This program occurs 13 times throughout the year in 13 different regions of the United States. You have to be an advance rider, receive three letters of reference and submit a video of you riding. There is a committee which picks the riders for this program, they are notified and they get to ride with elite professional and Olympic riders.
I never knew this program existed. It was fascinating how Ann Thornberry took everything down to the basics. She made it clear how she was going to show them on how "she does things". Ms. Thornberry took things down to the basics of grooming, saddling your horse, so when you walk away from day five of this five day clinic she covered everything and anything, even if you already knew it.
It was interesting to observe her going over these basics, which I had taken in as common sense. I realized how fortunate I had been over the years to have good trainers who implemented these steps into my routine.
I never knew I would ever be writing on horses, even though for many years I thought I would enjoy it. I absolutely do enjoy this opportunity and I had a great exciting blessing yesterday. I finally came across a copy of one of the magazines I write for in the lounge at the barn. I grabbed it up and trotted out to my truck. I flipped through the pages and quickly found my article, it was a really cool moment to see my work and photographs in print.
It is nice to be utilizing my background, experience and education in the equestrian field once again. There are times it makes me want to step in the stirrup again, but all the work behind it floods in and I hesitate. Maybe there will be a day I cross into that path. But, for now, I am taking advantage of learning all I can and doing my very best at writing these articles so I can keep doing it!
Ann Thornberry going over grooming & safety
Telling stories from her equestrian experience
Ms. Thornberry going over each horse individually with the students
Going over the specifics of tack and how it should fit correctly
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