The Mid Western Working Horse Association, based at Mudgee, awarded young horsewoman Poppy Douglas with the inaugural Ian Francis Clinic Scholarship for 2018.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The scholarship win allowed Poppy to participate at no charge, in the three-day horsemanship and cattle work clinic held in late March.
The scholarship - open to young people aged 12 to 17 – was the brain child of the MWWHA committee to help young people access the knowledge of a great horseman.
Association president Rick Field told the Mudgee Guardian, “we are keen to help build expertise and correctness in horse riding, training and cattle work in our young people”.
“If we start early enough we can help our youth develop great training and riding habits that will last a lifetime; improve their confidence; and, incorporate safe practice in their cattle work.”
Poppy’s written application required her to describe her medium term riding ambitions and what she hoped to learn from the Clinic.
In her application, Poppy told the MWWHA that she was particularly “keen to know how he gets his spins and sliding stops”.
“What I got out of the Clinic were Ian’s great suppling and softening exercises; the method of improving spins; how to get a better shape in my horse when working a cow; and improvements to the way I cut and draft a cow.”
“I would like to give a huge thankyou to MWWHA for this scholarship; it was amazing”.
Rick added, “Ian generously shared his knowledge, and Poppy was a very receptive student”.
“Following such a successful beginning, we also will be offering the scholarship for the March 2019 Ian Francis Clinic.
“Applications will open in October via our Facebook page, and we invite young members of MWWHA, within a two hour driving radius of Mudgee, to lodge an application.”
