Endurance Riding

Ali Aahed Albaker

Ali Aahed Albaker - Qatar Endurance Rider / Ali Aahed Albaker & Dorian Dahar
Eventers For Sale UKEventers For Sale UK


Getting the Most from a Reining Clinic

Soon spring will arrive and we will all be signing up for Reining or Horsemanship clinics to improve ourselves and our horses. To get the most bang for your buck, it`ll pay to be prepared. Most western clinicians have a fairly set program that they follow when they teach their clinics. However, there is always room for variations and time to deal with your specific needs. This is your time, you`ve paid for it, so be prepared to learn as much as you can during the experience.

Have clear expectations in mind ... What do you hope to gain from the clinic? What areas or issues do you want to work on? Let the clinician know your desires.

Be open minded ... Now that you have expressed your needs, allow the clinician to teach you how they would deal with your situation.

You may need to take baby steps ... If you want to work on slides but your horse won`t stop, from the walk, to the word WHOA ... then you are going to have to spend your time on teaching your horse what WHOA means. If you want to work on flying lead changes but your horse won`t stay soft in the bridle or move off the leg ... then you are going to have to spend your time on bridle softening and leg yielding.

If you have no idea what you want or need to work on ... that`s just fine, the clinician will pick a focus for you, one that they feel is your necessary next step.

Question, Question? ... if you don`t understand, then keep asking for clarification. The teachers message is useless if you can`t use it. There are no silly questions !

If you are in a group session, then get what`s due to you. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, so don`t let others sneak in on your time and also be aware not to hog extra time for yourself.

Spectators are usually allowed to audit sessions for a small fee. This does not give them the right to ask lots of questions and take away your instructors time from you. Be assertive in these cases.

Both you and your horse need to be fit and ready to ride for several hours. A sore butt or sore backed horse won`t be any fun on day 2.

Plan to be there all weekend ... here`s where you get the full benefit of a clinic. You will learn so much watching others problems and how the clinician deals with them. If you have the chance to watch the clinic`s early sessions, you will learn the clinicians philosophies and you may even see your questions dealt with ... now you can use your time to work on the other issues that you wanted to ask about. Use lunch breaks to ask the clinician questions, sure they need a break but no one ever gives them one anyway, so get in there and ask your questions.

Bring a note book or tape recorder so that you can remember all that

you`ve learned. I know that we think that we will remember it all, but trust me on this one, if you don`t write it down ... you`ll forget. Ask first before you use video tape, as some clinicians have their own video tapes for sale, and prefer that you don`t record their sessions.

Have fun! Socialize with everyone, and find out all you can about how other people have overcome their issues and then progressed with their horses.



Ali Aahed Albaker