Do you have the desire to host?

HOW TO host an equestrian Endurance Clinic 101 

(the steps I took to host my FIRST clinic)

It’s easier than you think. If you are a seasoned endurance rider or not you CAN host a clinic. This video will be as short as possible with good ideas. 

THE LAY OUT (adjust as desired) 

BASICS of hosting a non-riding classroom setting endurance clinic… 

YOU have the DRIVE & DESIRE to grow the sport? The desire & motivation to grow the sport starts with YOU & ME! If, you have that…. Give yourself a 6-months, you can thank me later! It will give you relaxed time to get everything done; you won’t be rushed & frustrated. 

GETTING STARTED….

1. Find a location…. A horse camp or park with a pavilion option, (especially if it rains), saddle club arena, community center or if you’re brave, your den or barn. 

Find a FREE or CHEAP location. 

2. Get approval for that location on dates. 

3. Check with AERC.org and or your region chapter/organization so that you aren’t hosting a clinic the same time of a ride in your region. You WILL need to be a member of that organization to host. 

4. Those THREE will go hand in hand together.

(On your FIRST attempt at an endurance clinic could be a NON-RIDING clinic. This will give you a taste of HOW TO and be low key verses a RIDING clinic. Having horses go out on trail will add a whole new stage of things. Afterwards if you had fun doing the classroom setting clinic, maybe next time try a clinic with horses. 

BUT KEEP IT SIMPLE! 

If getting approval from AERC.org you will need to fill out some forms. It’s easy! Fill out the forms, submit and pay the SMALL fee. 

Lay out your clinic… EXAMPLES but not limited to……Change topics for your style

What topics will you discuss & WHO are your speakers? 

1.  Fundamentals of endurance (include the rules for the LD’s, don’t forget to explain that some  change when you start hitting 50’s & up. Remember the focus is on NEWBIES getting STARTED. 

2. Rider care (apparel, socks, chaps, tights, helmet fit, packs, hydration, things to carry) 

3. Feeding the athlete (what to expect at vetting (the slop & hay),  stops along trail, soaked feed for added hydration and reduce choking, etc) 

4. Gaited and NON Arabian breeds CAN DO endurance

5. Hoof care (try and find a good farrier who is already shoeing endurance horses in your area/state). 

6. Camping at a Ride (horse containment, pros and cons, maybe a few hacks). 

7. VETTING  (people love visual thing, set up what a vet check may look like, buckets, flagging tape on portable coral stakes & cones for the trot out) How to use a stethoscope! 

8. Tack & fit (have your speakers bring their saddle/bridle set up for "Show & Tell. Express to your newbies they CAN start in what they have, if they love the sport they will eventually gradually change to tack that is better suited for endurance).  This section can be a round table discussion with 2-3 of your speakers. Two is best, the 3rd can be a heckler. LOL

LUNCH- If you have the option, have a local trail riders chapter cater lunch.  

 Back Country Horsemen of America have chapters all over the USA and LOVE to do this kind of support & promotes their work & chapter. Their mission statement is, "To keep trails open for public access to hikers, bikers with an emphasis on equestrians" These groups are ALL volunteers.  If these chapters are unavail, hotdogs or crockpot meals/ soups are great.   

The "Just TRY It" endurance 101 clinic lunch was provided by Back Country Horsemen of West AL, who are associated with Paul M. Grist State Park, Valley Grande, AL. Great trails with a great horse camp. 

9. How to Condition for a 25? 

10. Questions from audience at the end of each speaker topic

The list above are just suggestions for topics, change how you need. Speakers should have about 30-45 mins speaking time

Don’t forget to have potty breaks & lunch. 

Swag bags & door prizes at the end of the day. If you give it to them at registration they will be distracted with what’s in them, (especially if there is a lot of LOOT) and may not stay for the second half after lunch.  

Now REMEMBER your attendees will prob be people who don’t know anything about endurance (but they are there to learn), so while your speakers should be endurance riders…. DO NOT SCARE your NEWBIES away with to much in-depth details, the clinic will be long enough. You want them to know its fun and rewarding. 

MARKETING your event: Create a flier with the topics for discussion, time, location, contact info, lunch is hosted by?  Are you doing some door prizes? A FEW would be good, keep it endurance related. But don’t make your flier too wordy as folks hate to read and might miss something. Keep it short and simple and don’t forget to include your organization website(s), use an endurance riders pic with helmet. Don’t put your topic speakers names on the flier, takes up too much space and they may need to be changed. 

Clinic fee- I myself chose to do a FREE clinic, its a double edge sword. Alabama doesn’t have a ton of known endurance riders, but we have TONS of trail riders. Those trail riders turn into endurance riders. So I chose FREE over charging a fee to do more educating & seed planting with the hopes they will attend rides.  

ATTENDENCE- DO NOT overwhelm yourself with open attendance, cap your attendance at 30-40! To many people and you will be overwhelmed. Get a notebook, keep a list of those who are SIGNED UP. Your flier should say LIMITED SPOTS, reserve today, something to that effect. You will have folks cancel & those spots will get filled by others. So, while your flier says LIMITED spots, you will prob take reservations up to the date of. The real attendance will prob be around 20-30. So once you hit 30, don’t; stop taking registrations, keep marketing, keep posting, people will find you. 

******A MONTH before the clinic date, msg your attendees and do a CHECK IN to make sure they are coming. Some won’t answer at all and some will double secure their spot & may even reserve a new spot for a friend. ****

“”OPTIONAL”” but a great added, CREATE some SWAG BAGS! A little money might be spent here. But aside from hosting the clinic this is your contribution to the sport in seed planting.

BUILDING your SWAG BAG. As your swag loot comes in, set it aside, all in one location

Bags- Amazon-size 15”x18” bags are a PERFECT size, especially if the following exceeds your expectations. 

Email anyone and everyone equine product related.  Saddle companies, grooming supplies, saddlebag companies, hoof boot companies, feed companies, supplements, riding apparel, rider body chaffing products, horse & rider hydration products, portable fence companies, picket lines, biothane & beta tack makers ETC. Ask for samples, brochures and or a door prize (something small). Also tell them where they can find real confirmation that YOU ARE hosting this event. Because by now, the organization you are hosting/approval through has posted your clinic info on their website.  If hosting a FREE clinic, express this in your email. They WILL cross check your clinic information. This email will more than likely be a copy & paste kind of situation. 

Amazon also has some decent stethoscopes, grab 20-30. Pass these out at the beginning of the Vetting discussion.  I also chose to order (thirty)- 20 oz. sports bottles (in different colors). Amazon has an option that you can get the bottles customize at no extra charge (choose a color that stands out, example: neon bottle with black letters)

I had “Just TRY It” Endurance Clinic 101 added to the bottles. 

****PROMOTING****

1. Ask your sponsored organization to send you some brochures (AERC, PNW, SEDRA, SERA. Etc). for your swag bag and if you have enough put TWO out with your event flier, put your contact information inside the brochure. This way whoever grabs the brochure, will know there is someone local to them that is already involved. 

2. Post them everywhere (feed & tack stores & social media). Create the event on facebook (fb will allow you to invite up to 500 friends, invite them, deselect those who you know are to far or literally have nothing to do with horses, save those invites for those with horses)

3. Under the event itself, there is a DISCUSSION tab, use it. Create a weekly post. Something catchy, not to word, add a pic. Show some of your swag, announce who your lunch is provided by and if it’s a Back Country Horsemen of America chapter (what trail/park are they associated with etc). Making a weekly post will keep the algorithms in those who are interested in their news feed. Post of Instagram & Tiktok. 

4. Use hashtags Example: horse, #(your state), #horsemanship #(local trail head/park where lots of riders go), #trailriders  # (a breed of horse). Use these with your fb post too. 

5. Go to your local trail heads. Contact them first for approval and see if they will let you post an event flier in the office and or at the trail head kiosk. 

6.  Go to ONE equine event to pass out the event flier “&” organizations brochure. (obstacle challenge, local saddle club show, mounted shooting etc.) If at a rodeo, go to the barn/stall area because most of your inside audience are just there for a fun time. The barn is where the equestrians are.  Need an opening line to start the conversation? “Hey where do y’all ride at”? 

7.  Join a few local state horse tack fb group pages & post it there. 

8. Make post on your page, under the event that you created in the discussion part once a week  (progress pics, pics of stuff that is going into the swag bag, get creative, create interest, tag the feed/tack store with a hashtag. The last week push maybe who your speakers are.) If you need to tag the store use the “@” symbol. But you must first go find that store on facebook and FOLLOW them. This will allow you to tag that store or park. 

9. Keep up with those registering and HOW they contacted you, email, text, called, fb, social media. During this time, you will have to weed out those who just want to come pet the horses. However, this is your moment to educate them on the sport. More of that seed planting! 

10. Build your swag bags a week or two out from the clinic date. Funner with a friend. 

11. Decorate your clinic area. Not too much. Keep it simple. Your regional organization may have a banner for you to have, email ahead and ask. HANG IT. DO NOT hang it directly behind the speaker, put it at an angle that will best suit the audience so they see it the whole time. Not blocked by the speaker. It’s a visual thing. If you received one or two really cool items, these can be door prizes and draw names. 

12. Have a registration table for sign ups. This information will come in handy for future clinics and rides. Tell them about the next closest ride & encourage/invite them to come hang out and volunteer. Get a taste for the sport in full swing!