spent over two decades working throughout the levels of international showjumping — as a rider, groom and owner. She has worked alongside Grand Prix riders, managed teams at competitions, and navigated the relentless demands of life as a horse owner.
What she observed throughout that time was a persistent, largely unspoken crisis: talented, committed people burning out and leaving the sport. Not because they lacked passion or skill — but because the systems around them were failing them.
In 2019, Emma began her undergraduate degree studies in Sociology and Law, while simultaneously competing and grooming in multiple elite stables across North America. Now completing an MSc in Organizational Psychiatry & Psychology, she brings the rigour of behavioural science to the questions the equestrian world has long avoided addressing.
Her work sits at the intersection of two realms she's passionate about: psychology and showjumping. The result is consulting that is both evidence-based and immediately practical — because Emma knows exactly what it is like to clean stalls at 5am before a competition day, and finish with homework at 9pm.
Credentials
Education
MSc Candidate, Organizational Psychiatry & Psychology
King's College London
Industry Experience
20+ Years in Elite Equestrian Sport
Rider, Groom, Manager and Owner.
Specialisation
Showjumping & High-Performance Environments
From the Grassroots to the Olympics.
Focus Areas
Burnout, Turnover & Psychological Resilience
Evidence-based interventions for equestrian teams.
The Journey
Consistently between lessons and lecture halls.
First Steps in the Stable
Emma began her equestrian career as a horse obsessed little girl in a small town on Vancouver Island, Canada. By the time she was ten years old, she began travelling to the mainland to compete consistently.
A Competitive Junior Career
Emma began travelling extensively across the west coast of Canada and the USA competing between junior hunters and derbies, big equitation and 1.15-1.40m jumpers.
Recognizing the Pattern
Emma began working within several high-performance stables across North America, alongside teams of grooms and support staff on the biggest stages of international competition. Over the past 10 years, she's witnessed firsthand the psychological pressures that rarely are spoken about outside of performance psychology with riders.
Turning to the Science
Emma began her undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary in 2019, studying Sociology and Law. Simultaneously, she spent multiple winters in Florida working in elite stables, and summers spent between Thunderbird and Spruce Meadows, as a rider, groom and manager.
Bringing Science to the Stable
Now completing her MSc in Organizational Psychiatry & Psychology, Emma will begin to work with riders, grooms, and business owners to implement the structural and psychological changes that make elite performance sustainable.
"The equestrian world does not have a motivation problem. It has a systems problem, which can be fixed."
Emma Edwardson