THE GATHERING
by Beth Anne Doblado
Sure is hard to figure out where to start to describe this event. It was like
no other I have ever experienced....here goes.....
We gathered at Stanley Park Fairgrounds, home of the Rooftop Rodeo, in Estes
Park Colorado: about 120 students, 13 teachers, 9 or so horses and riders for
demos. Estes Park is one of the most beautiful places in the US of A. High in
the Rockies, fresh air, sunshine, and water so sweet you can drink out of the
tap....I digress. You get the picture.
The students were broken up in to 4 groups and rotated around the park, so
you did not miss a presentation from anyone! This event was extremely well
organized thanks to the efforts of Linda Bertani and Jody Denning.
The days began and ended with Mark Rashid or Harry Whitney working with a
horse. Harry started a colt with help from his horse Turbo. Mark gave a
riding lesson to Marlene and her bay mare, and worked a colt on long lines
from the ground the last two days.
We had two chiropractors, Dave Siemans & Susan Crawford. Dave gave both
horses & riders chiro sessions. Susan specializes in Cranio Sacral Work. Dave
Genadek taught us about saddle fit. Stuart Greenberg taught us about hoofcare
and proper shoeing. Dr Deb gave a lecture on biomechanics and working with
the inside of the horse (spirit) to get results on the outside. Jessica
Jahiel gave riding lessons all week to demo horses & riders. Todd Williams
taught us all about the horses mouth and equine dentistry.
On the business end, Linda Bertani offered a course on Marketing. Jeff Abbas
gave a great lecture on how to get the most out of your Personal Computer.
Chris Ryan gave us legal advice, and Vic Bertani taught us about Adult
Learning and how to get the most out of your learning experiences. I will
admit when I saw the program I thought I might skip out on some of these
classes and go find the horses. But they were not to be missed. These classes
were so beneficial to our learning and I thought they were a great part of
the entire conference.
I think what was most significant about this experience was the complete
support and dedication from teachers and students. Teachers sat side by side
with the students, learning from their contemporaries. Students asked well
thought out questions. The teachers wove each other's information in to their
own lectures, so as to build on common themes. We had three roundtable
discussions, one of which was not planned. The teachers heard that students
had questions so they skipped dinner to sit down with us and answer all our
questions. Finally, the students were so supportive of eachother...just ask
the demo riders ;-) They were approached all week with positive feedback and
warm wishes.
We had a Banquet on Wednesday night. Great food, great company, funny
roasting of the teachers and jokes about the common experiences. Mark's band
the elktones played and we danced the night away.
This was more than just a conference on horses....it was....a.....Gathering.
I am still grasping for the words that would best describe it.
I would recommend the Gathering above all other events I have seen for any
person who is dedicated to learning more about the horse and bettering their
horsemanship skills. We had the best of the best for our instructors and I
made some great friends across the country. The cost was a mere $250 for
advanced registration and $350 for late reg. I would imagine that price will
go up a bit next year. For 5 days of classes in everything about the horse
from some of the best horsemen and women in the US today, it was an absolute
bargain. Then again, these teachers were not there for the money, they were
there for the horses and the students.
Did I cover it all Gathering friends? Probably not. Jump in and add to this!
