The 2013 USPA Polo Development,LLC Instructors Forum, presented by Mike Ellis of Professional Images continued for its 2nd day with highlighted speakers and interactive teaching drills in the arena at Tonkawa Farm in Brookshire, Tx.
Beginning with Diane Lesher from Equisure who spoke on the specifics of liability and who exactly should carry insurance when teaching or holding equestrian events, Diane went on to give a frank discussion that emphasized the issues surrounding the realities of responsibility when things go awry within the equestrian industry. Next up was an excellent group exercise lead by USPA’s own Amanda Snow and Justin Powers on Conflict Resolution. Small groups were formed where they discussed problem solving that included such topics as equine welfare, protocol for emergencies, and on the field conflicts. Several creative and inventive solutions were discussed as the entire group of forum participants shared relevant stories and bonded over similar experiences. Before heading outside, USPA’s Elizabeth Hedley presented a power point entitled “Google Your Way to Success” as part of an Outside the Boards talk. She focused on showing how simple it is to discover a club’s community of Foundations & Resources in a quick google exercise. The information gathered was meant to draw a straight line from a club’s vision of direction to success, thus shortening the learning curve while building a community of support.
Once the forum moved to polo arenas generously provided by Tonkawa Farm and Isla Carroll, each participant taught a 15min interactive lessons where a peer-review system critiqued and praised their efforts. USPA’s Liz Holson and Team Leader Kris Bowman, along with Houston Polo Club’s Mark Prinsloo, lead the sessions which culminated with a Drills & Skills and Riding for Polo exercise.
It was a full day of learning, listening and absorbing new and exciting “ideas that work” for the 2013 USPA Instructors Forum. Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the last day and will feature 3 outstanding speakers: Newscaster Ursula Pari of the San Antonio Polo Club, the legendary Tom Goodspeed from the Irving Polo Club and USPA’s CHA Certified Polo Instructor Liz Holson, who will be speaking on how to best organize a polo clinic.
