By Luke Graham

Emily Kitching

Emily Kitching ('97) wasted little time in making a career out of what she loves to do.

"My personal and professional life are inextricably linked," said Kitching, owner and president of Eclectic Horseman Communications Inc. "The horsemanship clinics that I ride in to improve my horsemanship are the same ones that I cover for the publication."

While at the School, Kitching volunteered at Winsor Publishing in Louisville, stuffing envelopes and doing some free-lance writing.

Before she graduated, Winsor offered her a position as editor of one of their horsemanship newsletters, The Trail Less Traveled.

After she worked there for four years, the owner decided to take the newsletter in a different direction. Kitching was at a crossroads.

Upon discussing her options with several friends, she made a bold move.

"Deciding that I had much to lose by staying and much more to gain by leaving, I started my own communications company consisting of a bimonthly horsemanship magazine, a large Web presence including a mercantile that sells educational books and videos, and a marketing service for like-minded horsemen, building Web sites and other promotional materials," Kitching said.

She launched her new business in September 2001, admitting that it was so difficult that she said she had to get another job teaching riding lessons and mucking stalls.

"During the first two years, I worked for no pay," she said.

She reiterated that getting her own business up and running was a tough proposition.

"The most difficult parts of my job come from being a start-up business in one of the most difficult areas to start a business," she said.

"It's hard to grow on a limited budget, and we have had to be very creative along the way."

Eclectic Horseman is now in its fourth year of publication and has a loyal and appreciative audience, Kitching said, adding that she likes being around people she enjoys and admires.

Because she has always loved horses and horsemanship, she said the job is fun and easy.

"It is my job to learn more about the very thing that I am most passionate about," she said. "My readers know that I am in the same boat as them as far as working at becoming a better horseman, and they appreciate that I am not only a journalist but a participant."

Kitching lives with her husband, Steve Ball, a 1992 CU Communication graduate, in Elbert with their dog and cat and, of course, a horse. emily@eclectic-horseman.com