Why Attend a Clinic ?Bill Dunigan
Many riders have asked this question over
years. Quite a number of them are self-taught. Likewise, many of them have also trained their own horses. This is a very common situation in horse world. However, more involved we become in competing, more assistance we need. The chances are that riders who are placing ahead of you have a coach, trainer, or instructor to work with or seek input from.
Look for instance at equestrian teams of any of countries competing in international competitions. All of these teams have coaches. The same thing is true of any of riding teams associated with schools everywhere. If you look at top competitors in your field competing as individuals, you will find they have a few select, trusted, and knowledgeable friends or family members who constantly give them feedback. This is in itself, a form of coaching. Today caliber of horses is so high and talent, knowledge and ability of riders is so superior, that if you are competing you need someone on ground.
Most of our friends or family are accustomed to seeing us ride a particular way or our horse going a certain way, and as a result may miss something that really needs to change. When we bring in a new set of eyes it’s interesting how these things suddenly get resolved. Also, most of us tend to hear only what we want to hear from people we already know. Don’t underestimate value of that outside opinion.
The clinician is there to help as much as possible in a short period of time. As a result of time constraints, they will tend to zero in on very specific areas. If you approach opportunity as a real learning experience, it’s amazing just how much you can come away with. I am not suggesting that a clinic will be a fix all event. Instead, it should give you a different perspective from which to view things. It should provide you with some additional ideas on how to resolve some of issues you may be encountering. Every clinician and clinic is both similar and different at same time. Each will have their own individual way of expressing themselves.
