Texas Winter Warm-Up Clinics
Rosie Brown, Coach - Lone Star Vautlers
For two years now, Texas vaulters have lucked out during the winter months with clinics in both November and January; though luck may not have anything to do with it considering our current weather patterns.
In November just a few days before Thanksgiving, we were fortunate enough to have Mary McCormick come work with our canter vaulters for a day. She provided wonderful insight for selecting music and presented a strategy for putting together a freestyle routine – or three. One of the most important tools our vaulters gained from this clinic was to have a few different plans for freestyle; so that if a last minute horse or tack change was unavoidable, a chance for success was still on the horizon. Mary also backed me up 110% by: Pushing the amount of cross-training and consistent full-time training that is necessary for each athlete to perform at their personal best; and that in an area such as ours with limited resources we would all benefit by pooling our resources to create a stronger force than any of the Texas clubs are on their own. This was a day well spent in preparation for the upcoming competition season.
Over the MLK holiday weekend in January, Patti Skipton made the trek from Washington State to work with horses/longers, coaches and vaulters. We focused our horse training efforts on our new younger horses, and Patti brought with us a new device I have been wanting to get for years; balancing reins – LOVE them! For those horses who are too heavy for the neck stretcher, and are still need a lot more help from all directions than the sidereins provide, they are a wonderful tool. The coaches clinic was for seasoned and newer coaches for 1* and 2* compulsories on the barrel and at the trot and canter, and team freestyle on the barrel and horse as well. (Who knows, Texas may soon have a team!) For the vaulters we worked on sharpening up transitions and putting a push on new moves in routines that had yet to be done at the canter. The weekend was a huge success for all involved!
Thank you to Mary and Patti for squeezing us into your hectic schedules and visiting the great state of Texas to work with us. We look forward to seeing you again at the coming events this summer and at WEG.
If you are an AVA Club or member with a scheduled vaulting camp or clinic, please send your information to the webmaster, in the format above, at least six weeks prior to the camp or clinic.