Featured Article (December 2007)

Back by popular demand, Mike Henaghan returned to The Barracks in Charlottesville for a second consecutive year to teach the Virginia Horse Shows Association mounted clinic. Five of the 12 finalists for berths on the 2000 US Olympic Jumping team were trained by Mike Henaghen.

He has also trained Olympians Greg Best, Norman Del Jollio and Beezie Patton-Madden. I would bet that if one were to take a survey of these riders as to what were the secret ingredients to Mike’s great success as a trainer the answers would be something like: he has the innate ability to take what might seem like the most complicated issue and break it down to the most simple and accessible; he has the gift of always framing a situation in the most positive manner; he empowers his riders.

This VHSA mounted clinic is like a pony club rally for those of us who never got to go to pony club. We take care of our own horses, cleaning their stalls, feeding, grooming and preparing them for our clinic sessions. There is always a special camaraderie among the groups and the sharing of chores. "I’ll clean the tack if you’ll do the wrapping so we can get to our favorite Indian restaurant in time for our reservation." Each year has been unique. I always come away with some very important exercises and a greater understanding of my horse and myself.

Our first session on Saturday, Mike worked with us on being able to feel where the horse’s inside hind leg was to help us more easily maneuver leg yielding and feeling the hind end. He wanted us to feel the connectivity to the whole horse at all times. (These exercises would be crucial in order to negotiate the course he had set for all the groups the following day). We needed to ride the whole horse all the time not just ride the back and the front as though they were separate entities. He made the point that when we work on the flat we are the "dictators" and over fences we must be "partners." During our flat work phase no group was exempt from riding without stirrups. He stressed the importance of always doing some work in two point, feeling yourself over your legs, being aware of the four angles; ankle, knee, hip and elbow.

On the first day he had more jumping exercises than in past years. We did a lot of work with ground lines on both sides of a vertical with a left or right turn to an oxer. He wanted us to be able to compress or lengthen to make the striding work smoothly. If one thought one had struggled a bit in some aspects of the session one only had to watch some of the other sessions to not "feel like the Lone Ranger."

Rachel, ever my cohort in crime and I made it out of the barn in time to actually go back to our hotel take a shower and go out for a great dinner! Very civilized.

As I had helped to set the course for the second day I had a rather good idea what was going to be in store for us. As the juniors/3’6" group went before ours I had the opportunity to watch and prepare for "my training opportunity." (Mike had reminded one of the perfectionist teenagers that THIS WAS NOT A HORSE SHOW! This was a clinic which was a training opportunity!) Again this second day, the connectivity to the horse was crucial. One needed to ANALYSE and REACT, one of Mike’s favorite statements. We were so well prepared during the flatwork phase that when we moved on to the coursework what seemed really rather daunting proved to be a wonderful challenge.

With Mike I am always able to put myself in such a positive frame of mind. I know that any difficulty I might encounter he will help me see it through to a successful end. I believe that this attitude really enhanced my "training opportunity."

We worked on the course in parts, adding a single fence or combination as we went along putting together the completed course. The last group of fences was a roll back, followed by a rather long canter to a ramped oxer. That line was followed by short ride down the side of the arena with a right turn to a diagonal line of a very airy looking vertical one stride combination. We then would turn left to another oxer with potted trees strategically placed on the landing side to ask the question of "which track would you chose to ride to a forward six stride to a "skinny roll top" also decorated with trees and plants?

All the fences were riding so well. I felt the connectivity as I turned off the track to the airy combination. As I chose the track over the oxer to the inside of the trees and just cruised down to the skinny roll top, I could just see and feel that it was all "right there!" I jumped that last fence with the most wonderfully exhilarating feeling of accomplishment and Mike’s praise. Yesterday I had struggled. What was the difference today that everything just seemed to flow? I’ll tell you. It’s something Mike had said to one of the juniors in the earlier session. It was four words. "Just ride what is!"

Don’t hesitate to plan for your next "training opportunity" and Happy Holidays. u