Limited participant registration is still available for the Kentucky Horse Park Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) Standard Certification Clinic to be held April 7-11, 2011 (application deadline – March 11, 2011)
CHA’s goals are to promote safety, education and quality in horseback riding programs and develop qualified riding instructors for camps, stables, schools and other locations where riding instruction is given. The clinic is designed to improve teaching techniques and certify riding instructors. Riding instructors can be certified by the style they teach Western, English, etc. Nearly 1,000 instructors are certified by CHA each year.
CHA clinics are directed by nationally recognized CHA Clinic Instructors. Participants have the opportunity to teach several mounted and ground lessons, receive feedback from other participants and the clinic instructors, and to improve their safety, herd and program management skills.
Instructor Polly Haselton Barger has been a lifelong horse woman who has spent her entire adulthood teaching others to ride in a correct and safe manner. She is a CHA Master Instructor/Clinician and was the 2005 CHA Clinic Instructor of the Year. She is also a CHA Clinician for Riders with Disabilities and Equine Facility Management. Polly has been actively involved with the Tennessee and Kentucky Horse Councils, chairing and/or participating on committees on safety and education. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and ran a large riding program for thirty years. Polly has also specialized in fear management for riders, as well as working with at-risk youth. She is a knowledgeable and experienced horsewoman, whose main concern is safety and correct education in the horse world.
Instructor Heidi Potter is a full time instructor, trainer and clinician with over 40 years of horse experience. Her program, “In Harmony With Horses", is designed to improve the relationship between horses and humans in a calm, clear, and consistent manner. Ms. Potter’s work has been greatly influenced by Ms. Sally Swift, the founder of Centered Riding©. She is a Level III Centered Riding Instructor/Clinician, a CHA (Certified Horsemanship Association) Clinic Instructor, certified to teach at the Master Level, and a strong proponent for the ethical and thoughtful treatment of horses. Ms. Potter teaches, trains and conducts clinics throughout the country, as well as at her family's southern Vermont farm, Maple Ridge Stable.
The Kentucky Horse Park strongly supports the mission and purpose of CHA and feels this is an excellent opportunity for any instructor to gain certification or simply brush up or enhance their teaching skills.
Cost of the clinic will be $800/participant, which includes lunch, use of a horse, tack, all required manuals and certification/membership fees. Enrollment is limited. For more information or to enroll, please contact Sheila Forbes, Kentucky Horse Park Director of Adult and Professional Education at (859) 509-1441 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Registration information is also available online at www.kyhorsepark.com.
