Earlier in the spring I built a corner jump for Thunder Crest Performance Horses in preparation for their clinic with Tik Maynard and Sinead Halpin. This is the same place I went to last June with Nahe to train with Tik. I was supposed to ride with him in 2020 as well with Tiger, but Covid-19 had other plans.
Tik Maynard is a lifelong equestrian. He spent time as a working student for many well-known equestrians in every discipline. He’s been a pentathlon athlete and eventer. He’s evented through advanced level and was both long and short-listed for the Canadian Eventing team. He has also won the thoroughbred makeover freestyle twice. Over the years he’s developed his own methods and authored a book called “In the Middle Are the Horsemen.” (Check out my review here).
Sinead Halpin, Tik’s wife, has been at the top of Eventing for over two decades. She’s been to the Olympics twice as reserve. She has been among the top in many of the major competitions around the world and National Champion at Rolex Kentucky. Recently Sinead has been working to develop courses in Ride IQ and help horse people everywhere. Her goal is to “bridge the gap between good horsemanship and high-performance sport.”
This year although I couldn’t afford to participate in TWO clinics I had the pleasure of auditing this one. I had already signed up for Boyd Martin and couldn’t pull the money together to ride in another in less than a month.
All I can say is I am SO glad I was able to audit this clinic!
My friend Ashley and I made a road trip out of it.
The groups were small groups of two and allowed the clinic participants to get quality instruction with more 1:1 focus. Tik would take his group into the XC field while Sinead would lead hers in the ring. For other sessions, Sinead would be in the XC field and Tik in the ring.
In two days we saw groundwork sessions, XC in-hand sessions, flat/pole work sessions, stadium jumping sessions, and XC jumping sessions. There were riders of very different levels and disciplines and EVERYONE benefited. Tik and Sinead brought horsemanship education to everyone.
The first day of the clinic I was busy texting notes into my phone’s draft email section. I took notes, videos, and photos. In nearly every session Tik and/or Sinead addressed some issues that I have had at one point with my horses. I found the instruction and obstacles to be so relatable. They broke everything down well for both the horse and the human. I was amazed when I learned that Tik and Sinead have gone to clinics and courses for pedagogy. Teaching them how to teach others. It comes through SO well because everything made sense the way they taught us.
I can’t possibly pinpoint one single most amazing moment of the two days. I was a witness to so many. So many life-changing moments. For the participants. For the horses.
I saw a horse who had spent years in a previous home being terrified into jumping from a rough home. From my understanding the horse has been in her new home for 18 months and although a long way from where she was she still had some anxiety. She would stop thinking as she approached the jump and just go at it in fear. I saw Sinead and the rider allowed her to stop and have a moment in front of the jump to process it. To look at the jump. To acknowledge it. To take a breath. I watched as they turned her away from the jump just as she looked at it acknowledging its existence. They repeated and walked up to it, allowing her to stop, look, and turned away. Finally, they trotted up to the jump and jumped it with no worry or anxiety. I witnessed as this horse’s anxiety began to melt away and confidence began to show itself.
In another session, I watched as a brave woman approached in tears and told Sinead that it was her first clinic, her first time away from home, and her anxiety was making her nauseous. I didn’t know her but I just wanted to hug her. I got goosebumps at how well Sinead handled it. She told the woman that her job is to make this a safe space where everyone is comfortable and feels safe. She told her that if she can’t make a safe comfortable environment it is her failure. She took ALL of that pressure away from her student and put it onto her shoulders…and she did it so well with strength and grace.
I got to watch Tik work with a cute but sassy little yearling as he took her around the cross-country course. In the beginning, she was hot, and nervous, and even tried to kick him several times. By the time we went back to the ring, she was quieter, more respectful, and was following his leadership.
There was a moment as Sinead was teaching a flat class when Sinead asked the riders to pick up the rein while at the halt and see what the horses did. Did they pull on the bit, raise their head, step back, or move left or right? There was a chestnut thoroughbred in that class and what I witnessed was something I’ve experienced many times. Sinead got on, saying that thoroughbreds like him are smart, willing, and eager to please. She said, “They’ll give you 30 answers for your 1 question.” The gelding stepped back, looked left, right, up, and finally softened. She released and gave him a pat. Finding the right moment to release is essential. She helped the horse realize that contact means vertical flexion.
I went home that night incredibly inspired and in the morning as I warmed up for my dressage lesson I practiced this. When Krystal arrived I told her what I learned and explained that I am aware of how busy I am and I know I need to quiet my hands. Krystal helped to reinforce that concept while teaching me to quiet my hands and half halt through my body. Almost instantaneously Stanley became more consistent, more supple, and more willing to accept contact.
It was as if Stanley watch watching a fuzzy tv channel before, and now suddenly got reception. My hands were creating noise but when I began to quiet down and use my body better he was able to see the picture more clearly. I felt my hips open. I felt our harmony improve. I felt everything get better over the whole lesson.
Although I wasn’t able to participate I am so thankful to have gone to the clinic. In a way it was nice to audit because I didn’t have to worry about my horse. I simply showed up and learned.
Knowing what I know now if I had a choice between another Boyd Martin Clinic or another Tik/Sinead clinic…I’d take the latter in a heartbeat. I learned a lot at Boyd’s, but I learned a lot more here. I learned valuable training and horsemanship lessons from Tik and Sinead. With Booyd I learned jumping, strides, and patterns. With Tik and Sinead, I can use my tools anywhere anytime with any horse. I came back from these two days more inspired and a better horseman.
We got home around dinnertime on Tuesday and decided to finish our two days with a fabulous dinner at a local eatery called Classic Crust. We enjoyed Wickle Pickle Pizza (wickle pickles, ranch, and bacon), a focaccia basket with burrata, and a jalapeno margarita (and blueberry mule for Ashley).
The Green Horseman 