Clinic Update

Clinic update in short:

- went well I think!
- I am exhausted
- Many of the horses are exhausted
- I do not work you guys nearly hard enough

Izzy jumped a course on Sunday, and I am going to try to jump her once and a while as she seemed to like it and I think it will improve her canter and her bravery.

The main thing I learnt was to keep her neck much straighter to keep her more balanced and focused. This required a much shorter rein and lots of leg! Interested how this concept is almost the opposite of how the Centered Riding Clinician wanted me to ride her, yet I got similar results with her wanting to use her back more.

For the jumping riders, he really wanted to see those horses "dressaged" in the corners and between jumps, and put jumps very close to both ends of the ring for some exercises, forcing riders to use the space. He also had riders go through the patterns with a very short canter to start with, to ensure control, before opening up to a jumping pace. Riding to jumps on a short canter means lots of work so they keep cantering, and means riders have to sit UP, and just follow the horse in the air, not give.

For riders who took the clinic, we will spend this week filtering through what you took away from the clinic. For riders who did not participate, we will work on some of the skills he worked on with the clinic.