Mar 18, 2015 at 02:56 pm #16006

I needed a day or so to regroup after Professional Clinician Shana Terry jammed so much information into my brain cells in the 3 days we spent at the Downunder Horsemanship ranch. My name, address, and phone number got replaced by instructions on how to ask with the reins and tell with the spurs so it took awhile to find my way home!

But sitting here this morning, I realized fully what a great opportunity this was. When I was new to the club in 2010, Shana was available for private lessons. Shortly thereafter, she wasn’t available anymore, as Clinton had her doing other things. Other than a Fundamentals lesson/clinic here and there, Shana has not been available like she is now, and truthfully there are many other things that she could be doing, so we have no idea how long she’ll be available for us, the public. So if you’re on the fence, don’t wait. Get those lessons scheduled now.

I knew Shana was great, but I was not prepared for her level of expectations. Previous clinicians were really good, but Shana raised the bar. She raised it so high, I know I can’t reach it just now. But that’s okay, she gave each of us the tools we need. Now it’s up to us to practice, practice, practice and eventually we can get there, or at least get as close as we can.

I was happy with the results I was getting in doing the Intermediate exercises without spurs, but I am excited, thrilled, and extremely humbled by the results that I got after following her instruction and by watching her get on my horse and really demand more of him than I ever have. Eye-opening doesn’t even begin to describe it. I so wished I had had Shana’s help and guidance when struggling through the Fundamentals level. But maybe that would have been too much, I don’t know.

We had four participants, and I think that was the perfect number. We spent the first day reviewing the Fundamentals and got through all the groundwork in the morning and all of the riding in the afternoon, and began one or two Intermediate exercises that day as well. The next morning, we dove into the Intermediates. Ready or not

One thing Shana said sticks in my mind this morning – the advanced stuff is nothing more than better basics. There were several Fundamental exercises that we never stopped doing, and while at home we should never stop doing them, either. Yielding, Bending, Flexing, Draw to a Stop, and Backing up – we never stop doing those and we worked on them throughout the lesson, but we still managed to cover most of the Intermediate exercises as well.

We also went out to the obstacle course every morning for groundwork, and we went out of the arena every afternoon during the riding portion. We went to the Back 40 to circle objects and do roll backs. We went to the gullies to work on going up and down steep slopes (those slopes are MUCH steeper than they appear on TV, just FYI) and bending, and we went to the area we see on TV and DVDs all the time where the trees are.

**Side note – Marty was out in those trees grazing and whinnied and came running up to Shana when he heard her voice. And my dork of a horse spooked at him We also rode past Diez, all bundled up in his hood, blanket, and tail wrap. Just his eyes peeking out

A difference from past clinics and lessons I have attended – Shana does not give a morning and afternoon break. If you need to take a break, get a drink, or use the restroom, you just have to find an opportunity and go and then come back before you miss anything. Although with just four of us, taking a break wasn’t a big deal as there was plenty of time to catch up. Shana gave us a full honest 8 hours a day, running a little late in the evening with no quitting early, and there was no need to come early or stay late because we got everything asked, answered, and practiced within the lesson time.

By the time we did our evening chores and got back to the hotel, there was time to take a bath, eat supper, and go right to sleep. I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well during any previous lesson. I slept ten to twelve hours every night

The weather was great. Overcast and a little cool one day and sunny but not too hot all the others. We needed jackets in the mornings, but it was tshirt weather by the afternoon. The tops of my ears are sunburned, the one place I forgot to put sunblock.

Continuing this post with pictures….

Melinda

I'm not telling you it's going to be easy; I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.