First Kim Severson Clinic

Organizer: (noun) Person who must be everything to everyone.
(c) Shorthorse Studios

How many clinics have I been to over the years? That's probably a scary number. But this clinic was different. This time I was the organizer. I wasn't the host, because the lovely Cindy Bonamarte graciously offered her wonderful facility, Geneva Equestrian, to us. And I wasn't the financial backer. Thankfully WDCTA was there with the capital to pay for all the fees while checks were cashed. Nope, all I had to do was gather all the pieces of intel, make sure everyone gave me all the things I needed, and then run around like a chicken with my head cut off to make sure Kim was where she needed to be, when she needed to be there, with appropriate beverage in hand, and that all the rails were in their cups!

When I started the process of getting the clinic together, I promised the Southwest Chapter that I would NOT need any volunteers!! This phenomenal group of women work themselves to the bone bringing in the best opportunities for riders in our local dressage community, and they seemed a little leery of stretching themselves too thin. But have no fear! I promised. We eventers do clinics a little differently! Thankfully, my group of riders and auditors did not disappoint me, and there was more than enough support to get it all done. Especially grateful to Cindy and her barn crew for getting jumps where they needed to be, organizing dinner Saturday night and even buying the riders lunch on Saturday! And of course, this clinic would not have come to be without the tireless support of  Donna Thomas, Mary Hanneman, Caryn Vesperman, Angela Genin, and DeAnn Howard (and really everyone else too!). Thank you so much for holding my hand through all the in's and out's of clinic organization and always remaining upbeat despite my constant barrage of questions!!

How I passed the time, waiting for Kim's flight to get in...

There were no shortages of bumps in the road-- like Kim's flight nearly getting cancelled Friday night due to a faulty airplane part, but finally making it into O'Hare by midnight. The farm was a full hour and a half away, so we went to bed just as Phillip Dutton started off cross country at the Boekelo Nations Cup in the Netherlands. Neither of us waited up to see how he did (just as well, since unfortunately he popped off at the Coffin). Her flight out luckily was uneventful-- a work colleague flying out of O'Hare that night was taken in to the basement because of a tornado threat!

Yes, it rained a bit. But the horses were super!
(c) ShortHorse Studios

Although we avoided any tornadoes the weather over the weekend was not terribly cooperative either. We were constantly under threat for a huge storm; Madison got pounded by rain, Chicago got pounded by rain, but right in the middle, Lake Geneva thankfully never got anything more than a steady drizzle. Both days we pondered, would we ride outside or inside? But both days we toughed it out, and people used studs they never even knew they had, buried at the bottom of their stud kits! We broke up the bigger groups so that people had less time to stand out in the rain, and I was very grateful to all the riders who were happy to "go with the flow."

Kim's teaching style was wonderful! She understands that there is no "one size fits all" approach to horses, and was willing to engage in a conversation with every rider. Each rider had their own goals to achieve during the lessons, and Kim made sure they succeeded. She was very easy going, easy to talk to, but also very firm about what she wanted you to do. Everyone I spoke to had wonderful things to say about how she changed their riding for the better. For me personally, it was realizing that my horse is running around with her nose in her chest, and that I need to get her up before the jump, and stay stronger in my core on the landing so she doesn't land and buck. I'm glad winter is coming since it should take me about that long to fix the problem!!

Head's up, Zahra!!
(c) ShortHorse Studios

On the whole, I think Kim impressed all of us very much, but also, I think we all made a good impression on her, so she will be back!! She commented on how nice it was to see so many riders so well mounted-- everyone had the right horse for what they wanted to do. We'll be working out the final dates in the next month or two, but keep your eyes peeled for an announcement about a clinic in the Madison area for early April. And next time, I'm getting someone ELSE to coordinate meals!