In the Know : EAP
As you have probably already picked up, I have decided to add a new series to the blog titled “In the Know.” I am beyond excited for this series as I think it will give me another outlet to share personal experiences and knowledge I have gained from my junior career thus far. While I still have much to learn, my goal is to be able to bring you along in my learning journey in this sport in order to further connect with and educate my readers. Without further introduction, let's kick off my first post for this new installment!
A few weeks ago my horse and I partook in one of the many regional training sessions of the Emerging Athletes Program, created by USHJA. You must apply and be accepted to the program, I believe the deadline for all regions is April 1st, but you can check that under the Education tab on the USHJA website. EAP is a 5 day clinic hosted by a facility (in my case Mount Holyoke College) where you get the opportunity to take full care of your horse under the guidance of a fantastic barn manager/educator, and then ride while training with internationally acclaimed clinicians. Once all the regional sessions are completed, 16 riders are selected to move on to EAP Nationals which is held later in the fall. On move-in day once you get your horse and equipment moved in and settled, you are able to meet the clinicians/staff, get to know your peers, and have an introductory session on what the clinic will consist of and your expectations and responsibilities. Admittedly the week is full of long and exhausting days, but my experience at EAP was educational, inspiring and extremely fun. I was able to fully care for my horse AM to PM, be trained by Cynthia Hankins, and educated in the barn by Nanci Snyder, two extremely knowledgeable and personable horsewomen. If you are interested in applying, or preparing to go to next year's EAP, below I have listed some of my tips and tricks, overall advice, and encouraging information about the outstanding program USHJA has put together.
#1 : Be prepared! While the clinic is made to be a learning experience, I highly recommend taking some time in the weeks leading up to the clinic to familiarize yourself with some of the skills that will be asked of you at EAP (For example, wrapping, taking a horse's temperature, doing grain + stalls, etc.) This wasn’t a huge concern for me because I’ve spent a lot of time taking care of my own horses, but I was sure to spend a show morning with one of my favorite grooms lunging Flay and talking through all that I would need to be conscious of when taking care of Flay on my own. There is nothing quite like getting to do these things hands on, and I would really urge you to take the time to do so, but if for some reason you are on a busy show schedule and can’t seem to find this time, there are tons of resources online that can help educate you on things like proper stall care and horse care.
#2 : Bring the extra equipment. On USHJA’s website they provide a fairly extensive packing list that I followed as a baseline, and found very helpful, but I encourage you to pack to your needs, and don’t feel like you are bringing “too much” stuff. I brought different organizers for my grain, boots, and saddle pads, and some of my peers brought shelves and different hooks to utilize space. Some things that I had that many people borrowed from me were sharpies, zip ties, sharp scissors, and a small ladder! You are provided either 1-2 stalls for all of your stuff (hay, shavings, and equipment) that are shared with 3-4 people, so you definitely have to be strategic with where all your stuff goes. Cleanliness and organization was something that was checked each morning, and it is truly so much easier to keep your area looking neat if you have hanging organizers or extra bins to help.
#3 : Try your hardest. This may seem like a given, but a common theme that our clinicians emphasized was that you only have one horse and one person (yourself) to take care of compared to grooms at shows that may have more than a dozen horses and clients to please. You are given plenty of unstructured time throughout the day, so I would encourage you to use that to pick your stall an extra time, sweep the aisles, clean up your horse, polish your boots, etc. Although there's no need to be overly competitive in such a friendly environment, this is your time to show off and put your best foot forward; 5 days isn’t a lot of time, so make every minute count and leave nothing to be desired. That being said, it’s also important to be a team player. In my session, our barn was set up so there were two aisles, and each morning as we prepared for barn inspection, we would all work together to make our aisle look as presentable as possible. This created a “team” environment, and we were all sure to help each other out whether that was dumping someone's wheelbarrow, polishing someone’s boots, or helping them clean up when they were in a pinch.
#4: Ask questions. Before you go, make sure you ask all the necessary questions to your trainers/staff. Whether it be things about your horse that you aren’t sure of, or something about your riding that you want to clean up, take the time before you arrive to make sure you’ve covered all your bases. For me, this was an intense flat lesson with my trainer where I made sure my horse and I were on the same page, and then spent some time with my grooms talking about feed and all the important factors that go into creating a horse's diet. I also was sure to talk to people who had previously gone to EAP to hear if they had any extra advice or tips; I talked to people who had gone in the past, and reached out to some girls who had done sessions this year prior to mine. Then while you are there, ask any questions that may come with the clinicians. It may seem awkward, but they are there to answer your questions and to educate you, so use the clinicians as resources and ask whatever comes to mind. You never know, a thoughtful question could be the thing they remember you by, or could be a great conversation starter for the whole group.
#5: Create a system. Five days is plenty of time to create a schedule and stick with it. Obviously you have to follow the schedule that the program gives, but each day starts and ends the same, so I would recommend finding a routine or sequence of steps that works for you. For me, this was each morning at 6:30, as soon as I got there, giving Flay his Ulcer Guard then preparing his grain and hay while I waited for the others to arrive. Once he was eating, I would get to cleaning his stall right away as this was always the most time consuming thing for me. Each morning at 7:30 we would have an inspection, so keeping a mental checklist and steps to complete kept me on schedule and less anxious. Same thing goes for night check, I would always clean Flay’s stall one more time just to help myself out in the morning, and make sure all his tack was cleaned and set out to get ready for the next day. While it isn’t a crazy structured and tight schedule, I always wanted to make sure I had time before my rides to have my horse perfectly turned out, and after my rides to make sure I could take proper care of his body and legs. Depending on my ride times, sometimes I would use my lunch time for grooming and tacking up Flay and eat later, or I would multitask and eat my lunch while Flay iced.
I really cannot say enough good things about the Emerging Athletes Program and really urge anyone who's on the fence to apply. This program was such an incredible opportunity for me to apply my knowledge and love for horsemanship, and really get to work one on one with my horse in and out of the saddle. I know it must not be easy to put on a program such as this one, so I am beyond grateful to the clinicians and all the people behind the scenes at USHJA who make the program run so smoothly and make the program so special. I’m so excited to apply what I’ve learned to my day to day life, and hopefully have either encouraged you to look more into this unique program, or helped better prepare you for what will probably be some of the best days of your summer.
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