Clinic with Jeanne Ahrenholz

 (photo by AK McMillan)

The clinic on April 3rd was a resounding success! We had a mixture of levels sign up and were full before we could even put pen to paper.

First up was Ash on her horse Mystical. Ash is one of the 1st generation of Scotsgrove riders. She is very involved raising her first child, but still remains connected to Scotsgrove. Leslie is the one who actually found Mystical for Ash and brought them together. Now you can't separate them- they are perfect for each other. It was so fun to watch them do some advanced level stuff. They looked very put together. Jeanne had some great advice for them as well because as we all know- you never stop learning.

Next was Patti on Teddy. Teddy also came from Scotsgrove, but found a forever home with Patti, who is one of our lady riders and suffers from a leg/foot injury. She uses riding as therapy. Jeanne just recently got over her own leg injury, so she had some useful information to pass on.

Next up was Abby on Wager. Wager used to be at Scotsgrove as a boarder, but has now moved down the road. He's still pretty green when it comes to dressage work, but Jeanne instantly saw that his poll down through his shoulders were super stiff. She got to work on putting them through some stretching motions (S-curves and snaking all down the long walls). Also Wager is going to learn pony stretches!

Next was Emi on Pan. Now, it is pretty common to see Emi and Pan cavort through their rides. They both love to GO. So it blew us all away when they both devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the workshop. Everyone was impressed to see Pan concentrating! Of course, Jeanne worked them hard and gave them lots of food for thought.

Then came Sidney on Lucky. Lucky is an older gentleman who doesn't know a lot about dressage, which means he's set in his ways. It took a lot to keep him going and on track, but Jeanne threw in a lot of change of reins and S-curves to keep him concentrating. I think they both came away with a lot to work on.

Last came Anna on Dimples. Unfortunately, I had to leave early so I did not get to watch everything unfold with Dimples, but I hope Anna learned a lot.

Overall, I think it was a great experience. I learned a lot just by watching. Of course, from the photos on the website, you can see Leslie and Lindsey in the sand taking notes soaking up the information as well.

Special thanks go to Jeanne Ahrenholz for coming down and giving us her time and knowledge, especially since she does not usually teach. Her concentration in upper level dressage is far above us and we're very grateful to have a chance to learn from her. Her main expertise is now saddle fitting and she has already improved Leslie's and Lindsey's saddles. We highly recommend her.