Team J News Issue 19 - Glenn Innes Pony Club Instructors Clinic.

I flew out of a wet Sydney on Friday 22nd June to Australia's highest city, Armidale in the States North West, to do a 2 day Pony Club Instructors Clinic for Zone 13.

Greg Dawson, the Zones Chief Instructor, met me at the airport and was my convivial & informative chauffer to Glenn Innes and back.

The clinic was held at the picturesque and historic Glenn Innes Showground which is the home for the Glenn Innes Pony Club and the 3 day annual Glenn Innes Agricultural Show.

Over 40 Coaches and trainees from clubs that included Wee Waa, Uralla, Armidale, Guyra, Tenterfield, Emmaville, Glenn Innes & Ashford participated in the 2 days of training.

Day 1 was targeting Flat work and Coaching Principles. I started with a theory session inside with our large group warmed with heaters and delicious morning teas provided by the welcoming ladies. A quiz that revealed everybody's preferred learning styles led into a lesson planning exercise. Other topics covered included: Rider position, aids and their application, Tracks of the arena, commands for instruction, footfalls and beats of the gaits.

After lunch we ventured outside, where after a group gear checking exercise, I gave a demonstration lesson to our terrific group of "Guinea Pig" riders; Erin, Miranda, Bianca and Stacey. I involved members of our trainee and renewing coaches with commands, rider corrections, questioning and feedback. Day 1 concluded with more hot coffee indoors and a terrifically interactive group summary and feedback session.

Jumping was the theme for Day 2. Our morning theory session covered Gear requirements for jumping, the 2 & 3-point position, releases, the 5 phases of the jump, rider faults, horse faults, rail exercises, grids and course walking and building. After lunch our outdoor session with the guinea pig riders focused on teaching from single rails to a progressive grid. The concluding indoor feedback session was rewarding and satisfying for me. Roger Braham, the State President of the NSW PCA was an interested member of the weekend workshop, and the enthusiasm and attentiveness of the entire group made my job most rewarding.

I would like to thank everyone from Glenn Innes and Zone 13 for their warm hospitality and for the extra effort they put in to show me some of the sites around Glenn Innes including the Australian Standing Stones.