EMMA SMITH thought it was just another day of horseback riding as her parents drove the familiar roads toward the training barn. They were hauling a trailer and going to visit Dropback, the horse that they had been leasing for a couple of years, for a riding lesson.
“When we got there, there was a sign hanging around Dropback’s neck that said I owned him now,” Emma said, admitting that the surprise was an emotional one. “My mom and dad bought him for me last August. We did not have a lesson; we just got to take him home.”
Emma, a 12-year-old seventh grader at North Middle School, has been around horses her entire life. Her mother, Kaitlyn Smith, was raised on a farm and is a barrel racer. Her father, Rhett Smith, did not grow up on a farm, but has embraced the life. Even Emma’s 3-year-old twin sisters, Amelia and Nora, are already riding with assistance. When Emma was young, her mom would hold her up on the saddle in horse shows. She was riding independently by the age of 5. Emma was born to ride.
In fact, Emma and Dropback won High Point, the top overall award in their division, at their first 4-H show in 2023.
“It felt good because I started showing Dropback at the 4-H competitions in 2023; in that very first show that I had ever done in 4-H, we won the high point!” Emma said.
She and Dropback recently won the 4-H Regional and then State High Point Championship in the gaited division for the second consecutive year (2024-25). The gaited division showcases Dropback’s smooth gaits during flat walks and running walks. He is a Tennessee walking horse, known for its inherited square, four-beat gait with a gliding motion.
Emma said Dropback was 16 when her family bought him from his previous owner, Kimbrell Hines, so he was already trained. Cat Dye was Dropback and Emma’s original trainer, but they currently train with Fay Lynn Coffey. “I started riding Dropback with Cat Dye. And then Cat saw how much I was succeeding with. him, so she contacted Fayelynn and asked if she and I could get some lessons in.”
Another important mentor for Emma is her 4-H leader, Hunter Isbell. He encourages her to compete, helps her with paperwork for various events, and shows up to support her.
“He takes his personal time to come and watch me at these 4-H shows and all the other walking horse shows that I do with Dropback,” Emma said proudly.
Emma was invited to be a student judge in 4-H horse judging competitions. In these competitions, select students give marks for each presenter, and then licensed judges reveal their scores.
“The kid judges try to guess what the actual judges will score based on conformation and movement, and then whoever is closest to the judges’ placings gets points,” Emma said. “Being in 4-H has been a game-changer for me. It’s taught me to love challenges and work toward a goal and achieve it.”
These lessons are valuable for Emma, who takes full responsibility for Dropback’s daily care. Their bond shows in every interaction. “I ride him every day, feed him, clean his stall, give him baths and everything else he needs,” Emma said.
Emma said it’s Dropback’s quirky personality that makes him extra special. “He is hilarious. When we’re in the line-up for classes, he just sits there and flops his lip,” Emma giggled.” And every time we’re the last one in the arena, he knows that means we got first place, so he starts moving around and acting silly.”
Even bathtime becomes a show with Dropback. “He stands there just flopping that lip and smiling and drinking the water from the hose,” she said.
Emma and Dropback are such close companions that the trust between them is strong. She once jumped on him bareback with no halter or equipment.
“He just stood there and didn’t do anything, and just kept sniffing my feet and loving all over me,” Emma said.
Emma said Dropback has taught her patience and to know when he has had enough. He will start getting annoyed if the same drill is run too many times in a row. But most of the time, he is a good-natured horse.
The Smiths now own four horses: Dropback, Cookie, and Little Bit, who are barrel-racing horses, and Sunny, a yearling that Emma is training.
Kaitlyn Smith is understandably proud of her family’s legacy with horses.
“I’ve been involved in the horse world for a really long time,” she said, “And now here I am with all my girls doing the same thing!”
Emma plans to make this her lifelong passion as well.
“When I grow up, I want to be a horse chiropractor and a horse trainer,” Emma said. “My dream competition would be to ride Dropback around the Neyland football stadium in Knoxville, but you have to be in high school for that.”
She is well on her way to a successful career with a trusted friend, Dropback, ready to get her there. Emma said she is grateful for her friends and family, especially her parents and grandparents, and her trainer, Fay Lynn Coffey, for all of their support in her equestrian adventures. GN
