NEWS

The Linfoot Clinic, held this past December at Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, California, attracted its strongest participation in years. Twenty people attended the clinic with still more on a waiting list. Players came from all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico, to participate in Corky and Kathy Linfoot’s clinic and leave with better insight into the game and horses. Considering the high number of participants, two additional clinicians, Erik Wright and Robin Sanchez, along with assistant Elizabeth Holson, were brought in to expand the instruction and scope of the event.

Corky Linfoot is a renowned polo horse trainer, team coach, former 7-goal player, and winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship® along with many other high-goal polo tournaments. His wife, Kathy, is a well-known horse trainer, riding instructor and videographer. Together they have been hosting this annual clinic in the California desert for many years.

Classroom instruction covered many topics including: winning the throw-in, knock-in strategy, choosing a horse, coaching philosophy, fouls and penalties, sports psychology, player positioning and game flow. When the clinic participants were mounted, they rotated daily through several stations of education and also played coached chukkers. Kathy worked with students on riding for polo and successfully executing every maneuver made on the field while Corky worked on hitting and swing mechanics. Wright and Sanchez focused on knock-ins and field positioning.

Most of the participants listed positioning, tactics and strategy as their biggest takeaways from the clinic. "It's been a great clinic,” raved Stephanie Davidson of Calgary, Canada. “I learned a lot about positioning and re-postioning.” Ana De Vennie, a young player from Mexico, said, "I found this clinic to be a great experience, because you learn from a great player who has the ability to teach." Every participant received a DVD of the clinic afterwards.

"Kathy and I want to extend our appreciation to the Eldorado Polo Club, Graham Bray and Debbie Morrison, for hosting this clinic and providing an excellent venue with the fields, Cantina and classroom locations,” Corky said after the clinic was complete. “We would also like to thank Erik Wright, Elizabeth Holson, Robin Sanchez, who are all exceptional clinicians and instructors in their own right, for helping with the clinic, Rachel Faierman for helping with field side organization, and to the horse providers who leased to many of the participants. Finally, we really appreciate all of the participants who showed so much interest and stamina during the two plus days and filled the clinic to the point that, not only did we have to bring in additional clinicians, but we also had to cap the number in order to maintain a high standard of instruction and learning potential."