ELDORADO POLO CLUB HOSTS SUCCESSFUL LINFOOT CLINIC | U.S. POLO ASSN.

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ELDORADO POLO CLUB HOSTS SUCCESSFUL LINFOOT CLINIC

Jan 21, 2019

©Christine Grayson Johnson
©Christine Grayson Johnson.

The Annual Linfoot Clinic at Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, California, is a smart way to get a winter polo season off on good footing. Twenty individuals attended or audited the clinic with more on a waiting list. Players came from all over the U.S. to participate and get insight into the game and horses from Corky and Kathy Linfoot. With the high participation numbers, additional clinicians, Erik Wright, Elizabeth Holson and Robin Sanchez were brought in to expand the instruction and scope of the event.

“Corky Linfoot’s clinic, with the help of his wife Kathy and clinicians Robin Sanchez and Erik Wright, was just the motivation and review I needed to start my polo season in the desert,” said polo instructor and long-time player Bonnie Magill. “I am a believer of ‘life-long learning!’ I have attended numerous clinics during my polo career, not just with Corky, but other professional polo clinicians as well. If I can take home one thing from a clinic to help myself or the teaching of polo to newbies, it was well worth my time and energy. I encourage everyone to attend a clinic now and then to refresh their skills and learn the latest trends in the sport.”

Linfoot clinic participants.
Linfoot clinic participants.

Clinic attendees were given riding instruction with Kathy Linfoot, going through drills that mimic maneuvers required of horse and player in every chukker. Corky worked with each individual on swing technique with Elizabeth Holson’s assistance. Robin Sanchez and Erik Wright did set play drills for bowl-ins and knock-ins. Holson and Sanchez also worked with a group with foot mallets and the wooden horse on the different shots. There were classroom sessions on tacking, bitting horses, controlling the inside of the field, set plays, positioning and more.

“The Corky Linfoot Clinic was life changing. As a new entrant to the sport, having the opportunity to receive one-on-one attention from USPA instructors, as well as lectures and insights from Corky involving the theory and practice of the game, provided me with a new set of skills which I’m currently working to refine at my club,” said participant Dale Johnson. Johnson, with the help of his regular coach Fan Finato using video feedback has taken what he learned at the clinic to the next level.

The Linfoot Clinic is an annual event at Eldorado Polo Club and has filled to capacity the last several years. If you are interested in attending the 2019 Linfoot Clinic email eldorado@eldoradopoloclub.com. For more information on coaching and lessons with Corky and Kathy or to host a clinic at your own club, go to www.linfootpolo.com.