|
Over the
past few years, the number of youth members in the Mason Dixon Region
has been increasing. Mason Dixon has had a Youth Committee for some
years now, but few
if any activities were ever planned. Immediately before the 2007
Nationals, a few members decided that it was imperative that
something be done for our younger members. Nola Haupert Keill of Ro-No
Ranch in Waymart, PA took this idea and turned it into a reality and
set about organizing a youth clinic. Art Glatfelter was more than
happy to host it at his farm, Fieldstone Meadows. Then Nola approached
Carlos Tobon who is the PFHA Youth Committee chair. He was excited to
hear the region wanted to host a clinic. He forwarded a set of
guidelines from the National Youth Committee to Nola which would help
structure the weekend with learning and fun.
Nola Haupert Keill; Rick Shaffer of R&S Paso Finos in Somerset PA.;
and Nick Burgos of TNT Paso Finos in Reading PA. agreed to volunteer
their time as clinicians. Because this was the first Youth Clinic held
by Mason Dixon, the decision was made to make it a free event, as long
as you were a dues-paying member of the region.
On Saturday
morning of the clinic, 12 eager riders showed up. The youngest was 6
years old and had very little experience. Others were show ring
veterans. Following brief introduction regardomg daily care, feeding
and nutrition, Dr. Ann Bastian gave a presentation on basic first aid
and signs of illness in the horse. She taught everyone how to properly
take a horse’s temperature, pulse and respiration. Each child had a
chance to practice what they learned, by listening to the horse’s
heart beat and gut sounds with a stethoscope, and taking a temperature
with their new thermometers that Dr. Bastian so graciously donated.
Next on the schedule came grooming, basic
hoof care, saddling and bridling. Once the horses were tacked and
ready, everyone headed to the indoor arena to learn and practice
proper techniques for mounting and dismounting. Trail riding topics
discussed included conditioning your horse, types of terrain and basic
trail etiquette. After Saturday’s lunch break, everyone saddled up and
again headed to the arena to discuss Paso Fino gait. Rick Shaffer went
over topics concerning gait such as; “What is the Paso Fino gait” and
“What are pace, trot, and troche”. He also explained how quality of
gait can be affected by factors such as the rider, collection and the
horse’s conformation. Nick Burgos demonstrated gait with his fino
gelding.
Each horse and rider team then took their
turn making a pass down one side of the arena and over the sounding
board. The other riders would give their opinion as to what type of
gait the horse was doing and if their horse was in gait or not. The
sounding board was also used to show how the different types of gait
sound compared to how they felt under saddle. Each clinician gave
pointers to the riders to help them and their horse function better.
Then the horses were stalled and a discussion on showing, which
included information on attire, horsemanship, showmanship and ring
etiquette commenced.
 |
After the riding session everyone was
ready for some fun and games on horseback. Riders competed in barrel
and flag races and soccer. Of course, everyone wanted to spend lots of
time kicking the soccer balls around. Many of the horses had never
seen an equine soccer ball so the clinicians instructed everyone how
to introduce a horse to the ball. The smallest horse there, Laurel
Spiegelthal’s gelding Prince, fell in love with the ball, pushing it
around with his nose. This continued until it was time for the pizza
party. After the horses were taken care of, the hungry group devoured
almost nine pizzas in the blink of an eye. Then it was off to the
hotels to rest up for day two.
Sunday brought with it the forecast of a
late day snow storm, so after the horse chores, and a quick breakfast,
it was time to once again saddle up and work on equitation and basic
riding skills with clinicians again working with riders a one-on-one
basis. Riders were also encouraged to swap mounts so they could try
out some different horses.
Horses were then cooled down and blanketed
in their stalls and trailers packed. Everyone sat down to a hearty
lunch of homemade chili provided by Tracy Peirson , BBQ sandwiches by
Lisa Gorsuch ,and various snacks provided by other members. One more
lecture was given by PFHA Judge Rick Shaffer, on the different
divisions and what judges look for in each. A short question and
answer session followed. The clinic concluded with words of thanks to
all those who had donated their time and energy to make the clinic a
success. It must also be mentioned that Dick Shaffer was a great help
throughout the weekend. Whether he was watching and insuring that no
one got into trouble with their horses, bringing up important points
and topics of discussion, or most importantly, playing with the kids
during game night, by the end of the clinic we realized that without
him things might not have gone so smoothly!
Plans are already in the works for next
year’s clinic, along with activities for our youth at the Dillsburg
show in May and Lexington, VA in June. As members of the PFHA, we need
to realize how important is it to keep our breed growing by educating
and involving our youth members. They are the future…our future
breeders, trainers, owners, and ambassadors of our breed. It takes
time and effort, but when everyone works together, an activity such as
this does not take a large sum of money nor an inordinate amount of
time for any one individual. If your region can draw upon its
volunteer spirit to help its youth, then everyone wins!
|
