Author: jackiem

Just a couple weeks ago, Emma Tyrrell, Sierra Hoadley and myself had the opportunity to ride in the Karen Healey Clinic held at Hunterville Stables, thanks to Patty Ball. It was a fantastic clinic, heat and all. As a trainer, I pick my clinics wisely. It is important to me to come home with a couple extra tools to put in my toolbox. Furthermore, I want my students to feel inspired and motivated to work hard when they return home. Karen Healey provides fantastic feedback and is an instructor that gets ‘to the point’…I love that!

Below are some notes that my riders and myself took away from the clinic…ENJOY!

I (Kelly) always enjoy working with another respected professional. Even as a trainer, I am always striving to improve and grow in this sport. From the trainers perspective we worked on allowing my horse to make mistakes so that he could learn from them. I am a perfectionist! But, sometimes, it is important not to protect your horse at the jumps, allowing my horse to create a better quality of jump by doing it wrong.

There were a few additional quotes from Karen that I really enjoyed hearing while watching the clinic:

“Don’t be afraid to let the dog of the leash”…in other words, get out of your comfort zone.

“Horses do what you tell them to do OR what you allow them to do”…I love this quote!

“Impulsion is a horse thinking forward”…not just going forward.

THANK YOU Karen Healey and Patty Ball…we all learned a lot…lost a few pounds in the heat…and had a great time!

For the full write-up and some photos click here.

Karen Healey joked that during the fall equitation finals, “I didn’t get the Academy Award, but I got a hell of a lot of nominations!” Healey’s students occupied three spots in the top 10 in the USEF/Pessoa Medal Finals (Pa.) and the ASPCA Maclay Finals (N.Y.), capping a year of success in the equitation, hunter and jumper rings.

“Second, third and fourth at [the Medal Finals] was pretty extraordinary. I’ve been fortunate to have had, through the years, top-placed finishers at the finals, but I’ve never had so many that were top contenders,” Healey said. “At that level, if you’re in the top 10, a little here or a little there, and you’d have been the winner.”

“They just rode so well. Earlier in the year, I’d wished, ‘If these kids can just ride as well indoors as they are now.’ And they did.”

Click here for entire Chronicle of the Horse article.