Al Dunning's 3-Day Visit

This past weekend was a busy one for Clay and I. We had a special event taking place in our arena for the last three days – World Champion, AQHA Professional Horseman and judge, Al Dunning was conducting a clinic. Of course, Dunning has many more credentials than what I just named, so participants took every opportunity they had to glean information out of the Arizona horseman and his assistant, Jade.

The clinic was divided into three main segments: reining, cutting and fence work. Each portion was featured in a day\’s worth of exercises and discussion.

Of course, there was lots to do to prepare for such an event. Doug and Rocky Sapergia were the clinic hosts and put a tremendous amount of work into bringing the event to fruition. Meanwhile, my husband got busy moving panels, moving buffalo and making way for 80 head of cattle to move onto our property temporarily.

But what a great turnout it was and what a great bunch of  people! Thanks goes to our buddies Sam (pictured below on his trusty steed Isaac) and Clayton for their assistance with the cattle.

Here\’s Arley Elliot making some moves down the fence.

And Bob Lee and his awesome horse:

Here Rob Palmer gets some show tips from Al\’s perspective as a judge.

Here\’s Laurel Scharien taking  a trip down the fence:

And Walter Reti and CD Ben.

I even had the chance to sneak in for a photo-op…

Then there was this little contest…

Noticing the climbing rope on the one end of our arena, Rocky jumped at the chance to post a challenge to the crowd. Whoever could climb to the top in the fastest time would receive a coveted prize. So there were lots of challengers. Here goes Patti Taylor…

Erin Thomson Shields makes it to the top.

Anne Thomson gets a little assistance from Al himself.

And Sam gave it a go…

He showed us some of his Cirque du Soleil moves:

While the crowd looked on.

Sam made it to the top in the fastest time.

After many laughs, I think it\’s safe to say a good time was had by all. Stay tuned to Western Horse Review future issues for some upcoming training information with Mr. Dunning himself. Happy Monday!