CDS Adult Amateur Clinic - 2024

Recap from TEV rider Lorraine Heath ~ 

The clinic was great - thank you so much for sponsoring my attendance! The first day definitely didn't go as planned (my horse was initially unridable due to tension and anxiety) and Heidi did a great job of offering a different, and surprisingly effective approach to helping him such that we ended up with a really nice bit of ridden work at the end. The second day we actually were able to work on test components and made some solid progress. I also enjoyed interacting with the other clinic participants - one was able to suggest a different bit for my horse (who can be very challenging in the contact) that was a huge improvement and another offered a great visual for something I struggled with.

Here are the things I learned at the clinic:

1. Be open minded to trying different problem solving approaches - you might be able to rescue a ride that seemed unfixable!

2. Focusing on riding accurate figures will improve the horse's way of going naturally, rather than trying to individually adjust parts of the horse. 

3. Collected trot still needs to be forward-thinking.

4. If you find yourself crossing your hand across the neck, your reins are probably too long!

5. When turning the horse, turn the whole body (not just the head) - thinking about sitting/turning on a bar stool.

Thanks again,

Lorraine