Experts to educate and entertain at Delaware Horse Expo March 17 and 18
Clinics featuring riders and trainers adept at demonstrating their experience with horses in a way that is both entertaining for the public and instructive for the riding community are at the heart of the Delaware Horse Expo. This year’s expo, set for Saturday and Sunday, March 17 and 18, at the Delaware State Fairgrounds, will feature three such trainers - Tara Jones, Scott Purdum and Brendan Wise. Each one will present riding clinics in Quillen Arena.
Tara Jones, the creator of Pieceful Solutions Riding and Training, has spent years fine-tuning her riding skills and knowledge. Now she is able to help her students solve the jigsaw puzzle of riding by finding the missing pieces and putting together “pieceful” solutions. She has a solid foundation in starting young horses, has served as assistant to noted trainer Kenny Harlow, has studied under legendary dressage trainer Jose Mendez in Australia and has competed in the first All Women’s Trainer Challenge. She is also an author of training manuals and DVDs, teaches clinics up and down the East Coast and is currently at work on a book describing the intricacies of riding position.
At the Delaware Horse Expo, Jones will concentrate on English riding and dressage, but will demonstrate body control relevant to any riding discipline. She and her horse Phantom will also captivate the audience with a bridleless ride.
Scott Purdum will bring his Advantage Horsemanship training method to Quillen Arena, where he will demonstrate how to “Be smart, be safe and keep things simple.” His own special relationship with horses began very early when his parents gave him his first horse at age 3. By the time he was 6 years old, he was showing horses in competition as he continued to grow up and work on his family’s horse farm. Purdum went on to become a riding instructor in both English and Western disciplines and used his training methods to help riders form positive relationships with their horses. He has worked as an intern with top-rated quarter horse trainer Ken Adkins, studied equine science at the University of Maryland, authored a number of articles on problem-solving training exercises and produced a training DVD, “Where Do We Start?” He continues to offer clinics, run a professional trainer program and travel the country to present large-group sessions and one-on-one instruction.
Purdum’s demonstrations at the expo will concentrate on Western riding. They will include groundwork to solve problems under saddle; perfecting whoa, go and speed control, and keeping it fun and safe with trail horses.
Brendan Wise grew up loving horses and began riding at a very young age. He later became interested in the training side of horsemanship and searched out ways for people to communicate better with their horses. It is his belief that if riders can establish a clear language well understood by their horses, there is nothing the two cannot accomplish. As a John and Josh Lyons Certified and Accredited Trainer, he is devoted to building the relationship between horse and rider through communication and trust.
Wise’s experience with many different disciplines includes dressage, racing, hunter/jumper and more, but his greatest passion is reining. At the expo, his clinic and demonstration will focus on reining.
These clinics in Quillen Arena will be complemented by a variety of speakers, demonstrations and opportunities to see horses in action over the course of the two-day event. Activities get under way both days at 10 a.m. Admission is $7 for one day or $10 for the weekend; children 12 and under are admitted free. For information, call 302-398-5194 or go to www.DeHorseExpo.com.
