A little #FlashbackFriday for you…

I wrote this piece for the August 15, 2016, issue of the Quarter Horse News, and while it’s geared towards cutters, reiners and working cow horse riders, I feel like this could be a beneficial read for anyone who looks at clinics to improve something in their lives. For example, I’ve attended a couple of clinics for training dog agility, and I know many attend clinics to improve some sort of sport they participate it. 

Oscar De La Hoya once said, “There is always space for improvement, no matter how long you’ve been in the business.” While the famous boxer may not have ever swung his leg across a saddle, those words can easily resonate with any rider in the stock horse industry.

Clinics give riders of all levels an opportunity to learn from the best. If they dream of working with Shawn Flarida, the reining industry’s all-time leading money-earner, National Reined Cow Horse Association Hall of Famer Bob Avila or National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Hall of Fame member Kathy Daughn, it doesn’t matter how far away they live. If they happen to see an advertisement for a clinic featuring any of the prestigious professionals coming to an arena nearby, they can jump at the chance to learn from them.

And, why not? A clinic is the perfect place to not only learn from the clinicians themselves, but from other riders.

But what if a rider is still on the fence about paying the money for a clinic? Flarida, Avila and Daughn have the answers to some of the questions that may be haunting potential clinic goers.

Questions we answer include:

• Is a clinic the right learning environment for me?
• How do I choose the right clinic?
• I show in reined cowhorse. Will I benefit from attending a local cutting clinic?
• I’ve signed up for my first clinic, now what?
• Should I video parts of the clinic or any rides?
• What can I do to prevent forgetting what I learned at the clinic?
• Can I attend too many clinics?
• How can I sent myself up for success?
• What’s the value in auditing?

Click to open the PDF and continue reading the article…

Questions Answered: Is a Clinic Right for you?