Diane Carney Hunter Derby Clinic to be Featured on HorseCity.com

On September 1, 2009, equestrians around the world can tune in to HorseCity.com and watch a video featuring a hunter/jumper derby clinic with Diane Carney. Carney has been both an active participant and influential trainer in the hunter and jumper community for many years. She will be teaching a clinic on August 12th at Canterbury Farm in Hampshire, IL.

This clinic will focus on international hunter derby competitions and the preparation involved with successfully riding natural obstacles. Carney will teach the fundamentals of proper horsemanship and incorporate them into hunter derby training. The film will review walking the course and strategizing for your horse and experience level. Carney will also instruct students over a jumper derby course and focus on difficult elements that are typically used on jumper derby courses.

The August 12 clinic will feature three sessions, with each session working with a different fence height. Six to eight riders will compose each session. From 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., the first section will work with Carney over fences that stand 1.10m (approx. 3'6") in height. The second group, held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., will jump 1.20m (approximately 4'), and the third section will be the Jumper Derby group, who will jump 1.20m and ride from noon to 2:00 pm.

Paul Smith, Vice President of Operations for HorseCity.com, commented, "We are thrilled to work with Diane Carney and bring educational clinics to all of the horsemen and women out there. Each clinic segment will build upon the other, with a focus on preparing both horse and rider for the art of riding a hunter derby course."

Carney will use natural obstacles, as well as open water jumps and banks for the 1.20m group, and she will incorporate technical exercises to demonstrate proper riding techniques. "I hope to teach riders how to use longitudinal and lateral work to create a brave and balanced horse as they negotiate derby fences," stated Carney.

The price to view the clinic online at HorseCity.com is $14.95 for each section or $24.95 for all three groups. The clinic will be broadcast online starting September 1, 2009.

"I am thrilled to provide viewers with instructional videos on the hunter derby clinics," said Smith. "I am a horseperson who grew up riding in the '60s and '70s. For awhile now, I've felt that hunters have become cookie cutter when it comes to competition," he noted. "The Hunter derbies strike a cord with me, and I'm happy to see the derbies bring back the tradition and excitement of natural fence styles. I hope we see a lot more of them at shows."

Click here to preview the Hunter Derby Clinic