Table of contents for Practical Horseman Extra Volume 23 in Practical Horseman

The challenge: Take a small group of novice but determined eventers with no regular access to professional event training and give them eight hours with one of the country’s best riders and coaches. How do you make the most of it as a rider? How do you make the most of it as the coach? That was the scenario when a close-knit group of friends and barn-mates from the Savannah, Georgia, area won a clinic with six-time Olympian Phillip Dutton through Practical Horseman’s “Training with the Stars: Win a Day with Phillip Dutton,” presented in partnership with Cosequin. The clinic was in March 2014. The contest winner, Shannon Brown of Guyton, Georgia, brought a group of eight friends who call themselves “Team Misfits”—a barn family ranging from preteen to middle-aged,…

he equine stifle is similar, ana- T tomically and physiologically, to the human knee but a bit more complex and generally more stable. Both joints use cruciate and patella ligaments, along with other stabilizing structures, to connect the bony framework that make up the joint: the tibia, fibula, femur and patella (knee cap). Horses, however, have much bigger quadriceps, the large muscles above the knee that make up the thigh, and three patella ligaments compared to only one in humans. These extra ligaments factor into the unique biomechanics that allow the horse to “lock” his knee cap and achieve a deep resting state while standing up, which was an important evolutionary advantage for a prey animal. Even so, the stifle is susceptible to arthritis, resulting from a slow process of…

Clinic winner Shannon Brown was chosen from more than 450 entries in part because she and her friends do not have eventing trainers near their home, and the selection committee hoped a day of training would help boost eventing at the grassroots level. “She conveyed a strong sense of camaraderie among the riders at her barn,” Practical Horseman Editor Sandra Oliynyk said. “There aren’t a lot of training opportunities in her area, so she and her friends work to be each others’ ‘eyes on the ground.’ This made us think that Phillip’s teaching would have a far-reaching impact. For these reasons, we, along with Phillip, felt that Shannon was the best recipient for a day of his training.” Phillip’s clinic teachings were designed and delivered to be portable—advice the group…