EMRHA Reining Clinic with Rene Gagnon

Rene Gagnon has been in the horse industry for more years than he cares to share, but at least he would say that the reining part of his life has spanned 20 years.  Originally from Canada, and now living in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, Rene's equine career started training english and western pleasure horses, dressage horses and hunter jumpers.  His first students in Canada were showing in showmanship, horsemanship and equitation.  Twenty years ago he decided to put all of his knowledge and expertise into reining and has never looked back.  Reining, Rene says, combines all the aspects of all his work.

In 1998, Rene moved to the U.S.  He competes in the pro/open reining divisions of the NRHA and has many U.S. and Canadian championships.  He excels in teaching and his student’s combined winnings in reining alone are in excess of $300,000.  Rene's top students compete at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, the NRHA shows locally, and across the country including Oklahoma and the AQHA world show and Amateur Select world show in both reining and working cow horse classes.  Many of these students started out not even knowing what reining was all about.  Rene also has students who have gone on to open their own training facilities and are successful open/pro riders themselves.  Rene's knowledge does not stop at reining.  He coaches students in working cow horse preparation, reined cowhorse, ranch horse competitions and cutting.  Rene has been very successful with students in preparing their horses to meet and greet their first cow and when working with Rene, before a horse ever sees a cow, the horse is broke and ready to learn.  His techniques are gentle, demanding and easy to understand.  His teaching style, professionalism and good humor win over the respect of many beginners and professionals alike.

Eastern Mountain Ranch Horse Association is very excited to offer this clinic with such a talented professional.  We would like to invite you to partake in a weekend of learning and connecting with your horse on a level that will purely amaze you.  With Rene's techniques and patience, learning through his program and then taking that program home and practicing, your horse will connect with you and progress so you can start to show in reining classes, and if you already show, you will learn how to perfect your program and learn how to plus those maneuvers every time you go out into the arena.

The clinic will be split into 3 sessions:  beginner, intermediate and advanced.  Auditors always welcome:  $10.00/day

Beginner Clinic:  Saturday, March 28, 2009, 8:00 a.m. - NOON

                            $65.00 (members), $75.00 (non-members)

                            LIMIT:  15 riders

This portion of the clinic is for the very beginner.  It will cover an evaluation of horse and rider; loping on the correct lead and how to achieve that; horse's face, shoulder and hip movements; moving horses left and right; proper bitting so riders can work on collection; an introduction to the terminology of the reining class;  proper rider leg, seat, balance and hand positions; and proper equipment.  The beginner will leave with a homework program to encourage horse's flexibility, giving to the bit and techniques to maneuver your horse for the goal of achieving 100 percent response and flexibility.  Riders will have a better understanding of how to ask for cues and be more connected with their horses.  No previous reining experience required.

Intermediate Clinic:  Saturday, March 28, 2009 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

                                  $65.00 (members), $75.00 (non-members)

                                   LIMIT: 12 riders

This portion of the clinic will cover all of the above plus some very exciting, more advanced techniques and maneuvers.  This segment of the clinic will be for riders who know about reining and have perhaps attempted a few classes.  It is also suitable for the experienced rider who has a very green horse.  Horses do not have to know how to do reining maneuvers, but riders should be familiar with terminology of reining classes, collection, face, shoulder and hip movement.  This class will work on large and small circles and how to fix a horse that is cheating the circles, lead changes, stops, spins, the back up, roll backs and other programs to get your horse flexible and cooperative.  Again, horses do not need to be reiners, green horses welcome, but riders should have some knowledge of the reining class as a whole.  Riders should be able to work independently after being given instruction.  Riders will have a better understanding of reining and getting your horse to achieve the basic maneuvers of the reining class.  Intermediate riders may benefit from riding in both Saturday sessions if your horse does not bend and flex as well as you would like.  The combined price for Saturday is $125.00 (members) and $140.00 (non-members).

Advanced Clinic:  Sunday, March 29, 2009 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.  (A one hour lunch break between noon-1:00)

                             $125.00 (members), $140.00 (non-members)

                              LIMIT:  12 riders

The advanced clinic will assume knowledge and get right into working on maneuvers.  It is geared for the advanced horse and rider, focusing on those minor details that get you to the winners circle.  The advanced clinic will consist of horse evaluation, fine tuning your reining horse, horsemanship and showmanship skills, how to get those points, what the judge is looking for, what the judge actually sees, and how the judge marks each maneuver, putting the finish on horses that can do all the reining maneuvers, running through patterns and staying out of the penalty box.  Work will be done on all maneuvers:  circles, stops, spins, roll backs and back up.  Riders should have shown or had previous experience in reining classes, know all the terminology of the reining classes and have a fairly broke horse.  Horses do not have to be finished horses, but should be able to complete each maneuver.  Extensive work on finesse and going for those extra points will be covered.  Riders will leave with a program to continue working with at home.  The advanced clinic is also appropriate for the advanced rider who has a green horse, if the green horse is capable of doing all the maneuvers quietly and cooperatively.

Covered in all sessions:  proper equipment, including spurs, saddles, bits; horse and rider evaluations; self introductions by each rider and a brief comment from riders about their goals; horsemanship, including position, balance, rider legs, shoulders, hips, and heels.  Rene will also bring bits to teach riders about when and where to use the proper bit in a horse's training program. This will be a very informative clinic with lots of fun mixed in.  If you are riding in any portion of the clinic, you may audit other portions of the clinic at no charge.  There will also be a question and answer segment in each portion of the clinic.  Focus will; however, be on getting to work with that horse and not just talking about getting to work.  This clinic will leave you with more knowledge of how to get your horse advancing quietly and cooperatively and hopefully ready for the ultimate goal of meeting that cow.

The clinic will be at Burchland Country Experience 1466 Burch Road Granville, NY 12832.  Food will be available to purchase both days of the clinic and stalls are available for overnight accommodations for an additional fee.  Please contact Tammy Sapowsky at 413-335-2618 or bluespur@gogtt.net for more details.  Visit www.emrha.com for current information on all our events.