24/ JUNE 2012 THE RIDER Stacy Westfall Clinic at Five Star Ranch


By Jennifer Munday-Bro- phy


Stacy Westfall and her family were the star attraction of a much antici- pated clinic at Five Star Ranch in Campbellville, Ontario on the May 25th weekend. The clinic was a huge success with a large turnout, food and drinks, demonstrations, training advice and autograph ses- sions with star struck fans. Stacy was accompanied by her husband Jessie, himself a two-time reserve champi- on at the All American Quarter Horse Congress and their three sons Caleb, Joshua, and Nathan. They also brought along Pop- corn, Stacy’s 2006 Road to the Horse colt and Jessie’s current show mare, Lena. Stacy spent the first part of the clinic on Friday evening talking about her background, her family and her horses, explaining how her husband has influenced her as her coach and learn- ing hard lessons from her first pony when she was young. She then moved on to groundwork where she used Five Star’s three year old Canadian mare named Val, to demonstrate how to gain respect with your horse in hand. The crowd also learned in Friday’s two hour session, how to start a young horse using her gelding, Popcorn. Pop- corn, whom Stacy said was bred by Cornelius Ranch and named by her mother, was as Stacy put it, an “Average Joe” and “not an over-achiever”. The chest- nut gelding delighted the crowd with his antics and proved obvious that he


everyone’s heads. In this circumstance it had given the owner something far more valuable than she had ever anticipated.


Stacy Westfall and Gail Haynes, owner of Five Star Ranch. Photo by The Rider.


shared a genuine rapport with Stacy.


On Saturday Stacy and Jessie worked with volunteer riders Kathy Wilkinson and her 3 year old buckskin mare and Five Star Ranch’s Gail Haynes and her reining gelding, Rustic Jabar Won It (Jay). While demonstrating how to train your horse to bow, Jay kept the crowd enter- tained by promptly falling asleep with his nose in the dirt when Stacy tied his front hoof up to the saddle horn. Both Kathy Wilkin- son and Gail Haynes excelled at performing the maneuvers Stacy asked for, creatively and successfully conveying her methods on backing up, lead changes, shoulder movement and performing a successful whoa.


ly abused arabian-belgian mare who was intimidated by trailers as well as disre- spectful and bold on the ground. The horse’s owner was in tears as she watched the famous trainer bring her once slaughter-bound mare out of her shell and eventually load her half way into the trailer. Having already explained the way horses perceive the world around them, Stacy, as she put it, had lit a light bulb in


Later that day, Pop- corn amused the crowd as Stacy displayed how to teach your horse to bow. Since Stacy is self admit- tedly vertically challenged, she claims that bowing is a practical way to get on your horse with ease, espe- cially on the trail. Popcorn bowed many times with a simple tap to his front hoof from Stacy’s boot. Natural- ly flashes from cameras were going off all around the arena as spectators rel- ished every moment.


The last topic Stacy discussed was bridleless riding. Earlier she had talked about basic body control and how it applies to where the horse’s hip, shoulders, legs, head and neck are, as well as how it affects movement. These lessons combined with what she had covered while teaching a proper whoa, are used while riding bridle- less. In fact, during most of the clinic, Stacy was not even using her reins while


she rode Popcorn around the arena and spoke to the crowd. It was truly some- thing very special to watch. The clinic ended on Sunday evening with a spectator asking Stacy about the poem posted on her blog in reference to the recent death of Vaquero, Stacy’s bay gelding, who was sadly laid to rest only weeks before. Stacy rode Popcorn slowly around the arena alone and recited from memory “The Grand- est Foal”. Somewhere in the middle of the poem, Stacy’s voice started to shake and the tears came. Struggling to complete the poem and still remain stoic, she continued on, her voice shaking as the audience was moved to tears. It was an emotional end to a weekend that no one who was there will ever forget. I got a chance to speak to Stacy and she told me that they no longer train outside horses but concen- trate on their family, doing clinics and looking after their own horses as well as showing as often as they can. She also told me that she never anticipated that


Photos above & below by Brux Designs Photography www.wix.com/aruxton/bruxdesigns


she would become this famous and she handles it by keeping herself focused on her family and that the horses have a way of keep- ing her humble. When asked about her experience in Ontario and with Five Star Ranch itself, Stacy replied that she thought that the clinic was well run with friendly staff, deli- cious food and excellent facilities. I am pleased to say that Stacy said she would definitely come


back to Five Star Ranch to do more clinics.


To say that Stacy and Jessie Westfall are inspir- ing is an understatement. Not only did they take the time to sign hundreds of autographs and talk to every single person who wanted advice, but they and their children are also a very genuine, funny and friendly family. They are not caught up in their celebrity. They engage the audience on a multitude of levels, explaining training techniques from all differ- ent angles and using humour, personal experi- ence, physical demonstra- tions with people and hors- es and everyday occur- rences to give insight into the way we train our hors- es.


On Sunday, Stacy began the clinic with trailer loading. For this presenta- tion, Stacy used a previous-


I myself can say that this clinic was one of the most educational, emotion- al and inspirational experi- ences I have ever had. I can’t wait to see her back.


Photos by Marshall Davidson, www.fotoworks.ca


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