by Peter McNerney
“Getting back on the horse” is meant in the most literal way for Emma Hudelson in her debut book, Sky Watch. Hudelson weaves a narrative of her youth spent performing in horse shows and her time getting back on the horse and performing in horse shows as an adult. She anchors these personal experiences around the history of Sky Watch, a famous Saddlebred who took nine world champion titles.
Hudelson opens the book by talking about what got her reintroduced to Saddlebreds: a New Rider Special from a local barn. She reminisces fondly about her early memories participating in competitions supported by her mother and grandmother. Hudelson recalls how her grandmother supported her at every competition she could: “…She’d fly out from Texas to watch my shows, sitting ringside in a linen pantsuit, clapping and whispering ‘Good job’ every time I rode past.” From the highs of her childhood, she moves to the lows of her teenage years, telling a tale of her last horse and how depression led to her ultimately abandoning the sport until the New Rider Special. Her experience is a key part of the overall narrative helping the reader understand just how much Saddlebreds and the sport mean to her.
Sky Watch becomes her obsession, he further revives her passion for horses and horse shows. Hudelson captures the story of Sky Watch as told through the stories from his trainer and his owner. Not only does she create a picture of what it must have been like to watch him perform, she masterfully uses Sky Watch’s story to educate the reader on the finer points of show horse competitions and the community that supports and participates in them. She also takes the time to educate the reader on the state of the competition today: “At show after show, the big coliseums are empty, their rows of arena chairs left folded up. In a space that can see thousands, maybe only 50 seats are filled.” Through her chapters, she details a one-time behemoth of entertainment being brought low by slow decline.
In her writing about horse shows Hudelson also illustrates some of the unsavory aspects that could be turning people away from the sport. For example, she focuses on tail alterations – the practice of releasing the tail with a minor surgical procedure to make the tail arch and appear more attractive. She writes, “Pretty as they are, I wouldn’t mind seeing the tail alterations disappear entirely. They’re not as evil as they seem, but anything requiring this much explanation is more trouble than it’s worth.” Hudelson does not shy from addressing the problematic aspects of horse shows. She perfectly summarizes her view that even if certain practices aren’t illegal or necessarily harmful, they can still cause distaste from casual observers or people that don’t share the same passion for the sport. She makes the point that if the sport wishes to survive and revive its popularity it needs to change and let some of the more distasteful practices and traditions fall to the annals of history.
Hudelson uses this book to educate the reader not just about her life, but also her chosen sport. She looks at the relationship between working animals and humans and how our needs and interests have shifted over time. The book presents a unique combination of memoir and history braided together to form one narrative, presenting the reader with a story begging to be read.
Peter McNerney is a writer.
