western training
THE CONSTANT LEARNER
Get the most out of your clinic time with these tips from trainer and clinician Mike Brashear.
ARTICLE HEIDI NYLAND MELOCCO
PHOTOS BY HEIDI NYLAND MELOCCO
At the start of Mike Brashear’s clinic in Nunn, Colo., he invited—or nearly commanded— students to ask questions and speak up if they didn’t understand or needed extra help.
“You’re paying good money to get help,” he said. “Make sure you’re getting what you need while you’re here.”
Brashear’s mission is to help horses and riders get the help they need to keep working together. After hosting many clinics, he says he can often tell if the horse and rider pair will keep progressing on an upward trend after the clinic: It’s all in how the student approaches the clinic, prepares to learn, and asks questions to make sure they can keep working at home.
Here, Brashear helps you learn how to learn. He provides tips to find and attend a clinic and get the most help possible so that you can constantly improve your horsemanship.
FIND THE RIGHT FIT
“You’re never going to know all of it when it comes to horses,” he says. “Let go of that pressure on yourself to have to know all of it already. But if you never go get extra help, you’re not going to get any better.”
Brashear recommends searching online, getting input from reviews, and asking friends about clinicians who will be near you. He says you need to find a teacher who you can work with—and who has your best interest at heart. If you ask about the clinician’s approach and style, you’ll find someone who feels approachable.