Event Description
Instructors will coach you and your horse over coops, logs, creeks, and trails located in Camargo Hunt’s beautiful, private Owen County hunt territory. Jumping groups will be divided based on horse and rider ability and experience. The clinic is approximately 2 ½ hours. All jumping riders should be prepared to jump 2’6”- 3’ (no first-time jumpers please!). Jumps will include coops, stone walls, logs, etc. There will also be a hilltop (non-jumping) group. The terrain will consist of rolling hills, wooded trails, creeks, ditches and gates.
Come back and practice your skills at our hunter pace on Sunday!
Reminder that trainers that bring 2+ paying riders are invited to ride for free!
Clinic divisions:
The hilltop group serves many purposes - it is a great place for green horses and riders to learn the ropes or for those who enjoy a more relaxed pace to still enjoy the thrill of the chase. At the clinic, this group will practice skills such as crossing creeks and ditches, opening and closing gates, trotting up and down hills, and understanding terms and practices that are likely to be helpful to hilltoppers, such as "walking reverse" and "Ware staff!"
The beginner fieldhunter group is for those who are proficient over 2'6 to 3' jumps in the arena (no first time jumpers please!) but want to learn to jump cross country. These riders and their horses should already be comfortable crossing creeks and ditches, cantering up hills and trotting down hills, and riding in a group. This clinic group is wonderful for aspiring foxhunters, but also for beginner eventers or for arena jumpers who want to expose their horses to a new challenge. Expect to practice over 5 to 7 of our most straightforward, forgiving coops, to experience galloping up hills in a group, and to work on cantering down hills one at a time. Riders will also learn terms and skills useful in the hunt field, such as "walking reverse" and "Ware staff!"
The intermediate group is perfect for fieldhunters who want to improve their skills in the hunt field but also for eventers who want to practice for cross country under the tutelage of an experienced eventing competitor and coach. Riders and horses in this group should have experience riding and jumping cross country and in a group and be comfortable crossing creeks and ditches, galloping up hills and cantering down hills. Expect to face 8 to 10 jumps, including a few of the more "trappy" approaches, some uphill, some downhill, some following or followed by a ditch or a sharp turn. Riders will also learn skills and terms important to understanding the sport of foxhunting.
The experienced fieldhunter group is intended for hunt members who regularly hunt first field and need a tune up for the coming season. It is also an opportunity for those foxhunters to increase their understanding of the sport by riding with and learning from an active huntsman. It may also be an excellent experience for seasoned eventers who are interested in foxhunting or just looking for a new challenge for themselves or their horses. Riders and horses in this group should be comfortable crossing creeks and ditches at speed, galloping up and down hills, and jumping in a line, one after another, as is done in the first field during a hunt. This group will most closely resemble an actual foxhunt, though the clinician will offer guidance and instruction where helpful. Riders will have the opportunity to ask questions of and hear advice from the huntsman's viewpoint: why staff and hounds do certain things or make certain decisions, and be exposed to skills which are helpful to hunt staff.
