Amy Heartfield, AQHA’s international intern, and the Texas Tech University horsemanship clinic team finish their first clinic, which lasted four days in Hamar, Norway.

Kelsey Stokes, True Burson, Amy Heartfield, Luke England and Mattie Dunshee gather around after the Texas Tech University horsemanship clinic in Hamar, Norway. Photo by Heidi Gronvold.

Hilsen fra Norge!

We just finished up a wonderful first clinic in Hamar, Norway. The Texas Tech University horsemanship clinic team taught 27 people the fundamentals of horsemanship, and in the meantime, we were able to learn about and enjoy the Norwegian culture.

During the four days of the clinic, riders worked on things such as being able to move the hip and shoulder of the horse, and they also learned the components of reining, trail, horsemanship and lead changes. The people were wonderful and seemed very eager to learn.

In addition to teaching, Luke England and True Burson also put on a colt-breaking demonstration. They took a 3-year-old and not only put a saddle on it for the first time, but were able to lope, turn and stop on it by Day 3. Clinic participants also enjoyed learning how to rope from “real Texas cowboys” and were very eager to try their hand at it.

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On the third day, the kids took it upon themselves to teach us something and showed us how to vault on horses. Vaulting is most often described as gymnastics on horseback, and it was quite a challenge. We were taught how stand on a horse, in addition to being able to mount a horse from a lope. There were a lot of youth participants at the clinic, as well as several girls who will be on the Norwegian Youth World Cup team.

When we were not at the arena, we were graciously shown around Norway, and we even got to ride Icelandic ponies through the mountains. We had a fantastic time in Norway, and we are looking forward to another wonderful clinic in Denmark.

Click on the photos to view the accompanying captions.

Ha en god dag and happy trails!

Amy Heartfield
AQHA International Intern