Stoner Ridge Farm was the site of the 2009 Youth Clinic held on March 7. Organized by Terry Kleier, several different groups of young equestrians came - UMH Youth, KMSHA Youth and their new director, and a group from the Clark County 4 H program. Several adults were also here. We had folks from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and North Carolina besides the home folk here in Kentucky. All together we had 30 - 35 people here.

It was great to see everyone working together to help young people learn more about gaited horses. The morning activities began with a test . . . that's right, a test. As part of her instruction, gaited horse judge, Kelley France, gave attendees the UMH judge's test. They also had to judge a couple of live classes. It was a pretty effective technique to help the kids experience the show ring from a judge's point of view. They also received instruction on Equitation and Showmanship from Natalie Wright who explained some of the techniques and the attire required for success in these specialized classes. Robert also gave some tips on helping to get horses ready for versatility training. He used a large ball (about four foot in diameter) to show everyone how to help desensitize their horses to scary objects moving toward them. We had a great day full of friends, education, and pizza.

Thanks to everyone who came and to Terry for getting everything set up. Look for more comments about the clinic in the next SRF newsletter.

March 7, 2009