Lexington, KY, January 14, 2015 – The USHJA Trainer Certification Program, presented by Markel Insurance, hosted eight hunter/jumper professionals for the first TCP clinic of the year, held for the first time in conjunction with the prestigious 2015 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session, presented by USHJA, December 29-January 3, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida.

“The TCP Committee is always looking for opportunities to collaborate with great existing clinics,” said Shelley Campf, TCP committee chair. “We are so grateful to USEF for allowing the famed George Morris Horsemastership clinic to have a TCP designation, and we look forward to more opportunities to develop TCP clinics alongside established clinics like this in the future.”

Twelve of the nation’s top junior and young riders, including 2014 USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Champion Carly Williams and Runner-Up Cody Wooten, participated in the Training Session with Morris. During the session, Morris addressed issues advanced riders face, while focusing on the American Hunter/Jumper Forward Riding System, fundamentals of flatwork and effective riding, and applying these fundamentals to over fences work with advanced riders.

Over the course of the five-day clinic, renowned Certified Trainers Geoff Teall and Candice King provided TCP-focused lectures to the participating trainers in between group riding sessions of the Horsemastership Training Session. Trainers participated in a round table discussion with Morris, Teall and King to discuss some of the most pressing training issues professionals in this sport must address. Nutrena, the Official Horse Feed of the USHJA, provided a special presentation about equine nutrition to the trainers, as well.

“Watching and listening to George Morris teach us how to teach our students is such an amazing experience,” said Charlie Moorcroft, a Certified Trainer who was renewing his certification at the TCP clinic. “Everyone learned something – whether it was a new idea or technique or just a different way to explain something we already know.”

Using the American Hunter/Jumper Forward Riding System and developed in collaboration with George Morris, the USHJA Trainer Certification Program, presented by Markel Insurance, is the gold standard for hunter/jumper professionals across the United States. Now in its fifth year, the TCP is seeing the first certified trainers committing to the program by renewing their certification, per program requirements. Trainers seeking certification can fulfill their educational requirement through a TCP clinic or the Online Trainer Certification Course offered through EquestrianCoach.com.

For more information on the Trainer Certification Program, please visit www.ushja.org/tcp.