Over the course of the weekend, around 30 horseback riding enthusiasts gathered at Venturing Hills Farm in Luskville for a three-day eventing clinic with help from a world-class equestrian.

Divided over three days, each clinic focused on each of the three disciplines in the sport of eventing – dressage, showjumping and cross-country.

Organized by Venturing Hills Farm horse riding coach and summer camp coordinator Rae Becke, the event served as an opportunity for local competitive horse riders to learn from one of the nation’s most prominent figures in the sport.

With Kingston native Olympian Selena O’Hanlon in charge of the clinic, over 30 riders participated in a variety drills, while she stood by and instructed them how to correct their mistakes and improve their craft.

On Friday, the session focused on getting the riders in tune with their horse’s instincts, prioritizing posture, rhythm and seamlessly transitioning from walk, to trot to canter.

Phase two on Saturday had riders roaming the course while jumping over an assortment of obstacles scattered all over the course.

While Sunday’s cross-country clinic was similar to the previous day’s showjumping, it focused more on power, explosiveness and endurance.

Held on multiple parts of the property with different types of terrain and obstacles throughout, riders learned the fundamentals of riding and jumping depending on what kind of ground they were on.

From maintaining proper posture to finding a way to control the rhythm of the ride, her wisdom is something quite unique possessed by very few individuals, especially in this part of the world.

“Selena’s knowledge is so much more than most riders,” she said. “There’s only a handful of riders like that in Canada. The teaching ability that she has is pretty unprecedented and she wants to be here helping the grass roots of the sport.”

Last winter, Becke and a group of local competitive riders joined O’Hanlon in Morriston, Florida for eight weeks where they trained at a well-known equestrian training facility called Barnstaple South.

Shortly after returning to Luskville for the summer, intrigued with the idea of hosting O’Hanlon at the farm for a special training session, Becke contacted her hoping to get some unique special training.

A highly accomplished equestrian, with experience at the elite level of the sport, including representing Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, O’Hanlon’s body of work speaks for itself.

Therefore, the opportunity to host her at the farm was a chance that couldn’t be passed on, Becke said.

“She’s trained with people that most of us only ever read books written about,” she said. “To have her come and teach us, it’s a whole other experience. We’re so lucky.”

For O’Hanlon, one the best parts about visiting the Pontiac is catching a glimpse of its breathtaking landscape, catching up with good friends and getting to know the local eventing community.

“[I love] the views and the people,” she said. “With the mountain as a backdrop, all the pictures are phenomenal. Everybody’s just been really happy to see me. It’s been fun catching up with everybody as well as being able to bestow some knowledge.”

A unique experience to provide riders with high-level coaching, O’Hanlonprioritized that the riders enjoy themselves, while pushing their abilities passed their known limitations, which hopefully motivates them to strive for greatness.

“I like to inspire more people to event and understand our sport so that it stays in the Olympics,” she said. “I want them to have fun and train at a level above what they compete at.”

For Becke, hosting public clinics at the farm tends to unite competitors in a sport that is largely an individual endeavour at the end of the day.

“It brings horse riders together,” she said. “At competitions we compete as individuals. In an experience like everybody’s as excited as the person next to them, wants to see everybody succeed.”

Blessed with the experience, Becke is hopeful that with help from notable equestrians like O’Hanlon inspiring youngsters and grown-folks alike across the region, eventing can become a respectably relevant sport once again.

“We’re lucky to be here in the Pontiac, in Luskville Quebec and have somebody with this much knowledge and training come to us,” she said. “It’s a slowly dying sport. Unless we can get it going with more knowledge and more awareness and that starts at the grass roots.”

The three-day clinic had competitive riders from all over the region learning about the best tricks of the trade in eventing from one of the highest achieveing equestrians in the nation. Pictured, Almonte based rider Stéphanie Côté leaps over a stack of logs on July 7.

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