Two decades ago Erin Shapiro Boatwright learned a very important lesson about show horses.

“You have to love your horse on bad days too,” she said.

Erin was just 11 when she got her first taste of competition at the Wayne County Fair in Ohio aboard an old Arabian named Flower.

“She would never trot in Showmanship but would trot way too fast in riding classes,” Erin recalled. “The first three times I fell off her I was trying to jump.”

But she persisted and loving her show horse has become much easier over the years as she discovered American Quarter Horses, started working with a trainer and progressed through the ranks. For the most part, she has always shown English.

“When my brother, Matt, was also showing, we both ran Barrels,” she recalled. “That was fun! I’ve had two western horses, but ultimately sold them so I could focus on my hunt seaters.”

As a Justin Rookie contender Erin trained with Barb Foster, who still lives in Dalton, Ohio.

“I ran into her a few years ago in Pennsylvania and it brought back so many wonderful memories,” she said. “Once I graduated into youth, I moved to Rick and Heidi Cecil and was with them into my Amateur career. With them was where I found my passion for futurity horses.”

Erin’s first “big time” show horse was GM Elegant Mac, a 1990 gray gelding by Mac Nificent and out of Majorette Bonita (TB).

“He was an AQHA World and Congress champion in Open and Youth Hunter Under Saddle,” she said. “I showed him in everything, from the Hunter events, to Horsemanship. I even placed in the Showmanship at the World Show, my proudest placing since I taught him the event.”

It was with GM Elegant Mac that Erin won her first Congress Championship in the Team Tournament Hunter Under Saddle in 1999.

In 2001 Erin purchased Art I Sweet, 1994 bay stallion by Artful Move and out of Joanne Woodward, and she showed him for several years and stood him to some outside mares.

“He was stunning to look at, and had some really nice babies that I showed after he stopped showing,” she said. “He’s now retired and living in wine country in Northern California. I visited with him last year and he is so happy and spoiled to death. It’s all I could ask to happen for all of my horses!”

And Erin has had the opportunity to ride some of the industry’s best – like Haul It Or Move Over, Arts Escapade, Distinctly Sweet and The Art Connection. She has been a Congress Champion and Reserve Champion in the 3-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle and placed several times in the Top 10 at the AQHA World Show.

The road to Erin’s show success took many twists and turns along the way and so has her professional life. After high school, she enrolled at Denison University in Granville, Ohio where she majored in Environmental Studies. From there she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Anthropology and a minor in Geology.

“I worked for a green-building company for a while, before I landed with a property management company in Atlanta, Georgia, where I became a director, and focused on energy efficiency of the residential and commercial properties, as well as staff training and development,” she said.

It was in Atlanta that Erin met Scott Boatwright in 2005 in her condo building.

“There were a bunch of young professionals that would socialize together,” she explained. “I tried to get rid of him a few times until I finally realized how much he pushed me to be a better person, and really was my better half. He proposed in Napa, California…and I almost blew the whole thing because I was so oblivious about what was about to happen.”

They were married in 2009 in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

“It as an awesome week with 50 of our closest friends and family,” she said. “It rained during our reception. The DJ packed up and left, and my brother had to step in with his iPod to keep the party going.”

From 2005 to 2012 Erin showed very little, focusing on her studies, her career and her new marriage. They lived in Dallas, Texas from 2009 to 2012 while Scott ran the west region of Arby’s and Erin worked from home for an Atlanta property management company. During that time, she rode a bit under the guidance of Beth Case and had the pleasure of showing Only In Showbiz in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress.

“After not showing for a few years he sure made it fun,” she said.

It was also during that time that she purchased The Wing Monn, a 2009 brown gelding by UK Mito Boss and out of Our Careless Miss.

In 2012 Erin and Scott moved back to Atlanta when Scott was promoted to vice president of operations for the Arby’s corporate office.

Erin wanted to have The Wing Monn close by so she could ride as much as possible. CT Quarter Horses in nearby Roberta, Georgia was the natural choice.

“I met Trish Yamber when I was living in Ohio. She and Carl were living in Pennsylvania,” Erin recalled. “Trish was like a celebrity to me. As a hunt seat rider, she was what I hoped to be. She rode so beautifully, and it didn’t hurt that she did her fair share of winning. Carl was always so friendly to me, I couldn’t help but enjoy them both.”

She has been training with them for the last five years and loves it. With CT Quarter Horses, she has been able to return to her true passion – showing futurity horses and has had the opportunity to show such decorated Hunter Under Saddle contenders as Skip The Formalities and Iron Out My Assets. In 2013, she won a National Snaffle Bit Association Breeders Championship Futurity Championship aboard the 2010 bay gelding by Good I Will Be and out of Formal Duty and that same year she returned to the AQHA World Show after a nearly 10-year hiatus with him to place 12th in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle

“Trish is one of the hardest working people I know,” Erin said. “She puts her heart and soul into getting her horses prepared and brings out the best in them.

As is often the case, Erin’s current show horse, Me And My Assets (Parker), came along when she was not necessarily looking. She remembers watching Allison Clark show the 2014 bay gelding by Allocate Your Assets and out of Lukecrative Endeavor, in a Show For The Dough class at last year’s Big A Circuit in Conyers, Georgia.

“I quickly realized how nice of a horse he was,” she recalled. “I mentioned something to Carl about how nice he was, but didn’t think anything of it. At the time, he wasn’t for sale.”

A few weeks later, at the NSBA World Show, Erin found out that Parker’s owner, Haley Hine, would consider selling him.

“I couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity to purchase him,” she said. “I remember trying him out in the practice pen and after a lap around a few of my friends came over to me and said I had to buy him. I already had a good feeling, but this helped to secure my decision.”

It was a pretty quick process – the sale transaction happened in the span of a few hours.

“The good ones don’t take much thought,” Erin said. “Haley and her mother were so sweet during the whole process and continue to be huge supporters of me and Parker.”

Parker already had a solid show record with a win in the Open 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle at The Little Futurity, a Reserve in the Show For The Dough Open 2-Year-Old and Top 10 placings in both Open and Non-Pro classes at the NSBA World Show.

“In my opinion Parker has all the gears,” Erin said. “He can trot and lope. He’s pretty and slow legged, with a great hock and pretty top line. He makes it look easy and is such a pleasure to watch.”

Just two months after completing the purchase Erin rode Me And My Assets to a fifth place in the Open Division of the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress and a sixth in the Limited Division. Yamber also placed fifth with him in the Open 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle.

“Parker is a really sweet guy. He just wants to do his job,” Erin said. “He’s truly one of the quietest futurity horses I’ve had in a long time. Showing him is also a blast, he is so honest in the show pen, and very expressive with his demeanor.”

Already this year, Me And My Assets placed fourth in the 3-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle at the Fun In The Sun Futurity with Yamber and fifth in the Non-Pro with Erin.

Additional plans for this year include the Tom Powers Futurity, Big A Circuit, NSBA World Show as well as the Congress and AQHA World Show.

“Like many others, I’m still chasing the coveted win at the world show,” Erin said. “I don’t know that I’d ever let myself stop without winning it at least once.”

But there will be challenges ahead.

Erin’s husband is currently in the middle of a huge career transition. He recently left his position with Arby’s Restaurant Group, based in Atlanta, and has just started a new role as Chief Restaurant Office at Chipotle Mexican Grill, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

“We are taking our time with the move, so he’s getting started with his new job while I’m buttoning up everything in Atlanta,” Erin explained.

And she’s trying to figure out her own career path.

A few years back Erin came to the realization that she did not want to manage properties for the rest of her life so she changed her whole direction. She returned to college and in 2016 earned a Master of Science degree in Health Science, concentrating in Nutrition. She passed the board test to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and, right out the gate, landed what she thinks is the coolest job.

“I’m an employee wellness dietitian and work at the Coca-Cola Company in downtown Atlanta,” she said.

“The amount of history this company has in Atlanta and globally is really cool to uncover. I work with associates one-on-one to focus on medical nutrition therapy for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, pregnancy, weight loss, vitamin deficiencies, sports nutrition and meal planning. It is a free service for associates, so we are trying to be as preventative as possible to promote better long-term health for the associate, and also save both them and the company money in long-term health care costs. It’s a newer field for dietitians to get into, and is an environment I enjoy.”

Erin is not sure yet what the move to Denver will mean for her career but one thing she knows for sure – she will continue her partnership with CT Quarter Horses from there.

Erin and Scott will also continue their volunteer work once they get to Denver.

“Scott is very philanthropic,” she said. “He sat on the board for the Arby’s Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the company. Starting from humble beginnings himself, Scott has a true calling for volunteerism and helping those who need it. We are also involved in Share Our Strength, a campaign that aims toward putting an end to childhood hunger. It’s a place where he and I share a passion, and it happens in Georgia and the rest of the United States more than it should. I have also been a volunteer with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and help create nutrition education materials.”

When she is not working, busy with philanthropic work or at a horse show, Erin enjoys traveling with Scott, spending time with Hazel, the labradoodle they adopted last year and vacationing with their extended families.

“Even though it’s uncertain where I will be living this summer, I’m excited to hit the shows with Carl, Trish and the rest of my horse show family,” Erin said. “Even when life is crazy it brings me comfort to see familiar faces and catch up with long-time friends.”