I like to make my clinics about learning, fun and a little laughter too. Teaching people how to handle their horses is a true passion of mine. I love to watch people's expression change as they begin to gain a new understanding of their horse or themselves. During your clinic, I will draw upon more than 15 years of experience as a driver of single pair, four-in-hand and tandem hitched horses, as well as experience in ridden dressage, and long lining.
There are a number of formats that a clinic can follow. You can even combine formats to give drivers a diverse learning experience. While individual private sessions are the most popular format to run, there are a number of other ways to run a clinic that can enhance the learning experience. Take a look at the clinic formats page for ideas.
In most cases, holding a clinic over three days is the most economical way to host a clinic. Generally speaking, I'll travel to the clinic the morning of day 1, and teach for about 4 hours in the afternoon or early evening. Then day two and three are all about teaching all day, and I travel home on the evening of the third day.
Clinics cost $600/day plus travel, accommodations and meals (more info below). Since there are only so many dates available I have to insist upon a 50% deposit no later than 6 weeks prior to the clinic date. This deposit is non-refundable unless I must cancel the clinic for health or personal reasons. Checks should be made out to: “Coachman’s Delight, Inc.”
Cancellation Policy:
All clinic dates are rain or shine unless conditions become unsafe, so bring your raingear. Clinics cancelled less than 6 weeks prior to the clinic date will be credited the amount of the deposit toward a future clinic with in 1 year of the original date. If a make up clinic has not been scheduled with in 1 year of the original clinic date, the deposit will be forfeited. Clinics cancelled less than 72 hrs prior to the clinic date will be responsible for the full clinic fee, plus any expenses associated with the clinic.
Clinic hosts are responsible for the cost of transportation from Medway, Mass to the clinic location. I'm always happy to help plan my travel is the most budget sensible way.
Travel Day Fee:
It is generally most economic for me to travel in the morning and teach on the same day. In other words, I travel to your location in the morning (leaving Medway no earlier than 5am), and teach in the afternoon. Likewise, I am usually happy to travel home the evening of the last day of the clinic if I can be in bed by midnight. In such instances, there is NO additional fee for my travel time. Your day rate has covered that time.
If that is not possible, and I must travel on a day that I am not teaching, there is a travel day cost of $250 per day.
For clinics in New England and the surrounding region, travel by car is the most sensible. Mileage is determined with the retail store (161 Main St, Medway, MA 02053) as the start and end point. The cost is 75¢ per mile, round trip. If the location is more than 6 or 8 hours from me it’s usually most economical that I travel by air.
I try to remain budget minded, so I will take what flights I have to in order to keep costs down, with in reason. Multiple plane changes are not recommended as they can easily interfere with scheduling, and add significantly to the travel time. I can fly out of either T.F. Green airfield in Providence, RI., or Boston's Logan airfield. While Boston offers a greater range of direct flights, it cost nearly twice as much to park or shuttle there.
It is best if I am picked up at the airport or a rental car is arranged. Shuttles, buses or trains from the airport generally don’t work out so well. Remember, the fresher I am for the clinic, the more fun we’ll have.
Booking:
I prefer to book my own flights. If there is someone willing to donate frequent flyer miles for the clinic, they may book the flight for me. Since most airline tickets are non-refundable I must have the funds for the flight before I book it.
Accommodations:
It was nice when I could travel with just a bedroll and a bag for a weekend. Unfortunately life has become slightly more complicated than that. Whenever possible I prefer to stay in a reputable hotel that has handicap accessible rooms. This means that the bathroom and shower are set in a way that makes it possible for me navigate on one leg & crutches or a wheel chair. When this is simply not available (is a dodgy hotel) I am happy to stay with a host family that can provide similar accommodations. I prefer an attached private bath where I can leave my prosthetic equipment set up for the weekend. The biggest threat to my leg is infection. So at the end of the day it is essential that I am fastidious about cleanliness, and am able to leave my equipment to dry where it will remain clean and undisturbed.
Feeding:
At this point everyone has committed good time and money to get me to your clinic. I want everyone to get the most out of the clinic they can, so that means getting the most out of me we can. I get very passionate and excited when I am giving clinics. It’s a lot of fun for me, so I forget to do those life sustaining things like, eating and drinking. I feel a little silly to write this, but it helps when someone is regularly handing me a bottle of water and some high energy snack food. I probably won’t eat a lot at lunch, but I should eat something.
After the clinic give me a little time to rest, maybe a cold bottle of beer and a decent dinner. I am happy to have dinner with participants at the end of the day and talk about what we did, swap stories and tell lies.
I am not a vegetarian, and I don’t have any food allergies that I know of. I’m willing to try new things. I don’t think I’m that complicated, but I thought a list might be a better answer than “whatever”. Metabolism is wasted on the very young. I’m finding that it’s a little easier to gain than loose. So try not to hit me with too many carbs & cals, so my leg will still fit the next morning.
Things I eat a lot of:
Breakfast: Chobani Greek yogurt with Kashi Golean Crunch, Blueberries, Mellon, COFFEE, lots of coffee with cream and Equal
Snacks: Zone Perfect bars, Cliff Bar, Grapes, Bananas, Snickers bars
Lunch: Chef or Cesar Salad with grilled chicken, Low fat Cottage Cheese, Avocados (yum!)Roast Beef (pink) with lettuce mayo pickles and horseradish, white or wheat bread,
Dinner: Chicken, Fish, Steak (medium rare), Rice, Salad, Spinach, Broccoli, Potatoes (If dining out I prefer the local favorite to the national chain)
Drinks: Coffee (required in the morning) Diet Pepsi or similar Soda; Purified Bottled water (Aquafina or similar) ; Corona Light, Sam Adams Light, White Wine (sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay)
Things I sometimes eat:
Breakfast: Grape-nuts, Egg Sandwiches (ham or bacon egg and cheese), Croissants; English muffins;
Lunch:Hamburger; All beef hot dogs; Beef; Chicken; Hot wings, Pizza
Dinner: Mexican Food; Chinese Food; Seafood; Soups
Sports drinks; Tea; Red Wine
What to feed me if you were disappointed with the clinic:
Spam; Tuna casserole; Chitlins; Cat Food; Eggplant; Cauliflower; Cabbage; Sauerkraut; Baby food; Sourdough; Pumpernickel; Doughnuts; Canned Beer
There are lots of ways to put a clinic together, so take a look at the the Clinic Formats page. Choose one, or two ideas there that will work for you and your group. I'll be happy to talk it through with you to come up with the right combination.
Most clinics fill up largely by personal invitation by the clinic host. However, it is good to bring in new drivers in your area to participate and audit. To learn more about getting the word out take a look at Advertising & Promoting your clinic.
Certain forms must be filled out by all participants. Have these forms available for me when I get in the day of or day before the clinic. Please don’t mail these forms to me since they’ll show up in my mailbox about the same time that I show up at your clinic. View the forms here.