The 2016 spring Oreana clinic was three very full days. We had a very diverse group of students and horses. Students ranged from experienced riders with literally thousands of competitive miles to comparative beginner riders. The horses ranged from sensitive hot blooded horses to the extreme opposite; cold blooded lazy horses! There were a couple of features of this class that I found particularly interesting. This class was more than typically engaged with each other. They interacted with each other and with the clinicians in a very proactive way. I thought that was neat and several participants indicated that the group discussions and class time were especially helpful for them. Another trait was - working overtime! On Saturday morning I arrived at 7:15 and Ted was already working with a student and her horse.
Here are a few shots of morning class/discussion times.
Here Lynn and her horse get some one on one instruction on roundpenning, and several other students took advantage of the opportunity to observe and listen.
Practicing without the horses.
Participants worked in pairs for this phase of the clinic. We do this to prepare for several common scenarios that the students will encounter as we move through the exercises. More than one student has commented that this is an interesting and helpful exercise. I observe that it definitely highlights the importance of body language and the simple fact that it is our job to speak the horses language. It is also good fun, some folks can act a very convincing naughty horse!
Following are a few favorite shots of each participant.
Steph with her newest addition, an off the track Standarbred named Willie.
An 'exception' occurred at this clinic. We do not normally allow mules at clinics but special arrangements were made and Linda was able to follow along with her mule. Thus she was "somewhat part of but not entirely part of" the clinic. Matt made this possible by making himself available as a dedicated instructor for Linda for the duration.
Lynn White and Mike the Morgan
Sally Tarbet brought out her 'new girl'.
Debbie Grose, she brought the most auditors.
David joined us for a second clinic, these first two photos show an awesome student.
David was probably the participant who loved the cruising the most.
Carol Smith joined the group with her mustang.
Merri Melde, many time clinic observer, joined as a participant for this one.
Michele Unsworth, with us for her second clinic.
Kamelia worked so hard all weekend she almost forgot to have fun. Not quite, just almost!
Kamelia had a great support system with her. She was accompanied by her husband as helper and had three daughters along for the weekend too. One of the many nice things about the Teeter place is the family friendly environment. Everyone's welcome at the crick!
Ken Baker returned for his second clinic. This time he used our horse, Cowboy. Cowboy is a great match for Ken and he will soon become Ken's horse.
Carol and Pyrite
Beth Skaggs was an absolute pleasure to have. We are so glad she won the clinic spot given away at PNER convention! She dedicated two weekends in a row to studying (and practicing) horsemanship knowledge and skills. (She audited the Parma clinic and then participated in the Oreana clinic.)
Next post will be a true update on 'everything going on here' - there seems to be a lot!
~ Leni
