What is a successful training session?
1 It can help you to evaluate a clinician if you have an understanding of how a lesson should be structured. There is a clear beginning, middle and ending to a lesson. The horse should be correctly worked in. Every horse and rider needs time to warm up before starting into serious work. The clinician takes into account things like the level of fitness and ability of the horse and rider, the ground conditions, and whether the weather is very hot or cold.
2. The rider should have an opportunity to say what they are doing and what their goals are. After assessing the way they work in, and listening to the rider, the clinician should explain what they propose to work on and why. You should feel that the clinician is attentive, positive and progressive during the lesson.
3. If the clinician does ride, it should not be for too long. He or she may decide to ride, if they need to get a better feel of what the horse is doing, or the rider is having a problem with a specific exercise. It is not an opportunity to show off, but rather to demonstrate an exercise and put the rider back on their horse, to continue developing their feel and ability to ride their horse.
I once took a lovely show horse to a jumping lesson. The clinician asked to ride him and then spent twenty-five minutes riding him around! He finally got off saying he was the loveliest horse he had ever ridden with a great walk, trot and canter. Our lesson time was over! I had not jumped. I knew the horse was a great horse, but was no further forward with my goals.
4. In an effective training session, the exercises and any problems that occur are dealt with in a positive way. If the riders goals and aspirations are unsafe or detrimental to their horse, the clinician should guide the rider into a better lesson plan. At no time should he or she intimidate the rider either verbally or with unsuitable exercises.
5. The horse should be rewarded for good work. There should be several rests in the session depending on the fitness of the horse and rider, and the weather conditions. If the rider is struggling with an exercise watch how the clinician deals with the problem. There should be a re-cap at the end of the session with the horse and rider looking relaxed and confident. Good progressive training in every session and at any level is made in small steps.
6. Occasionally you will see a clinician teach exactly the same lesson all day. This is not a clinician who you should spend time or money with. Clinic rides can be expensive and clinicians should give of their best to each and every individual lesson, irrespective of the standard.
I have seen clinicians start the day with a specific grid and work every rider and horse through the same exercise. You need to make sure the clinician is able to use a variety of exercises to suit the horses they are working with - or at least use exercises that suit you and your horse! 7. Some clinicians will play to the audience at the expense of the rider or horse. This is not fair on the rider who has made an effort to come and is paying the clinician for training. When a rider becomes tense and frustrated because of the clinicians attitude or the exercises used the rider will deteriorate.
At a teaching demonstration, one clinician was working with a group of riders on how to ride a jump-off turn. There was a teenage boy riding a hot chestnut mare who was unable to make the turn. The clinician continued to berate him in front of the audience. The teenager got extremely embarrassed and frustrated, which resulted in him getting progressively worse. He was unable to do the exercise. The horse became more and more frightened and resistant.
8. If the clinician is working in groups, everyone should get the same amount of attention. Sometimes a clinician will spend all their time with the strongest or the weakest member of the group.
9. Finally for me the clinician has to have a sense of humor. It is important to remember that riding is fun. We ride for pleasure at any level, and if we are not able to relax, we will not ride as well. Tension has a detrimental effect on the riders performance whether in the show ring or riding at home. I personally need to feel that the clinician wants the best for me, and is not interested in a quick fix it that could harm the horse I am riding. I need to feel that the clinician is fully occupied and interested in helping me achieve my goals.
One of the best trainers I ever rode with helped me with a horse who I had bred myself and had very little courage jumping. He progressively worked the horse through a variety of courses. There were no complicated distances, just simple straightforward exercises. The horse gradually became more confident, and went on to jump clear stadium rounds. All this trainers pupils would go for a short hack prior to their lesson. This allowed the rider to mentally and physically relax which in turn allows the horse to mentally and physically relax, and so be ready to work. He was also very particular about the quality of how the riders warmed up, paying great detail to how to ride poles on the ground. His results spoke for themselves. His clients were safe and happy and consequently successful.
Another trainer I rode with kept saying, I will show you a trick. I did not want to know a trick; I wanted to work towards having a horse move in a classically correct way. That trainers terminology put me off before we even got started. He did not give me time to work-in, before we got into the tricks. This type of trainer is not what I think is wanted for the future of riding.
Ask yourself: Do you feel you and your horse would improve with this clinician? If the answer is YES go, learn and have fun.
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