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Update: 11/Nov/09
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FHTA Third Annual Event Camp
The 2009 FHTA Event Camp was held April 4 - 5, 2009 at Canterbury Equestrian Showplace in Newberry, FL.

Eleven riders at various levels of eventing were placed into three groups, and were able to ride in all three phases under the instruction of qualified professionals all weekend.

Lani Kirk, of Gainesville, helped them with their dressage. She gave insight as to what a judge was looking for, how to ride a test accurately and smoothly, and gave constructive comments on each rider/horse.

Chris Cox, of Citra, taught the show jumping phase. After warming up with cavalettis and gymnastics, helped them negotiate a stadium course consisting of straight and bending lines, and striding. She emphasized the rules for stadium jumping, and gave riders long courses to practice.

Janet Andrews, of Cocoa, instructed the riders on cross-country. Starting off with measuring distances and pace, she had them concentrate on rhythm, focus, and direction. Riders learned about warming up correctly and how to negotiate different types of terrain as well as fences.
During the meals, there were several discussions and demonstrations. Don and Pat Collier, parents of Cindy Collier Rawson who competes in England, gave a talk about start box rules/etiquette. Dick Kearly, from Hawthorne, brought his Caspian horses and his chariot to give an entertaining driving demonstration of a simulated lion hunt.
At the end of the camp, all the riders participated in a Mini 3-phase competition, consisting of riding a dressage test and then jumping a derby-type cross-country course, which included stadium fences along with natural jumps. Ribbons and trophies were awarded. All the riders went home with more knowledge about eventing, and are already wanting to come back next year for more!
 
 
FHTA Second Annual Event Camp
An educational experience for riders of all levels
March 7-8, 2007
Canterbury Showplace ~ Newberry, FL
 
Florida Horse Trials Association, Inc. is proud to organize and sponsor this camp.
FHTA, Inc. thanks Wendy Low on behalf of Canterbury Showplace for assisting with this effort.
 
Click For a SlideShow from the 2007 FHTA Event Camp
 
Quotes from 2007 Camp Participants:
  • The 2007 FHTA Eventing Camp held at Canterbury Showplace, Inc. in Newberry, Florida was a very helpful and educational experience. I would recommend that all riders new to eventing, working their way through the lower levels, make plans to attend the camp next year. The organizers greeted us with wonderful gift bags, stocked with USEA materials, horse treats and even t-shirts to wear at the barn! The clinic took place over two sunny days and riders were put into compatible riding groups. Riders rode all three phases with different clinicians. Pat Deasy schooled everyone cross-country and people got to try their hands at galloping to a specific pace, jumping banks, ditches, water jumps and many other natural obstacles. Pat was very encouraging and had an eye for safety as well. Ty McClung schooled the riders over the stadium phase and had riders pay close attention to adjusting their horse's length of stride and also had riders try their hand at jumping combination jumps at an angle. Lani Kirk was the dressage clinician for the camp and gave riders practical tips to ride a dressage test and to use while schooling at home. One group was able to school a quadrille, which was where four horse and rider combinations did the same exercise at the same time. It was a lot of fun!
    The Camp included wonderful meals and an educational talk from an experienced saddle-fitter, Galadriel Billington, as well as watching and discussing USEA training videos. One of the most unique features of this year's camp was a special Core Strength and Balance class for riders using an exercise ball to improve balance and coordination for the rider, taught by Emory Philman (This took place off the horse, of course!) The food was terrific and many riders made lots of new friends while at the camp, which was an added bonus. Thanks to the organizers from FHTA for providing this terrific learning opportunity!
    Krista Wilson
    Camp Attendee, 2007
  • just wanted to say that i really did have a great time, and will definately be back next year....Sabra
  • We had a great time at the event and learned alot. dressage and x country were very good.....KerryAnn
  • I very much enjoyed it. Being new at eventing and on a very green pony I think much more would have been too much for us. thanks for organizing it! Barbie
  • For xc, I loved Pat, she made my horse and I feel much better and was able to bring out the best in her and get her working better and got my confidence back. She was able to see how my horse worked and within minutes and despite my horse's bad day, it was better. Sunday, the dressage was incredible. Lani was fantastic. I had never done a quadrille before and that was totally awesome. It totally redeemed my horse, me and my whole weekend the wonderful comments she had to say about my horse. I could have not asked for more.....Kallie
  • I really appreciate all the work that went into this year's Eventing Camp. The schedule was packed- not one minute was wasted, that's for sure! I loved the gift bags and can always use another barn t-shirt to wear- Duchess ate all of the treats in a week also:) My favorite part of the clinic was the dressage with Lani Kirk. She was very complimentary of my horse, but very diplomatically told me that I needed to relax and enjoy the ride more. Her suggestion of riding to music and the analogy of dance partners was very effective: I plan to try her suggestions at home, soon. She had us ride in quadrille, which was loads of fun! I can honestly say that I have never once had fun in a dressage lesson until now! She found a way to make it fun, which for someone like me, who really struggles to understand dressage, was truly appreciated......I would definitely recommend this to people in the future! A suggestion for the future, have people watch videotaped rides and analyze them.....Krista
  • I just wanted to let you know how much Tyler enjoyed and learned at the camp. She had a lesson with her Trainer on Monday after camp. Her trainer was so excitied to see how well Tyler and Shayla did during their lesson. She was very impressed with what Tyler had learned. I was surprised at how much she remembered. Last weekend Tyler had the 4H District horse show in Mariana. She brought home two first places and one of those was in her jumping class....Durene
 
FHTA Spring Event Camp
An educational experience for riders of all levels
March 18-19, 2006
Canterbury Showplace ~ Newberry, FL
 
Florida Horse Trials Association, Inc. is proud to organize and sponsor this camp.
FHTA, Inc. thanks Wendy Low on behalf of Canterbury Showplace for assisting with this effort.
Camp Goals: to provide an educational experience in all phases of a horse trial competition, including a simulated competition to allow members to solidify current skills and gain more advanced skills. Participants will also benefit from informal discussions with instructors about improving their skills for each phase of a horse trial as well as how to be successful in competition.
 
Camp Format: Riders will be assigned to 3 groups of no more than 4 riders. PARTICIPATION WILL BE LIMITED TO 12 RIDERS. Auditors may attend – audit all sessions, take part in lunch and dinner sessions for only $10 .
 
Day 1: Riders will participate in separate dressage, stadium jumping, and cross country instructional sessions of about 1.5 hrs each, led by an experienced event rider/instructor. Non-mounted discussion sessions with instructors will allow for more detailed explanations of each phase including how to evaluate a course during the course walk. Breaks will be scheduled between sessions.
 
Day 2: Riders will perform tests similar to that of an actual horse trial, including a ride-a-test dressage format, stadium course, and cross country course with the opportunity to discuss the performance with the instructor and repeat the tests to solidify skills.
 
Who should participate? Event riders of all levels and those wishing to learn about the exciting sport of eventing. Groups will be divided into beginner novice and below, novice, training and above. Non-riding members may participate by volunteering for jump crew or as dressage scribes.
 
FHTA, Inc. Spring Event Camp fee of only $100 includes: 2 days of instruction on each phase of a horse trial, non-mounted discussion session with instructors, lunch and dinner on Saturday, continental breakfast on Sunday, on-grounds stabling for Saturday night.
Arrangements for stabling other nights can be made directly with Canterbury for $15/night (special FHTA, Inc. rate!).

Our first annual Event Camp held at Canterbury March 18-19 was a huge success! We had 10 riders divided into 3 separate groups that rode for both days, practicing all three phases of eventing.

Lanie Kirk taught the dressage phase, having riders practice the movements they'd do in their event tests, along with some more advanced movements to help make corrections during their tests. On Sunday they did a Ride-A-Test with a critique at the end, while other riders helped scribe and/or helped judge, discussing the scores and what the judge is looking for during the movements. It really gave the riders some insight from the judge's point of view. She offered some tips on how to handle a good (or bad) warmup.

Henriette Borst taught the show jumping phase. Emphasizing correct position with lots of impulsion without speed, she had riders plan a strategy for riding courses, handling refusals, and showing them techniques to keep the horse "tuned in" and in front of their leg. On Sunday, they practiced courses, and if they had any problems with their techniques, Yet would get on their horses and show them how to get them on the aids and in the correct position.

Carol Ogden taught the cross-country phase, starting out with timing them at 350 mpm so they could get an idea of how fast they needed to be going. After warming up over some low fences, riders learned techniques for jumping different types of fences, from banks to water. Then they put several fences together for a short course, learning to establish a nice rhythm throughout. Carol offered some tips on dealing with nerves and the start box, as well as getting confident and conveying it to your horse on XC.

On Saturday night, the riders, volunteers, and instructors were treated to a catered BBQ dinner, and held an open discussion with question & answer session. All went away with a wealth of new knowledge, eager to go home and practice what they'd learned, and a lot of enthusiasm! Thanks to all who helped put this camp on -- we hope to do it every year, and encourage everyone to come and have a great time!

Remember, this Camp is just one more benefit for FHTA, Inc. members ONLY. If you are not currently a member, you can join at the same time you sign up for the Camp.
Click For a SlideShow from the 2006 FHTA Event Camp
 
Quotes from 2006 Camp Participants:
  • Thank you so much for letting us share in the fabulous clinic!! Natalie talked the whole way home--3 hours--when she usually falls asleep! She was so full of new knowledge and remembering everything said and each jump in detail...it was a tremendous experience for both. I, too, had a wonderful time, met some great people and learned a lot.
    -----Linda Palumbo
  • I wanted to thank you very much for your organization of and teaching at this past weekend's clinic - it was fantastic! I personally support twice a year clinics and wouldn't mind paying more - what a deal =) Thank you!
    ------Veronica Lye
  • Please accept my thanks to you as well as FHTA, all the volunteers, and Wendy Low and Canterbury Equestrian Showplace for putting on the FHTA Event Camp. As a participant, I had a fantastic time. The facility was ideal, the instruction current and encouraging, and I met some very nice people who are on the same wavelength as I am. I came away from the weekend with some great ideas and my horse learned something too. I am looking forward to what FHTA has planned next. The event camp is a terrific way to get people motivated and build confidence for acutally competing at an event. Thank you!
    ------Karin Rychak
 
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