|
The first day included lessons with five-gaited performance horses, adult three-gaited pleasure, and Morgan English pleasure. There were young walk-&-trotters as well as seasoned equitation riders who were able to perform their patterns for Stacy and come away with exercises to work on at home. Also in the mix of lessons were some very nice Morgan hunters and western pleasure horses. The lessons were nicely grouped with similar style riders and horses, and a "miked up" Stacy allowed the audience the enjoyment of hearing and seeing the requirements for each style of rider. The day ended with a driving lesson that began with tacking up the horse in harness and hooking it, before finishing with light jogging around the arena.
The evening “meet and greet” and Mexican dinner was loads of fun. Stacy brought lots of videos of world champion horses she has trained, providing the perfect backdrop during happy hour and dinner. She also brought some of her favorite books which have helped her students conquer show ring anxiety and reach higher goals. The question and answer portion of the evening was hilarious and very informative. Inquiries ranged from questions about gaited morgans to opinions on allowable walk-trot equipment in the show ring, but no question went unanswered.
Having benefitted from the first day's instruction, students who also participated on the second day were delighted with their improvement on Sunday. Stacy was also able to demonstrate the use of a bitting rig as a follow-up from the previous night's question and answer session. Using a Morgan pleasure driving horse provided by the association, Stacy sat in the cart with the previous day's driving student and illustrated firsthand the intricacies of piloting a pleasure driving horse.
Participants were treated to an expert grilled lunchby the AZ Morgan Horse Association, and Savvy Show Mom was on hand for some equestrian shopping choices. The clinic was great fun, and offered a super learning opportunity to get riders geared up for the upcoming show season, which begins with Carousel Charity Horse Show in March. Special thanks from Desert Palms to Stacy Hennessy and the AZ Morgan Horse Association for their efforts in putting on a great clinic!
-Story and photos courtesy of Sue McCullough Worsley
|
