OSA Members Attend Stacy Westfall Clinic

Members of the Ontario Sidesaddle Association attended the Stacy Westfall Clinic at 5 Star Ranch in Campbellville, Ontario, May 25-27, 2012. Although not specifically targeted to sidesaddle riders, the concepts Stacy taught would apply to all horses and riders of any discipline. Topics covered included:

L-R: Stacy Westfall & Popcorn, Kathie Wilkinson & Taffy,
Gail Haynes & Jay

• Basic Groundwork

• Starting Young Horses

• Basic Body Control

• Trailer Loading

• Whoa

• Bowing

• Bridleless Riding

Of particular interest was the segment on teaching your horse to bow. This might be a good way to help sidesaddle riders mount their horses when a mounting block or something to use as one is not available, and no one is around to give the rider a leg up. We would love to know if anyone has tried this on a sidesaddle, and how did it work out? Send us your stories to share on this blog. One or two of us may experiment with this and will let everyone know how it goes.

Overall, it was a great clinic and a large amount of information was shared. For more information on Stacy Westfall and her future clinic schedule, visit http://www.westfallhorsemanship.com/.

NB: A Canadian supplier of Stacy Westfall DVDs and training equipment is Apple Saddlery in Ottawa. Visit http://www.applesaddlery.com/.