Dominic Schramm Clinic

 My barn owner was able to nab a riding slot in a clinic with Dom Schramm the weekend after Thanksgiving over at Polestar. She asked if I could attend to take video for her and I enthusiastically agreed. This particular clinic at Polestar isn't advertised, Meika brings him and typically fills all the spots with either boarders or current/former clients. 

Trainer has raved about him and strongly encouraged me to go audit; barn owner did as well. She struggles with confidence and anxiety and loved how encouraging Dom is while still pushing you to the edge or outside of your comfort zone if he thinks you're capable. 

Most of the media I took is on barn owner's phone for her social media but I got a couple things of the other participants. He had a lot of words of wisdom that I found helpful and I immediately saw why everyone loves riding with him. He's so down to earth and clearly has a good sense of humor.

The clinic focused on rideability for jumping and he built horse and rider up adding complexity to simple exercises while encouraging the riders to treat the exercise the same as if it were simple to help build confidence. 

They started with trot poles in the center and did a big, loopy figure 8 around the arena with a bounce at one end and a one stride at the other. They were to trot the ground poles and canter the jumps. For horses that were rushing they had to get back to trot before passing through the center. 

He emphasized that you cannot have a horse lowering its head if your hands are up high in the air and to really use your body to communicate the sit up and transition. It will feel like you're fighting your instincts (you are, bending into a fetal position is instinctual but the opposite of what the horse needs)  but the horse will become more responsive.

Each horse became much more sensitive to seat aids and offered more adjustability as the course became more complicated. 

The second day took that rateability and turned it into more intricate turning. I got there a bit early so I was able to watch the first group of riders. When it was Barn Owner's turn, Dom had them start with a grid exercise of three bounces. From there, they moved to a gymnastic line of 1stride-bounce-1stride-bounce-1stride-bounce-1stride-bounce.  This really helped the horse realize how much it needed to compress and jump with power rather than flat out. 

It made me really wish I could join in. That will be goals! Ride in one of these clinics!