I traveled to Vinalhaven Island off the coast of ME to give a clinic at Salt Pond Farm. I love visiting Vinalhaven because of my childhood memories visiting my grandparents every summer. I also found my Friesian gelding Douwe on the island too. I am really good friends with Britt Radley, owner of Salt Pond Farm. I worked with her on Samson, an 18 hand Shire gelding. She is doing a great job with him, getting him more forward and round in the trot and canter. Samson is really big so he finds it difficult to leg-yield and really bend his body. We started some leg-yielding with him against the rail. Using the wall makes it clearer to him that he needs to go sideways and cross his legs rather than try to push through the reins and ignore the leg. After her lesson I taught a braiding clinic to her Pony Club students. That was a lot of fun. We did french braiding, button braids, and the diamond weave. The girls were adorable! Some had never braided before and they were able to practice on Britt’s miniature mare Foxy. On Saturday I taught lessons all day to Britt and her students. I focused a lot on proper position, learning how to leg-yield and the canter. It was quite chilly on the island and damp. I definitely had to wear a lot of layers! Everyone worked really hard on their basics and I look forward to visiting again in June for another clinic.
Showing the girls how to french braid.
Teaching the younger girls how to braid.
Position work with Martha on Tally.