2008 AQHA YOUTH WORLD CUP

SUNSHINE AND SHOWMANSHIP.

BY CHRISTINE HAMILTON, FIELD EDITOR 

Cecile Mager of The Netherlands helps a fellow team member in the showmanship clinic.

Shanks, sun, pivots, posture, backups, bottled water, dust and a list of helpful “dos and don’ts” – they all made for a great set of morning clinics in showmanship for the Youth World Cup teams.

Gathered in the outside exercise pens, exhibitors broke into two groups for one-one-one and group sessions with AQHA Judge Robin Frid of Denton, Texas, and AQHA Pro Horseman Dan Patterson of Bornholm, Ontario.

By the expressions on their faces, these youth were serious about bettering their skills and getting to know their horses.

Like Cecile Mager, 19, of The Netherlands – it’s her first time to participate in a Youth World Cup event.

“I like showmanship because I like the control of the horse,” she said. “And I think my horses like it.”

She took home one tip in particular, for setting up a horse for the judge – “You have to push forward to get the horse to step down (on its hind foot).”

Here’s more:

AQHA Judge Robin Frid, Denton, Texas

• “If you start well; it will go well. If you start it poorly; it will not go well.”
• “Separate your maneuvers. Finish one, then start the next.”

AQHA Pro Horseman Dan Patterson, Bornholm, Ontario

• “If (the pattern) says a horse’s length, then it means a horse’s length.”
• “Remember, you ask your horse to back or move with your body; you correct him with the chain. Give him an opportunity to respond to your body first, not the chain.”

AQHA Judge Robin Frid was one of the clinicians for the Youth World Cup clinic.

AQHA Pro Horseman Dan Patterson was another clinician. He has a special interest in showmanship.