Saturday was the long awaited Kelly Marks clinic at Plumpton Agricultural College.
Julie and I had volunteered to help and when we eventually arrived the hard work started
preparing for the evenings demonstrations.
The evening started with a Join Up with a very nervous pony called Ivy. Ivy had to be so heavily
sedated to be clipped that she was building up resistance to the drugs. After the Join Up and
some desensitisation she was much more accepting of the clippers even though there was
obviously more work to be done.
Next up were run-ins with Pie and Caesar to very emotional tunes, namely “Simply the Best” and
the music from “Black Beauty” followed by some fabulous ridden demonstrations with Kelly and
Rosie Jones, who is fast becoming a rising star in the IH organisation.
Kelly and Rosie demonstrated techniques for accurate jumping and collection in canter and some
fabulous riding displays, some with very spooky objects on board; an open umbrella and a huge
cape! Both Pie and Caesar behaved impeccably, save for a massive buck from Pie which nearly
unseated Kelly.
Time for a burger and chips next, followed by loading demonstrations. One of these was with Ivy
again who really looked nervous about the lorry. Patience won the day as always though, and Ivy
became so confident in the lorry that she even loaded without a lead rope. Kelly later remarked
that this was one of the best results she’d had loading, and was a fitting way to end the tour.
All in all a good time was had by all, and once again Intelligent Horsmanship came up with an
evening that gave even seasoned Kelly and Monty fans something to take away with them.
