My friend Lisa and I took Skeeter and Nugget to Jonathan Field's ranch in Merrit, BC to participate in a week long horsemanship camp. It has been a privelege to learn from Jonathan Field. He is an inspiring horseman but also a terrific teacher and that is not always easy to find. He and his family, and staff are gracious hosts and welcome everyone. Everything about the week was fantastic, including the other participants. One of the participants, Jim, summed it up beautifully when he said there wasn't one person attending that you wouldn't want to be friends with. I think it is simply the type of people Jonathan attracts to his life. Jonathan treats each participant and their horse with the utmost respect, no matter what level they are at. He really brings out the best in both the horse person and their horse with delightful humility.
This clinic primarily focused on achieving path, speed, bend and balance; and always in that order. There is no point working on the speed of your horse if you are not maintaining the correct path, and certainly no point in working on bend and balance if you don't have path and speed mastered. I can't tell you how much Jonathan's method of teaching has improved my overall riding experience.
I used to think that I would be a happy person if all I ever did was ground work because that is where I feel confident and competent. For the first time since I started riding, I am truly excited about riding. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed trail riding in the mountains but arena work never appealed much to me. I now realize that was because I didn't really know what to do in an arena. My newfound joy of riding has come from knowledge and will only increase through practice.
What this year has taught me, is how important it is to find the right coaches to fully appreciate the equestrian experience.
I can't wait to practice our newly acquired skills and will hopefully have another opportunity to attend Summer Camp 2011.
Enjoy your summer,
Tovie and Lisa and Nugget and Skeeter
No comments:
Post a Comment