Free Riding Clinics For You! A TFS Redux.

God spake to me...& I could not look upon his holy face

Ever wanted to absorb decades of experience like a little fangirl sponge from greats like Jimmy Wofford, Ian Stark, Becky Holder, or Eric Smiley?

Well, aren't you a lucky little fangirl!!  In the spirit of relaxing over the holiday weekend, for those of us who can't access FEI TV (or don't want to), I have collected, in chronological order, our hilarious spectacular performances in front of these phenomenal horse(wo)men & teachers.  I'm sure they felt just as lucky as I did.  *insert sarcasm font*

I also wanted to share with more recent readers some earlier parts of this wild journey.  I'm sure you are spending every free moment catching up on the 500+ posts since August of 2009 (where's that font again?), but in the meantime, I set the time machine in motion.  Encore & I may appear fearless & quasi-competent at times (usually when no one is looking), but those moments are built on the foundation of 1,000 stumbling blocks of trial-and-error that Solo, my un-erringly brave & accidental partner, made with me.

Have no fear, I am unoffended if you point & laugh.  I do (at myself, past AND present).

The only Olympic-quality ride Solo ever got

The Man Who Ruined Changed Solo & I For All Time (or That First Time We Met The XC Grin)
Ian Stark - Summer 2007
(Yes, I was afraid to canter my horse in an arena because he misplaced that gait.  He only had trot & gallop...except on the trail.  I'll let you guess how humbling it is after 20 years of riding, to finally have a horse & be afraid to canter it.  And yes, I did try to make an eventing legend wear my sweaty helmet.  I failed.  Then Solo nearly dumped him.  Thank cod my horse did not gain infamy as The Killer Of Ian Stark.  *horror*)

• The Lead-In
• Day 1: Dressage, aka Public Embarrassment
• Day 2: Stadium Jumping & Redemption
• Day 3: Cross Country or The Point Of No Return:  Solo Finds His Calling

I Finally Get To Meet God
Jimmy Wofford - Fall 2008
He only whacked my horse on the ass with his baseball cap once...

Becky has not convinced Solo that dressage has merit

We Discover Eventing Mecca & I Become A Bona Fide Stalker (& My Last Clinic With Solo)
Becky Holder - Fall 2010

• Dressage Day:  Getting Seriously Serious
• Gymnastic Jumping Day:  What Do You Mean I Have More Than One Body Part??
• Cross Country Day:  Pride Goeth Before The...Do I Even Have To Say It?

Ok, he can jump

The Best Christmas Present Ever & Encore's First Proper Clinic (Thanks, Mom!)
Camp Becky Holder - 10 Days of Spring Training, 2013

• Day 1:  Arrival At The Magic Kingdom
• Day 2:  Discovering The Outside Rein, It Only Took 30 Years (Literally)
• Day 3:  Holy Gymnastics, Batman
• Day 4:  Cross Country...Sans Equine Brain
• Day 5:  One Of The Most Valuable Lessons Of My Life:  Effective Long-Lining (IZ HARD!)
• Day 6:  Cross Country II...Drops Are Not Chasms, Encore!
• Day 7:  The Three Commandments Of Dressage
• Day 8:  A Day Of Rest & Gratitude
• Day 9:  Creating Adjustability - Experiments In Human Shoulder Detachment
• Day 10:  Stadium Jumping & Putting It All Together
• An Afterward:  General Lessons & Hero Worship

A Scotsman Started The Fire, An Irishman Throws A New Log In The Flame
Eric Smiley - Summer 2013

• Day 1:  You Thought You Knew The Basics.  You Don't.
• Day 2:  Stadium Jumping & Taking Responsibility
• Day 3:  The Best Cross Country Lesson I've Ever Had...And It Was Indoors?

Encore's 1st Training course (Fall 2013)

Wander at will & explore the evolution!  Or save it for some rainy day entertainment.  May there be useful lessons YOU can apply next time you swing a leg over.

And not least of all, thank you to my mother, to Jim, to our amazing friend, Beth, and to the victims kind, random people I threw cameras at.  Your support made these experiences possible & each one is a treasure, both in lessons learned & the partnership forged with my horses.  Not only did these incredible teachers raise the bar on my training & riding about 47 holes, but they did so with patience, grace, generosity of spirit, humility, & humour.

For that, I consider myself lucky indeed.