It’s always a pleasure to open the EN inbox and find a shiny new clinic report. We LOVE to hear your accounts of your latest clinic expedition, and it’s always a popular item among readers. ‘Tis the season for winter clinics…if you go, take us with you and please send in a report to [email protected]. Thanks to Amanda Uechi Ronan for this week’s submission.
Sinead Halpin Clinic by: Amanda Uechi Ronan
I recently audited a Sinead Halpin clinic held on December 17-18, in Midland, Texas while visiting family for the holidays. Five hundred miles from my own barn, I happened across the event listed on the Region V online calendar and had to stop in and say hello. Due to the fact that I had grandparents, parents, and siblings to visit, not to mention torturing my three-year-old daughter with a visit to the mall Santa, I was only able to attend the morning sessions, but boy were those few hours packed with information!
DAY ONE
I showed up bright and early at 8:45 to the very impressive Midland County Horseshoe Arena. Entered the first unlocked door I found…and walked in on a family making some sort of party preparations. I smiled, nodded and backed out the way I had come. After circling around the building a few times I finally found one more door unlocked. It opened up to a concrete wall, but I had hope as I could smell a freshly dragged arena and I could hear the sweet sound of Sinead’s voice. (Note: Really I had just heard her voice for the first time on Eventing Nation’s video of her ImPACT test the week before, but I assumed it was her.)
After crawling through a maze of tunnels, stairs and gates I finally reached the arena and quietly joined the few other auditors. Sinead was already busy teaching her first students, a lovely pair competing at the Prelim level and hoping to attend their first 2* event soon.
They were concentrating on flatwork in a circle, specifically suppleness and connection at the walk. Sinead emphasized that the rider should slow the horse with their core muscles, by taking deep breaths and releasing that breath really slowly.
“Your core muscles SHOULD be hurting tomorrow!” Sinead laughed as she explained the exercise.
She also emphasized correct rein usage, how the inside rein is used for suppleness and the outside rein is used to gain a deeper connection, but you should never rely to much on one rein. The delicate balancing act of inside, outside, inside, outside, supple, connection, supple, connection…and oh yeah…don’t forget about all that deep, slow breathing. …my core muscles were starting to hurt just watching Sinead drill this horse and rider!
Sinead’s particular style of teaching seems rooted in asking a LOT of questions. “What else should you be doing?” she asked the rider in the middle of this exercise. “During all of this you can boost those RPM’s with your outside leg!” Sinead reminded us.
The duo carried the exact same techniques in to their trot and canter work. Sinead stood in the center watching intently; clucking, smooching and “ant!”-ing over the loud speaker as necessary. This particular horse had trouble becoming slightly inverted on his walk to canter, so Sinead carried the same principles of suppleness and connection in to the transitions. “Engage inside, engage inside…boom…outside connection in to your canter.” With remarkably subtle changes from the rider, the horse nailed his second transition remaining supple and connected throughout.
Next came work over ground poles and flower boxes. The first exercise was a curving line of four ground poles.
Sinead started out the exercise with two strides to the bounce and then another two strides to the final pole. The spacing seemed natural and flowed nicely. And then she threw a curve ball that would continue throughout the weekend, she changed the striding. First it was 3 to bounce to 2. Then 3 bounce 3. She made it very clear the importance of establishing your canter long BEFORE you came over that first pole. The rider performed this exercise in both directions.
Sinead again upped the challenge. The rider began through the same curving line of ground poles and then turned left or right to continue through narrow flower boxes. Again she played with the striding, starting out on one stride between the flower boxes and then increasing to two.
The narrow boxes tested the horse and rider’s sense of direction and straightness. “It’s very important to make a plan here,” Sinead reminded the rider. “Decide on your canter ahead of time. Be confident in your canter on your way through.”
After cantering cleanly through several times in both directions Sinead tested the pair with a series of verticals, oxers, and a lovely quadruple gymnastic that baffled my Beginner Novice brain beyond reason. Suppleness and connection was emphasized throughout.
Next on the agenda came two Novice level riders on younger horses. Sinead continued the same exercises both on the flat and over the jumps but underlined the importance of the riders need to support and help the green horse.
“Support your man!” she shouted as one rider struggled through the ground pole exercise initially. You should always have a Plan A when going in to an exercise, but you have to be able to adjust for a Plan B, C, D… with youngsters, she stated. Eventually both horses settled in nicely and completed the exercises with ease.
DAY TWO
The second morning I made it to the arena early, managing not to crash a party on my way in, and helped set-up jumps for the day. I have to admit that setting jump poles with potentially a 2012 Olympic Gold medalist was pretty exciting! But I played it cool…I didn’t ask for her autograph or tweet a picture of her on my Facebook…yet…
The riders ran in the same work order, so we once again began with the Prelim pair, moving on to Novice level. Sinead again started the riders with flatwork, emphasizing all of yesterday’s lessons of suppleness and connection. She upped the ante by adding in subtle shoulder ins and outs on the circle, truly challenging their balance and rhythm.
The first gymnastic exercise consisted of four narrow flower boxes set up in a square. Sinead later referred to this exercise as the “Infamous Box Test.” This exercise, simple as it looked, intensely tested the horses and rider’s endurance, balance, sense of direction and speed control.
The exercise started with the horse cantering through with two strides between each pair of boxes. Once again, the horses and riders seemed comfortable, so Sinead decided she’d throw them for a loop. “Now do it in three strides,” she said with a sly grin on her face, “and then maybe we’ll do it in four.”
Once again, Sinead emphasized the importance of the balanced canter long before the first jump. She reminded the rider to “control your horse’s feet first,” and the use of all their aids to keep straightness without losing rhythm. After a few awkward moments and missteps the riders were able to guide their horses gracefully through the box test in an amazing three and in one instance four strides. After that Sinead smiled and said, “Okay, you can walk now.” I think we all let out a sigh of relief, not just the horse and rider. As the horses took a much needed breath, Sinead challenged the riders to continue practicing the Box Test at home, routinely changing the striding between a comfortable two count and a mind-bending five strides. “But always know what stride you want long beforehand. Always come in with a Plan A.”
Next the riders moved through a series of jump patterns, the Prelim pair ending the session on a pair of square oxers that would test balance, direction and speed control.
Now this started out simple enough, of course in my ‘only been eventing for one year’ Beginner Novice eyes the jumps were massive and tightly spaced. The Prelim rider brought her horse in and jumped them with a graceful two strides. So we raised the poles up two holes and we spread the standards about 3 feet “just to make it a little tighter” in Sinead’s words. Again the horse and rider came through gracefully. So we raised them ANOTHER two holes and spread them ANOTHER 3 feet, making the spacing a solid one stride between the two. In an afterthought, Sinead halted the horse and placed a pole over the top of each oxer, truly making it large and in charge. Once again, the Prelim pair moved gracefully up, over, and through the oxers.
When questioned as to why she put a pole on top of an oxer Sinead laughed and said, “Well… One time I was riding a young horse and the oxers were spread so far he thought it was a bounce and jumped in and out of the middle of it. He cleared it perfectly, but it made me a little nervous.” I’d say!
The two Novice riders finished their session on a very creative line using the last vertical jump of an outside line triple and then angling slightly to a small oxer.
The riders went through the line several times, focusing on staying balanced and secure in their seats on the odd approach. Both horses and riders closed their sessions with beautiful jumps over the difficult line.
Throughout the jumping exercises, Sinead reiterated that this was no different than the Box Test or even the flat-work. Although these exercises appear more intimidating, Sinead emphasized that the true test was a balanced, controlled canter and that started long before the jumps.
I truly enjoyed Sinead’s clinic and loved meeting new event enthusiasts from a different area. The locals admit the eventing community is small in Midland, and I truly hope that changes and it takes root and grows. They were an amazing, friendly group of people and I invite them over to ‘my side’ of Texas any time.
~ Amanda Uechi Ronan
