Bernie Traurig Clinic

We really enjoyed ourselves at the Bernie Traurig clinic at the Peaceable Kingdom Farm in Fort Collins two weeks ago.  Beauty was such a solid citizen that Alice was asked if she'd lease Beauty for lessons!  When I heard Beauty had been propositioned I quickly called dibs on our super steady mare.  Alice has put so much into her to make her the amazing jumping horse she is today, we all felt incredibly proud.  Alice also got absolutely glowing reviews on her equitation from Bernie, she has a lovely half seat that allows her to stay super balanced no matter what the horse is doing.

Some videos of Beauty and Alice can be seen here:

Carol and Ladd also did well.  The cantering and jumping exercises pushed them a little, but they were able to accomplish them all by the end of the clinic.  Because Ladd's luscious arabian mane is so long I insisted that we braid it for the clinic.  After we started Bernie insisted the mane be unbraided so Carol would have something to hang on to during her crest releases, so I had to eat my hat.

Some video of Ladd and Carol can be seen here:

The first day of the clinic Raven was nuttty.  This was her first outing of the season, and she's always a little silly her first day anywhere.  However, the photos came out really nice and it became clear that she's had a lot of training in dressage as an eventing horse.  She's really starting to lift her front end and reach with her haunches, putting her in a lovely dressage frame but not so much a suitable hunter frame.  That's ok with me, since this clinic was to get her some exposure and mileage off the ranch and not to assess her suitability as a hunter.

The second day we ended up riding in the indoor arena because a quick thunder and lightning storm moved through ceasing all outdoor activities.  Raven was much better the second day because it was the second day, and she also had fewer things to worry about in an enclosed arena.

Some video of Raven can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlMiK57sHxE&t=4s

Many thanks to Catherine for hosting the clinic, we know it's no simple thing to organize and schedule such a great weekend.  Thanks too, to Bernie for coming and teaching!