The October 5th and 6th weekend couldn’t have been more perfect weather wise for the AHTA Leahona Rowland and Shandiss McDonald Eventing Clinic! The warm sun shone down on 38 riders of all levels from brand new to eventing, to advanced, as they rode in dressage, show jumping and cross country lessons over the weekend.

Thanks to the Alberta Equestrian Federation’s generous support, we were able to have clinician Shandiss McDonald come to share her knowledge with 20 horse and rider combinations that were “New To Eventing!”

Shandiss grew up eventing in Surrey, British Columbia, and since then, has had the opportunity to compete all over Canada, United States and Europe. In 2012 for the London Olympics, Shandiss and her horse Rockfield Grant Juan were chosen to be the traveling reserve for the Canadian Eventing Team, along with finishing 16th at Rolex Kentucky CCI4* and completing Pau CCI4* in 2013. She also had the opportunity to compete and train in Europe from 2013 to 2015, and insists that experience was invaluable to her equestrian education. Shandiss now teaches and trains out of a beautiful facility in Mono, Ontario and has a talented string of competition horses and a passionate group of students she is helping to move up the levels.

Shandiss’ experience and wealth of knowledge allowed her to provide a fun, progressive and confidence building experience for those 20 riders who were “New To Eventing” over the weekend. She focused on good basics, simple exercises, and tailored her instruction to what each horse and rider individually needed. Every rider came away having tons of fun, learning a lot, and having their confidence grow in all three phases without feeling pressured or overwhelmed. We are absolutely looking forward to having her back for another clinic like this in 2020!

Leahona Rowland also taught 18 more experienced eventing riders, from the Alberta High Performance Team and Alberta Horse Trials Association. She has been the Alberta High Performance Coach and Consultant for the past 3 years.

Leahona, at the age of 8, started riding and eventing in Kelowna, British Columbia. She brought her mare Upolu up to the Intermediate/CCI2*-L level, before moving to California where she became a working student for Yves Sauvignon. She moved on to be a working student for Penny Rowland, competing at the CCI3*-L level, after that working for Peter Gray and at just 18 years old completed her first Advanced horse trials. Leahona then sold her upper level mare Upolu to a Young Rider whom she coached on to win individual gold at the NAYC in the CCI2-L and CCI3-L. She then went on to bring several horses up tp the Advanced level in the US and well as the UK. Leahona spent 8 years working, coaching and training in the UK, and was William Fox-Pitt’s head rider in 2007 and 2008. She also gained a wealth of knowledge working and riding in the UK for Mark and Sandy Phillips, Tiny Clapham and Nigel Taylor, and in the US for David O’Connor, Scott Keach and Beth Underhill.

Leahona’s 18 riders had a great last cross country outing of the season to end on a good note. Some were more experienced combinations introducing some new exercises and challenges as they plan to move up the levels in 2020, and others focused on the basics and solidifying what they had learned this season and needed to work on, focusing more on the growing partnership for the future.

We are so incredibly fortunate to have clinicians of this caliber come to Alberta, and are very thankful to the Alberta Equestrian Federation for their support in making this happen, and we hope to collaborate on more of these opportunities in the future!

If you aren’t a member yet, the Alberta Equestrian Federation provides many opportunities and benefits for all of their members. From clinics and shows, insurance and coverage, to programs for the recreational rider, AEF has all your bases covered!