Emily Hamel is a five-star event rider, trainer, and coach whose career has been built around a simple philosophy: put the horse first.

A lifelong horsewoman, Emily grew up in Wisconsin riding, showing, teaching, and training before discovering eventing and setting her sights on the highest levels of the sport. Her career eventually brought her to Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm, where she spent several years developing horses and competing through the CCI3*-S level before launching Emily Hamel Eventing. Today, she operates from Good Fortunes Farm in Aiken, South Carolina, where she continues to develop both horses and riders.

Emily is best known for her extraordinary partnership with Corvett, affectionately known as “Barry.” Together, they have competed at the sport’s most demanding events around the world, including Kentucky, Maryland, Badminton, Burghley, Luhmühlen, and Pau. In 2025, Emily and Barry became the first North American horse-and-rider combination to complete all six Northern Hemisphere CCI5* events — an achievement that reflects not only athletic ability, but years of thoughtful training, careful management, and an exceptional partnership.

Throughout her career, Emily has remained deeply committed to the individual horse — understanding what each horse needs to feel, perform, recover, and stay sound over time. That approach has helped carry Barry through an unusually long and successful five-star career and continues to guide Emily as she develops the next generation of horses.

From producing young horses to competing internationally at the five-star level, Emily brings experience, patience, and a whole-horse approach to everything she does.