United States Eventing Association

3 Steps to Host Successful Eventing Clinics this Season

The following is provided through a partnership between STRIDER and the USEA. As part of our commitment to diversity, enabling access, and building capacity throughout the industry we are pleased to provide this content to benefit the sport of eventing.

Now is the time where we start to see lots of clinic opportunities populate the calendar. As an organizer, you are likely well-acquainted with just how many moving parts are involved with making these opportunities great for the riders, clinician, host, and auditors. Team STRIDER caught up with clinic organizer extraordinaire Margaret McKelvy of Mythic Landing Enterprises to talk through some top tips to make the clinic experience a success for all involved. Whether it’s your first time organizing or your hundredth, you won’t want to miss these tactics to make your upcoming clinic season great.

Do Your Clinic Math- Create a Budget

“Identify your potential costs up front before you decide on the participation cost. And round up, as costs can add up quickly,” McKelvy advises.

“A lot of times your clinic can toe the line of profitability due to unexpected costs. Think of everything from the obvious clinician fee and facility fee, but also make sure to account for your own time, travel, accommodations, and food. Will you have refreshments available for participants? If so, put those numbers into your budget as well,” says McKelvy.

When considering your participation costs, McKelvy warns organizers to remember: “you need a full day of riders to make your clinic happen, and those ride spots need to cover your costs.” It can be helpful to think of auditor ticket sales as a little bonus for your profitability, but it can get tricky to rely solely on those ticket sales to cover your base costs.

Be Transparent with Policies

“Always make your cancellation and refund policies known up-front; it will save you a lot of hassle later on,” says McKelvy, who is a huge advocate for a late sign-up fee for clinic participants.

Clearly outline and publish these policies and applicable fees wherever your intended audience is finding information about the clinic as it will save a lot of time with back-and forth communication as well as cut down on frustration for all parties! McKelvy, for example, reinforces Mythic Landing Enterprises clinic policies in each email that is sent out regarding the clinic and publishes the information on StriderPro, which she uses to accept entries for riders and auditors.

Be sure to also consider what you will do in cases of inclement weather, if a rider cancels last minute due to a lost shoe, or what action you may take if you have to cancel the clinic altogether for unforeseen circumstances.

Make Sign-Up Simple

Begin your clinic promotions as early as you can so people can prepare for the financial and physical commitment of attending the clinic you are hosting. You’ll want to make it as easy as possible for people to sign-up and pay for their clinic spot, too. There’s nothing worse than spending precious hours chasing down payment and paperwork.

“I always ask for payment up front, which is easy with Strider, where riders also add their releases and other documentation when they’re signing up,” says McKelvy.

A big fan of spreadsheets, McKelvy also encourages organizers to leverage having all of the horse and rider information in one place to make scheduling as hassle-free as possible. Remember, your time has value and spending hours scrolling through past texts to discover which horse and rider combination signed up for what jumping group will detract from your clinic’s overall success.

Whether you’re the sole organizer for your USEA Area, or one of many, we hope these tips help you save time and maximize profitability for your next clinic. We’d love to hear your favorite clinic organizing tips, too! Feel free to drop us a line at [email protected] to share your favorite ways to save time when hosting clinics or other equestrian events.

Special thanks to Margaret McKelvy for sharing her best practices for this piece. For more details on Margaret and her Mythic Landing Enterprises, visit www.mythiclanding.com

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