A Texas-sized "Thank you" and a tiny little brag......

[ESG]

The Texas sized thanks go to all who participated in the Whit Watkins clinic this weekend. Without exception, all of the riders arrived on time, rode beautifully on well behaved horses, and made my first clinic experience wonderful. inca, flshgordon, jackalini, sabby, kb, rebeginner and texang73 were among those I had the pleasure of hosting. Thanks again, y'all. :cool:

Special thanks to STF for helping me plan, to Sonesta for helping Whit's message be heard, to my barn help, (newly christened "St. Katherine of the Pitchfork" :lol: ), and most of all, to my incredible husband Mark, who worked even harder than I did to make this weekend a success.

And yes, we'll do it again soon. Maybe May? ;)

And a tiny little brag on my youngster in training. "Macarro de Teodoro", a coming-5 year old Andalusian stallion, owned by Fay Lewis of Bellville, enchanted his first audiences this weekend. "Mac" did himself proud by not acting studly. Well, except during our lesson with the enchanting Luna, owned and ridden by flshgordon. Luna's charms proved too much for the manly man to be perfectly behaved, but he did manage to restrict himself to a few whinnies and one rather pointed display of his regard. :winkgrin: But the clinician was impressed with the boy in general, as was I. It's always good to know that you're on the right track.

Thanks again, y'all. You made this clinic virgin believe that she'll do it again. :D

[SGray]

good on ya for taking the plunge and putting on the clinic - glad it went well for all

[claire]

ESG,

Looking forward to a clinic report when you (or one of the other riders) get a minute! :cool:

And I see the Dressage Fairy has finally decided to pay you a call! :winkgrin:
A studly Andy no less!

[ESG]

Yep, we were blessed with a stellar clinician and perfect weather. Too much to ask for a repeat for next time, but I will, anyway. :D

And yes, the Andy is wonderful. A typical 4 year old stud in a lot of ways, but sooooo much more mellow. A work ethic to die for, and as intelligent and trainable a horse as I've ever thrown a leg over. In short, a trainer's dream.

Pictures will be available at www.slrpix.com (http://www.slrpix.com), rather soon.

[texang73]

I should say thanks to ESG who allowed me to ride her horse Bari, :D for both days, since my guy decided to come up abit lame days before the clinic! :rolleyes: Isn't that always the way?

Though on a new/unknown horse, I was able to learn a few things from Whit things I can use on my horse.

Thanks for your hospitality ESG!!

[STF]

First, Im very sad I could not be there. But family comes first. My mother is out of the hosptial now and phenomia under control, thank God.

Second, I did very little Beth, you did it all. I only "introduced" you to her.

I had the FBM (FatBlackMare) fit and ready for the clinic too. Maybe even a bit to fit as she was spooking at the hidden ghost in the round bale in riding by the hay the other day. :lol:

Hopefully I can make it next time.

[Kairoshorses]

I love riding with Whit, and if you let me know about when/where the next one is, I'd love to be a part of it if my schedule allows. Glad you had a good time!

[HalfPassGal]

Hello everyone. I was the photographer at the clinic. Just checking in to let those interested know that the photos from the clinic are up and available for viewing.

http://www.slrpix.com/
Under proofs. Whit Watkins Clinic.

If I got anyone's name wrong I apologize. I was matching to the releases.

It was really nice to meet everyone and get to photograph some lovely horses.

[Kathy Johnson]

I love the pictures of Mac (and Mac). How nice for you to have the opportunity to take up bullfighting if you want to. He looks like a winner!

[ESG]

Thank you. He's still gangly looking, but that's Bocado line breeding for you; they don't start to look like horses until they're six or seven, and he's just now coming five. So we get to put up with that for another year or two. But that's cool by me, because he sure doesn't ride gangly! :yes:

Thanks for the kind words. :cool:

[STF]

That black and white paint is adoreable!!!!! I love him!

[ESG]

That's Kathleen's (kb) "Monday". Everyone loved him. I'm surprised she was able to take him home without a fight! :lol:

[flshgordon]

I only have time for a brief report, but I absolutely LOVED Whit! She has a great teaching style and most importantly, she treated each horse/rider pair differently and catered to exactly what they needed to be working on. She is great with visuals (I learn much better that way) and I think I took some great ideas with me to work on with my youngster! I really enjoyed meeting everyone, there were some great rides and some really nice horses. And yes...my lesson with "Mac" was apparently exciting for him. I think Luna was making googly eyes at him without my knowledge. She tends to do that sometimes :winkgrin:

She also focused a lot on biomechanics? I think that is the right word.....
How body parts work, and why you get this reaction when you do that. And several good ways to really find your seat bones, even if they're hidden under some extra padding like mine are!:winkgrin: Coming from a non-dressage background, she gave me several tips that I could relate to on how things should work vs how they might work in the hunter world. I have a long way to go but she was quite patient & encouraging with me and my horse.

I do hope Whit will be coming back this year, I really enjoyed it and the weather could not have been more perfect. Thanks to Beth & Mark for being such great hosts!

AND....she reminded us all to drink lots and lots and LOTS of water (yes I'm talking to you kb!) because after a certain point, your brain kind of zones out if it doesn't have enough water. I'd never heard this but after this weekend, I am almost positive she's right!:yes:

[STF]

I was thinking of taking a road trip to her before she takes off to California if anyone is intersted. She is about a 8-9 hour road trip from San Antonio, but worth my time and fuel.
Her facility is top notch and all weather (totally enclosed arena, etc), etc, etc, etc

[claire]

Thanks flshgordon for the recap.

I especially like a trainer who is great with visuals, and it is great to work with someone who caters to each individual rider's/horse's needs or background (even H/J :winkgrin: )

The photo's were great. What beautiful horses!

[jackalini]

Yes, the clinic was lovely!!! I had a great time despite dealing with not feeling so well.

I will definitely write a better recap of my lesson when I get a chance, but suffice it to say I would definitely ride with Whit again. She was able to help a wide variety of riders and horses, and what I really appreciated was that she understood and went with my hot tamale's personality, and we walked when we needed to in order to keep her brain from taking off in orbit. :eek::lol:

The pictures show the progression well, right up to our finally nice, correct stretch at the end. And the two goofy tongue shots are adorable, even if they do tattle on me for not tightening the noseband or flash all that much. :lol:

[STF]

I have known Whit since 2001. She is a super super person, trainer and rider. There are no gadgets, no short cuts, etc. The levels are there for a resaon and each part plays into the next.
She is tough but nice. She finds your weak points, works on them in a tactful way but never leaves you feeling like its time to throw in the towel. She is honest to the point of where you are without hurting your feelings.
And yes, about body control and movement. She follows the theme of Kyra K, which is if you cant contol and understand your body you will NEVER be able to influence the horse. She is big on streching, exercise and core strength within a rider.
As for horses, she does not push them. Fast is not forward and strength is built with time and knowledge. She has more exercises in her brain for every little thing that could possiblely go wrong than most people I have ever met. :lol:
Im sure most of you noticed that the horses are pushed just slightly passed their comfort zone and then let go back. She keeps everyone happy and training productive and smart.
One thing I did when I went to meet her at her place yrs ago was look at each of her horses. I wanted to see if her upper level hroses were sound, etc. Each horse was well cared for, good tendons and sound. After knowing her, I know she knows equine body enough to know that stressing the body is a chance of injury. She always keeps the horses in mind. You dont see her racing around 100mph on a weak horse trying to get "forward" out of a horse that cant even step under itself cuz its to weak, nor asking them for work they cant possiblely do correctly yet. The training sacle is very closely followed.
Also, if the horse does not get a carrot after his ride and work for you, then your in trouble! ;)
Anyway, that is my personal experience of Whit and working with him one on one at her place, in her realm. She is a super class act and I love her.

[flshgordon]

oh and I forgot to say thanks to Shannon again, she takes GREAT photographs!

[kb]

That black and white paint is adoreable!!!!! I love him!

Thank you! He is a very good boy....and he takes very good care of me. I tell everyone that I bought him for the brain....and luckily it came in a really cute package.

As for the clinic, it was a great learning experience for me. Whit was great with a very novice rider (I was very nervous and had a difficult time settling down). She just has a way about her!

I thought she did a very nice job of addressing each horse and rider exactly where they were and going from there. Even in the semi-private lessons of riders with differing abilities - her teaching was very unique to horse and rider.

Thanks to Beth for setting things up! And Shannon - thank you for the pictures - super job!!!!

[Sonesta]

Shannon, great pictures! You have a very good eye!

The clinic was great. Whit is quiet but firm and does a very good job with a wide variety of riders and horses. ESG and Mark did a wonderful job of hosting it.

[inca]

Thanks, ESG, for being such a wonderful host! And to Mark also! He had to put up with your farm being over taken for 3 days.

I had a great time. I'm almost glad I declined the picture taking opportunity - not sure I would want all of COTH critiquing my riding! LOL

I enjoyed my lessons and they were quite helpful. I brought my coming 8 year old Ideal/Bonjour mare the first 2 days. She was quite the good girl and only had one little mini meltdown the first day over a CAT of all things. She got over it quickly, thank goodness. (She is scared of the entire world but is much better now than she used to be.) We worked on improving our medium trot and also worked on our counter canter. And also worked on improving the quality of the canter in general.

The third day I brought my 2nd/3rd level BWP mare by Galant. We worked on maintaining more impulsion in our lateral work and sharpening up our simple changes.

I agree with flshgordon that Whit was good at explaining the WHY of things. She was also great about answering questions.

Next time I will be a bit more prepared as to what I want to work on in my lessons. The first day Whit asked me and I was like "I don't know, what do you think we should work on." Then on the drive home after that first lesson I decided I needed to work on counter canter the next lesson. With my BWP mare, I hadn't ridden her in 2 weeks so I wasn't quite sure how she would be. She was wonderful but again I wasn't as prepared as I should have been to say what I wanted to work on.

[jackalini]

Here is my quick list of the big important items I learned at the clinic:

1. As previously mentioned, fast is not impulsion. Start everything off slowly, use your posting to slow your horse in the trot, and add oomph when they have learned where and how to carry themselves correctly.

2. When working on the stretchy movements at the walk and trot, keep your hands together and not wide to make sure that the horse doesn't drop their shoulder in the stretch, just their neck. Adjust your reins often in these movements to maintain the contact.

3. When half-halting in the canter, imagine that your hip changes from doing a forward oval to an upward circle, and keep the entire movement soft.

4. Working on a circle is the best way to build strength in the horse because you are creating an environment where each step is the same/similar as the last - no corners to adjust balance and change tempo.

5. Using the exercise of posting with 2 up moments to 1 down will help you pinpoint your position flaws. :eek::lol:

6. Demand the horse's attention when you are working with it. Little slips here and there are ok, but do not let them run around looking at the scary butterfly, divot in the sand, blowing leaf or imaginary whathaveyou. You are asking for an hour, they can have those other 23 to themselves.

7. What most helped me were her words of advice aimed strictly at me with my very quick, spicy little mare. They went as such:
-Some days, all you will get is a warm-up. If they are already over-thinking or upset, just call it a day and get off. :yes:
-Always, always keep your composure in the saddle. If they are all wound up and then you go off, it's like lighting a fire in the hay barn. Keep it together or get off.
-For hotter horses, take the speed down to as slow as you can get them to work. Add impulsion once you develop relaxation.
-Breathe. Audibly exhale in the saddle and make sure to keep yourself as relaxed as possible to try to encourage your Type A mount to do the same.

Overall, a wonderful experience. She seemed equally at home with all of the riders and all of the horses and was pleasant the whole time. :D

And yes, I absolutely bought the photo of my horse, head on, with her tongue sticking out. :):yes::)

[claire]

Thanks jackalini for taking the time to share the clinic! A lot of good points (especially, keeping them focused for the one hour...and then they can have the following 23 hours off! :winkgrin: )


I had to laugh at this:

-Some days, all you will get is a warm-up. If they are already over-thinking or upset, just call it a day and get off. :yes:


I had audited a clinic where the same advice was given.

All I can say is watch out for the smart ones...mine figured out all he had to do was act up and the "work" ended. :winkgrin:

I spent a lot of time riding through the :eek: until he figured out the "record had been changed" :lol: