The morning after my fourth clinic with 3-star Parelli professional Ron Pyne and, as always, he did not disappoint! My mind is full to the bursting point with new information and I am exhausted mentally and physically. Where to begin, where to begin? Because we covered so much in two days, I am going to journal it in two pieces and try to recall and capture the key topics ....
Level 2 - Refinement Clinic - Day 1
One of Ron's main keys throughout the weekend was one of "expecting more". As advanced level 2 students he stressed how important it is to strive for the best responses from our horses and to be very particular when playing - something that is necessary to become a successful Level 3 student. We began the two day clinic with snuggling our 7 horses together and "protecting our herds of two"! Difficult when you have 7 horses who don't know each other and would love a chance to visit with each other! Throw a mini in the middle and things really get interesting! All the horses soon settled and we had a chance to chat with each other and discuss what we hoped to take away from the clinic.
The Saturday morning online session began with some porcupine game - moving the hindquarters and the forequarters in a figure of 8 pattern - all while striving to be as light as possible. "Addicted to Lightness" is my favourite part of all the 7 games and, as I soon realized, has some room for improvment!! Lucky for me Tido is quite responsive but this segment of the clinic served as a reminder that I need to keep playing with it. We also played with turning our horses loose (removing the halter), disengaging the hindquarters and having them turn and look at us before they moved off into a pasture (or stall). Important for safety and building the relationship. While this is something I try and do regularily, this session made me realize how important it is to do EVERY time!
Next we began to play with the driving game from zone 3/4 to prepare for the afternoon's adventure of riding with the carrot sticks. For me, remembering to bring my life up and let Tido make the first step forward was key.
The afternoon's riding was truly an adventure!! All 6 riding partipants looked like fish out of water
for the first while! Learning to ride without using your reins is something every rider should try and perfect! It really makes you realize how often you use your reins and how habitual it is. I have always prided myself on using my seat first, but my eyes were opened as to how often I would instinctively try and pick those reins up! Soon the all the riders and horses got onto the new "free" way of riding and we were all acheiving success with lateral flexion and disengaging the hindquarters using the carrot stick. I was so excited to realize that I had begun learning the basics of what would one day see me riding Tido bridleless! Amazing! What a confidence booster!
The last topic of the day was a simulation of the "Drop to Trot Transitions". So after putting our horses away to rest and eat, we all gathered in the arena for a demo from Ron. Watching Ron canter around demonstrating the drop-to-trot had us giggling behind our hands. With a little nervous apprehension we all stepped forward as a group to give it a go! What fun!! We all cantered around to get the feel of how to perform this task, laughing and helping each other. When the time comes to perform the drop-to-trot on horseback, it will be much easier with the "prior & proper preparation" from this simulation!
The end of Day 1 found us all tired but happy. Home to get some sleep and get ready for Day 2!
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