Name of Event: Pony Club Horsemanship Symposium
Date of Event: April 28th, 2000
Hosted By: HoofBeats Pony Club (c/o Jennifer Lee ponyclub@moonglitter.net)
Hosted At: Translucent GLitter
 
 
The day started off being a beautiful morning.  Everyone was up at TGEC and preparing for the clinitions to arrive, have their breakfasts and coffee served to them, and show them around the stables where all their clinics would be held.  The kids from TGEC attending the clinic had arrived between 7 to 7:30am in order to help with this.
 
Since the weather was bright and beautiful and the day would be in the higher seventies with a nice breeze it was determinded the mounted sessions would be held in the outdoor sand ring so everyone could enjoy the wonderful weather except for the cross country lesson which would, of course, be held on the cross country course.
 
At around 8am everyone from the other stables who had registered began showing up, Elizabeth, Kellie, and Ammity and the horse trailer from COF being the first people there.  Shortly after arrived Liza Teich and her horse from RRS, then the ECS crew came in two vehicles - the horse trailer and the car, and last but not least Abby and her horse.  It was a small turnout but having a total of 17 people made the day go alot easier and allowed everyone to get the most out of their sessions.
 
A full list of attendents included:
Ammity W. (COF)
Kelly W. (COF)
Liza Teich (RRS)
Abigail Davidson (ECS)
Amelia Davidson (ECS)
Megan Davidson (ECS)
Melanie Davidson (ECS)
Ellie Davidson (ECS)
Abby (*Unknown Stable)
Theresa Meohring** (TGEC)
Adrienne Lee** (TGEC)
Katie Dopheide** (TGEC)
Teri Moehring** (TGEC)
Philip Dopheide** (TGEC)
Jacklyn VanDasselarr** (TGEC)
Lindy Norris** (TGEC)
Robby Norris** (TGEC)
 
Upon registeration everyone was presented a map of TGEC, shown the places where clinics would be held, and given a brief overview of rules and expectations.  Once everyone had grabbed some juice and donuts they headed off towards their first session.
 
9am to 10:30am
 
Non-Resistence Training with Chris Irwin was probably one of the most interesting sessions to be held over the entire day.  The kids who attended (Liza Teich, Amelia Davidson, Adrienne Lee**, Teri Moehring**) commented that they learned alot into the way they used to handle horses and how they will in the future.  As all of them have either a current career working with younger horses or will probably be involved with some in the future they found it a very informative and educational lesson they are glad they didn't miss.
 
Jumping Courses to School Over with Beth Underhill attended by Kellie W., Abigail Davidson, Abby, Theresa Meohring** and Jacklyn VanDasselarr** , all aspiring top jumper riders, commented that this was a great session for learning out the way a horse jumps, and how to build a course to bring out the best in yours and your horse's training.  Beth gave the students a workbook to take home including some course patterns and exercises to try with their horses, starting with simple exercises and moving to more advanced schooling movements.
 
What the Equitation Judge Wants with George Morris gave an insightful look as to how the judge views everyones riding, and how they view themselves.  George brought with him a variety of clips of different riders and the group (Ammity W., Megan Davidson, Ellie Davidson, Lindy Norris**, Robby Norris**) got to assess each rider and then compare their assessments to George's.  After that was done they talked about what could improve the riding skills of the riders on the videotape and then George answered general questions as to everyones own personal riding problems concerning their position, etc.
 
Finding the Right Take Off with John Pearce was the first mounted clinic session of the day and had the following students attend:
Melanie Davidson, Katie Dopheide** and Philip Dopheide**.  It was a very short, yet straight-to-the-point, lesson at how to find your perfect take off point.  The kids said they learned alot.  Melanie, in particular, said that she believes the next course she goes out on she will view in with a different eye and be able to pick out the trouble spots easier and earlier when walking it.  And then beable to guide her horse through it much easier than before.  Katie, who rides a young mare, hopes that after this lesson she will be able to enter classes and get better results.  And Philip, he is primarily a dressage rider, but took this clinic so that he could get some more insight into jumping, in order to keep up his Pony Club levels.
 
10:45am to 12:15pm
 
The Confident Rider Pt. 1 with Vicki Wilson was probably one of the most favorite clinic sessions of the day.  Vicki, being no newcomer to Pony Club geared teaching, put on one of her best clinic sessions ever.  Everyone had alot of fun assessing their fears, skills and what they needed help with, and then Vicki went right to work explaining certain situations and having a group discussion. Ammity W., Kellie W., Abigail Davidson, Ellie Davidson and Katie Dopheide** all learned a bit of equestrian skills and alot of psychologial assessment of themselves, along with how to help each other.  Vicki left her session with an open end, hoping that all the students would returned in the afternoon for the second part of her clinic.
 
Teeth - A Vital Part of Your Horse with Val Crowe was one of the funniest sessions held.  Val began the session by bringing in her "infamous" horse skull, with a full set of teeth.  Each student was given a piece of paper and asked to write down what age they thought the horse was, how big they thought the horse was, what gender it was, as well as any teeth names they might know.  While they were doing this Val told the history of how people learned to tell the age of horses by their teeth.  Once everyone was done Val went around the room asking everyone their guesses. Megan Davidson had guessed that the horse was a 16-16.2hh stallion who was around 11 years of age.  Jacklyn VanDasselarr** had guessed that it was a 16.3hh mare who was around 7. Lindy Norris** had guessed that it was a 7 year old stallion who was 16.3hh (Jacklyn and Lindy confessed to sharing answers) and Robby Norris** guessed that it was a 18 year old stallion who was more than 16hh.  Val then told the kids that it was actually a 12 year old Belgian mare who had been 16.3hh-17hh.  She explained how people can tell the ages of a horse by their teeth, and after that she explained how to take care of your horse and his teeth including information about floating teeth and tooth problems in certain breeds. Val did all that with her normal sense of humour, so she had everyone in stitches the whole time (if you can believe it!)
 
Bill Bradley (Farrier) was joined by Melanie Davidson, Theresa Meohring**, Teri Moehring** for his session of The Horse and his Feet. Bill went over situations with the kids that was suited towards their level, that all had 'feet' as the underlying theme.  Most of his situations included why horses were lame, why they couldn't perform certain ways they were supposed to, why their conformation was bad, etc.  The students learned alot of info that will hopefully help them with their ratings this year.
 
Suppling Exercises on the Flat with Lendon Gray tuaght Liza Teich, Amelia Davidson, Adrienne Lee** and Philip Dopheide** how to warm up a horse the right and correct way, as well as keep them working the way a dressage judge wants to see them.  It showed them how to do beginner exercises to start with, and then Lendon taught them some more advanced ones to take home and practise.  Some of those horses had started the lesson out really stiff and by the time it was over you could already see that the exercises were helping them alot with their collection, impulsion as well as bending and flexing and working on the bit.
 
Lunchtime - during lunch, which hotdogs and hamburged were BBQ'd for everyone, there was a quick tour of the TGEC facilities.  Anyone who was interested attended and got to visit with the employees, boarders, show horses, stallions and the favorite of all...the foals.  At 12:30 the next clinic session began warming up and everyone was getting ready for their next session.
 
1:30am to 3:00pm
 
The Confident Rider Pt. 2 with Vicki Wilson was obviously the second part of her morning session.  She had a few student back from the first session and a few new ones.  Vicki went over the basics for the attending students (Kellie W., Ellie Davidson, Katie Dopheide**, Adrienne Lee**, Robby Norris**) and then continued right where she left off.  They assessed more personality profiles and did some roleplaying.  Then Vicki asked each student to fill out a card of their personal equestrian goals with relation to their confidence.  Then Vicki worked with the students on finding ways to fulfill those goals.
 
Understanding Jumper Rules with Christi McQuaker was attended by Abigail Davidson, Melanie Davidson and Philip Dopheide**.  This clinic session was rather short, ending a half hour sooner than expected, because Christi had to be off to a meeting somewhere, but nonetheless it was incredibly informative on the way show jumpers are judged and some of the main rules, along with the unwritten rules of the sport.
 
Building Cross Country Jumps with Ron Janssens (Carpenter and 3 Day Eventer) showed Liza Teich, Amelia Davidson, Teri Moehring** and Jacklyn VanDasselarr** how to get to work and build some fences of their own.  Some fences shown how to be built included shallow water ditches, tables, tire fences, as well as some ways to make each fence more collapsable and nonpermanent in case it needs to be moved or in case of accident.
 
Cross Country Confidence with James Atkinson helped Ammity W., Megan Davidson, Abby, Theresa Meohring** and Lindy Norris** ride a little bit more assertively on the cross country courses.  They were taken to the TGEC Cross Country course and shown a few different obstacles and plans of attack at getting over them.  There were no falls, and everyone came back bursting with energy about their wonderful day on the course!  James also extended the invitation to everyone that he would love to come back and do a free open clinic weekend at TGEC sometime in the next month or two, if anyone would like to come for this clinic please email Jennifer at pcijenniferl@mail.techplus..com (more information will be posted at a later date as well)
 
3:15pm to 4:45pm
 
How Good Is Your Balence? with Margie Goldstein explained to Amelia Davidson, Ammity W., Lindy Norris** and Robby Norris** why it is important to have a good position in all disciplines, primarily in show jumping and dressage.  Margie explained how our balence can affect our performances as well as the horses and how with just a simple position flaw we can cause bad results.  She explained things never to do, explained how tack plays a part in your balence and position, and also did some standing exercises to get everyone working "in balence".  At one point she even had everyone cantering around the room pretending they were horses!
 
Riding The Dressage Test with Lendon Gray was Lendons second clinic sesson of the day but she was as well prepared and energetic about this one as she was the last.  She worked with all the attendents (Abby, Megan Davidson, Philip Dopheide** and Adrienne Lee**) to get a positive outlook towards practising dressage tests all the way to riding them in the ring.  
 
Problem Solving For The Eventer with Kyle Carter provided yet another wonderful opportunity for the kids to act out and roleplay certain problems they may have on the course, and figure out ways to solve them.  They went form simple shying and bolting, refusing, accidents and falling on course to having a horse who has been severly injured, or heat stroke, as well as taking care of a horse throughout the whole three-day weekend and surviving the vet checks. Melanie Davidson, Theresa Meohring**, Teri Moehring** and Jacklyn VanDasselarr** all found this very intereesting and informative.
 
Gymnastics To Improve Jumpers with Ian Millar was another one of the most popular sessions.  Who wouldn't want a small group lesson with Ian Millar? Abigail Davidson, Ellie Davidson, Liza Teich, Kellie W. and Katie Dopheide** all got the wonderful chance to school with Ian Millar.  They began with a warmup series guided by Ian Millar and then moved quickly into jumping small practise fences, then doing gymnastic courses.  By the end of the lesson everyone was very tired but happy because they got one of the best lessons in their life.  Everyone gained good practical tools to use to get around jumper courses, make the turns and most importantly of all...put it all together to shave off seconds from their time...all just by practising fun, gymnastic course setups.
 

Thanks to everyone who attended! We hope you had fun and learned alot! 
-Jennifer
pcijenniferl@mail.techplus..com