Michael Page Clinic Report

Eventing Nation reader Megan kindly sent us this write up from a clinic with Michael Page in New York over the weekend.  I had the pleasure of auditing and jump crewing for a clinic with Michael ten years ago, and I still remember what a fantastic experience it was.  For our younger readers, you may not be familiar with Michael Page; he is an extraordinary horseman from the golden era of US Eventing, winning Team Silver in the 1964 and ’68 Olympics, Individual Bronze in ’68, and was inducted into the USEA Hall of Fame in 2006.  In addition, he won the AHSA Equitation Medal Finals in 1956, and has served as a judge for the Medal finals seven times.  Many thanks to Megan for writing, and thank you for reading!  If you have something to share with Eventing Nation, send it to [email protected].
Michael Page Clinic: Equestrian Village, Honeoye Falls NY (Zone 1), Day 2

Barbra Hyams and Nancy Reale with Michael Page

From Megan:
Michael Page wants everyone to accomplish something at his clinics.  He wants them to “ride gooder.” (“I want to see  you ride gooder and continue to ride gooder.”)  Linguistic lessons aside, it seemed all the riders did ride well.  And even if they didn’t, they certainly had a good time.  Michael is full of energy, quick wit, encouragement, good advice, kind words, and great deal of enthusiasm.  The place was full of smiles at all his comments. (“Every time you ride good he’s happy.  Every time you ride s@#$y, he’s not.”)
There were at least two sets of multi-generational riders.  A grandmother rode in one group while her granddaughter proudly watched and they swapped roles for the next group.  The final group included a father-daughter team.   

Jannah Matzan (photo by Paul Rehbock)

Equestrian Village has been hosting the esteemed Mr. Page yearly for quiet a while. Participants drove in from several hours away and many are repeat customers.  One participant, Barbra Hyams, has known Michael for fifteen years.  She spoke of schooling cross country with him next to the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and she “wouldn’t miss this clinic for the world.”
And it is clear why: It was important to him that the riders and horses had a positive experience. “We want all the horses to be saying, ‘Thank you for making it clear to me what we are doing.'”

Lindsay Alberts (photo by Paul Rehbock)

They were given a chance to take the liverpool before adding it to the course; at the end, he would call the riders into the center of the ring to go over what they had just done and what was next. Jumping was broken up with a bit of flat work bringing everything back together, and the audience was asked to applaud each combination after their final course.  All this time he provided constant feedback and pushed them.  I’m pretty sure I saw a young man jump as high as he has before in his life.  As Michael raised the jumps he said he wanted to have them do some things they hadn’t before; to show them they can (“When you move up a level it won’t be an issue of scope.”).
He is certainly not afraid to poke a bit of fun at you as well.  The jabs would focus on an  improvement he saw and usually involved him wanting to know what you did last night to bring this change on.  At the end of each group he brought them together for another chat, then he gave each horse a bit of sugar and had a little one-on-one with the rider.  During the breaks he made a point of talking to the observers.
He’s a total class act with a resume a mile long and gives a great clinic.
The final course started with a single fence.  There were two combination lines (a one-to-a-two, and a two-to-a-one) the riders trotted into and two diagonal lines (a three and a four).
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