Along for the Ride Symposium Recap
On the last week of February 2022, we traveled to the South Point Casino for the Along for the Ride Symposium Andrea Fappani, Shawn Flarida, and Nick Dowers. The brainchild of Andrea Fappani, this first-time event, brought together the leading money winners in reining with the express purpose of sharing ideas about horse training. The symposium featured the colt starting technique of 2-time Road to the Horse Champion, Nick Dowers. Nick started two colts up to their first ride. Watching and asking questions were Andrea Fappani and Shawn Flarida. Spectators not only asked questions, they got to see and hear how these very experienced horsemen reacted to each other.
The three-day event comprised day-long sessions from 8am until 4 PM. There were a few special guests, such as Arron Moses, champion Western Pleasure trainer. We got to see horses of varying ages and what they expected at different stages of their training. Nick Dowers, who competes n the Cow Horse world, demonstrated how he started his horse on cattle. Friday and Saturday evenings there were live Along for the Ride podcasts. These roundtable discussions were open to a variety of topics.
This was a unique event that provide quality information. I hope Andrea Fappani and the sponsors (the title sponsor was Teton Ridge) will host the event again. The crowd really seemed to enjoy the personal connection they made with all the people involved.
Be sure to check out Andrea Fappani’s podcast here!
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John & Ranae
Episode #197
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