The latest edition to the Walking Horse industry is the recently formed Academy Program. Under this program, both youth and adult students have the opportunity to take riding lessons from TWHBEA certified instructors and compete on a level playing field with other academy students.
Sponsored by TWHBEA and WHOA, this exciting new program was created primarily as a way to introduce the performance show horse to a wider market, but it also features opportunities for new riders to experience flat shod horses as well. This diversity is especially important because the two divisions are interdependent upon each other for continued growth and expansion.
The Academy Program offers beginning riders the ability to experience the joys of showing at an affordable cost and encourages them to improve their riding skills. This will produce more competent riders that will perhaps be in the market to purchase a show horse of their own.
Faye Lynn Coffey, one of the top instructors from Murfreesboro, Tenn. expressed her sentiments regarding this program, “It has encouraged my students to set goals and achieve them by working harder. Their skills have increased and become more refined. It’s been great to see their confidence grow! This gives my newer students the same opportunity to show as the more advanced students that they admire.”
All TWHBEA certified instructors have passed both written and oral exams after attending clinics held by TWHBEA. Level I instructors are qualified candidates for teaching riding at a rudimentary level. There are currently three level I clinics scheduled for 2003 and two in 2004.
Level II instructors are qualified for teaching showmanship and equitation at a competitive level. A working knowledge of the show horse, including, but not limited to anatomy, health aid, training techniques, and horse welfare will be required. Certification in CPR is also a requirement at this level, and only one level II clinic will be held each year.
Along with increasing the number of qualified and certified riding instructors, the program hopes to encourage stables to offer lesson programs by explaining the short and long-term financial benefits it can offer. Faye Lynn Coffey, says “[the program] allows students that may never purchase a horse to experience the excitement of competition. That has been extremely positive for my business as my lesson program has increased along with the sale and leasing of show horses.”
Another enthusiastic academy instructor, Liz Gassaway of Shelbyville, Tenn. currently has approximately ten students involved in her Academy Program that range in age from 4 to 40. She adds, “I really love teaching new people about the thrill of riding and showing padded performance horses, and the Academy Program has created a brand new market for the under $25,000 performance show horse.”
Academy students are taught the fundamentals of riding and showing. Students take lessons on “school” horses and are charged an hourly rate. They are eligible to participate in academy shows or academy classes at NHSC sanctioned horse shows, and these events are strictly limited to students taking lessons on school horses.
Life-long Walking Horse exhibitor, Candy Whitehead Green recently began a lesson program at her family’s training barn in Shelbyville, Tenn., Victory Farm. She says, “It’s so fun to see new people learn to love the performance horse and enjoy them as much as we do. I love seeing the smiles on the kids faces after they experience the thrill of riding a performance horse.”
Although she started her program primarily to reach out to people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience riding Walking Horses, she has seen another wonderful result. “Several of the customers in our barn that own horses but have never ridden now want to learn to ride after watching some of my lessons,” Green shared.
One specific goal of the program was the development of a series of winter tournaments for academy students. These tournaments are scheduled in any given geographic area where three or more instructors are located. These instructors must offer programs that include both performance show horses and flat shod horses.
The first TWHBEA winter tournaments held during January and February were a tremendous success. Four shows were held; two in Bowling Green, Ky. and two in Shelbyville, Tenn. This program was developed out of the Performance Show Horse Division of TWHBEA. Both TWHBEA and WHOA have made a strong commitment to promoting academy shows and encouraging NHSC affiliated shows to include academy classes during the regular show season.
These tournaments gave many students the opportunity to ride in the show ring for the very first time. Liz Gassaway shared her feelings about this type of opportunity for her students, “It gave them a chance to show what they’ve learned and practice skills like maneuvering around other horses and reversing with their instructors in the ring for support.”
Perhaps the most impressive fact about the winter tournaments was the fact that the participants showed positive improvement after each event. 11 year old Casey Floyd, son of Mike and Jada Floyd of Columbia, Tenn., was no exception. His instructor, Rollie Beard of Lewisburg, Tenn., was very impressed with his progress since beginning lessons last September.
“He really improved after each show. He just got better and better, and became more interested in riding because of the tournaments. In fact his parents are now looking to buy a horse so that he can move up into the 11 and Under class later this year,” Beard said.