Clinic Versus Lessons

There is a deal of difference between participating in a clinic as opposed to taking a lesson. As a Grand Prix dressage trainer offering both I am often asked by regular students whether they should bother participating in one of our clinics if they already take regular lessons. The answer is yes.

While we (myself and my fellow Brit husband) offer coaching at showgrounds to both regular students and clinic students, the latter we may see only a few times per year so our influence over their progress will be minimal. In a clinic we meet many new faces as well as returning ones, so we have very little time to address all the training issues we may see and have to focus on the key ingredients for improvement taking the most major faults first. Once these have been successfully addressed we can make sincere progress with the horse and rider. At a regular lesson, we can clearly see the result of what homework has or hasn't been done by the student. Our influence is obviously significantly increased as we are able to work together on a regular basis.

However at a clinic, our regular students will have a chance to work in front of an audience and at a different location. The number of auditors at a clinic varies considerably as some hosting barns highly encourage and solicit auditors and others do little to bring in new faces. This is an opportunity as a hosting barn to showcase your facility and bring in new boarders and students, so it is a shame if you don't take it up. At a clinic the regular lesson students will have a chance to showcase their work and improvement and while they may receive a similar lesson to one we would give them at home, they will be duly challenged just as the other clinic participants will be. They will have the opportunity to share their learning with the auditors, and will see how they handle riding in a higher pressure environment. This is a great outing for both horse and rider. Whether or not you intend to show, trailering your horse off the farm to a new environment is refreshing and a great test of your partnership. If the clinic is at your regular barn where you board, you have the chance to meet new horse people that come in to ride and to audit.

Paul Alvin-Smith training Kate & Patch at Northfield Farm, Otego, NY

As a clinic participant you also have the opportunity to audit lessons of eight or ten others on the same day. This will give you a chance to see how the clinician progresses riders and their horses past your own level as well as reminds you of how far you have come and helps you retain the knowledge you have already obtained and consolidate your understanding of the gifts in your riding toolbox.

A clinic is not a symposium and many riders get this mixed up. At a symposium the clinician will address the auditors and explain in detail what they see and showcase how they resolve issues and improve the rider and horse. There may be a question and answer session between rides. The riders have often already been taught by the clinician the previous day and the clinician is not training riders they have not seen go before. The text and content of the symposium has often been discussed beforehand between clinician and riders and the ride road-mapped.

At a clinic the rider will receive a lesson based around their individual needs. The auditors will benefit from listening to a wide variety of training issues and advice. As an added bonus you might also receive sponsor prizes or gifts as a thank-you for participating in the event.

Clinicians at a clinic will usually make themselves available over lunch to chat with all attendees. However, at a symposium they may disappear with the host of the event to eat and relax.

As a regular lesson student attending a clinic you will have the chance to meet other riders and network in others in the horse world over lunch. You may receive feedback and lots of support from other auditors attending who have enjoyed seeing you ride. It is a wonderful opportunity and one you should not miss.