10 Years in the New Forest
This year marks 10 years of clinics in the New Forest. We began with the idea of creating a fully immersive clinic for our students. We wanted to offer them the opportunity to enhance their partnership with their horses in a short space of time and to challenge both them and their horses with terrain, group riding, and exercises they couldn’t find anywhere else.
Finding the Perfect Location
We searched the country for the right location that had everything we wanted to offer and eventually settled on the New Forest. We had originally planned to run this clinic for a year or so, then move on to find somewhere new and more challenging, but what we found was so much more. The New Forest has provided everything we asked for. We wanted gentle rolling hills and quiet shaded forests for our Intro group— and we got it. We wanted more challenging peaks and valleys and long stretches of soft grass to gallop on— and we got it. We wanted to offer our students a safe environment to swim with their horses— and we found it. The more we explored, the more we realized that this was the perfect place to stay. Over the years, our New Forest clinics have become a bucket-list experience, a must-do for students from all over.
Using the New Forest as our Arena
We describe these clinics as a ‘clinic on the trail,’ as they are a far stretch from a simple guided trail ride. Throughout the clinic, Sean helps students use the open moors, winding tracks, hills, trees, rivers, and lakes as varied locations to work on their horsemanship and enhance their partnership with their horses.
The Clinics We Offer: From Intro to Advanced
Intro Clinic: Building Confidence and Exposure
The Intro clinic focuses on helping students and horses build confidence and gain exposure. It is ideal for young or inexperienced horses, or slightly nervous trail riders seeking more exposure. This clinic is slower-paced than the others, but students still work on the essential skills needed to expand their confidence and deepen their partnership with their horses.
Intro-Intermediate: Strengthening Partnerships
This clinic is designed for students looking to strengthen their partnership with their horses. Sean helps students navigate more challenging terrain, use higher gaits, and gain additional skills.
Intermediate-Advanced: Taking Your Horsemanship to the Next Level
This clinic is all about taking students and their horses to the next level. Sean helps people work on mental and physical challenges, refine higher gaits, and master the ingredients for more complex manoeuvres, including jumping, flying changes, quality gaits, and distances.
The Evolution of Our Clinics: Techniques for Success
Over the years, these clinics have evolved. Sean has developed a strong and successful set of techniques and patterns, which he shares to set students and their horses up for success. His methods ensure that progress isn’t fleeting and can be taken home and applied to daily training.
Highlights Over the Years
Each year, these clinics have their own special highlights. But as I look back over the years, if I had to choose one thing that stands out the most, it would be the pure joy on people’s faces when they feel their horse swim beneath them for the first time and the stark changes in horses and students from walking out of the gate on day one to returning after their last ride. It truly is a transformative experience for both horses and riders, and I consider it a great pleasure to be part of it each year.
A Special Place: The New Forest in Our Hearts
These days, the New Forest holds a very special place in our hearts. There are not many places left on our small island where you can find such wide open spaces to explore and enjoy. For me, and so many others, there is no better way to experience this than from the back of my horse.
