by Heather Thomas

My MSEDA Christine Brown Memorial Grant give back was to host a -Build your own show jumping course Jr Clinic - held at Carriage Station Farm. The group ranged from Starter-Novice worked together to fill an empty arena with a course they might see at an event then proceeded to ride the course. Students had to walk distances and consider what would be included in their levels such as a 2-stride combination, related lines, and liver pools. We discussed rules such as crossing lines, start and finish timer location, flag positioning, etc. Everyone who attended had never put a course together, so overall, everyone came out learning a new skill. At the end of the ride, we discussed what went well and what didn’t, then strategized ways to change the course to make it more rideable or more challenging.