Well, we’re back at our editing desks after four days in Springfield, Massachusetts, where TSB authors Jane Savoie, Betsy Steiner, Daniel Stewart, Denny Emerson, and Brenda Imus inspired and educated thousands of attendees through their clinics and demonstrations.
Denny’s clinics were a huge hit, and participants spanned the age and experience spectrum–from novice eventers to some of the nation’s best riders and horses. He kept people engaged and laughing, then brought the fun back to the TSB booth in the Better Living Center where fans could pre-order his forthcoming book HOW GOOD RIDERS GET GOOD and ask him questions. 
Daniel got us all going with his terrific enthusiasm and good humor. The sports psychology and physical fitness techniques he shared are easily applied to any rider, regardless of age, ability, or discipline. It was exciting to see the tremendous response to his ideas, the laughter his stories and jokes inspired, and the riders–young and old–who left eager to put his techniques to good use in their daily riding.
Brenda rallied from a rather inconvenient bout with the flu to educate gaited horse fans about the best ways to ride and train their gaited horse to keep him happy, healthy, and sound. Her Gaits of Gold booth in the Young Building was mobbed after her clinics, with a line of fans waiting to ask her and her staff questions about bitting and saddle fit. There was a lot of excitement generated by her new book THE GAITED HORSE BIBLE, available at a special pre-publication price on our Web site now.
Betsy’s dressage clinics were well attended, as usual, and she worked on a variety of schooling exercises for both the serious dressage rider and the eventer who needs ways to prepare her horse to perform well in three very different phases. Her emphasis on quieting the eventing horse on the flat–often a challenge with those that are bred and trained to be “on the mettle” in the cross-country and stadium phases–led to some nice work by her clinic participants.
Jane brought the demo “model horse” for her new EQ-Equisense enhanced tack and kept a constant crowd surrounding her booth in the Better Living Center, eager to try it out. This exciting new technology certainly seems to be making a hit with riders of all ages.
We had a surprise visit from the author of DONKEYS: MINIATURE, STANDARD, AND MAMMOTH, Dr. Stephen Purdy, Director of the Camelid Studies program at UMass-Amherst. He and his wife Joyce stopped by the TSB booth after visiting Save Your Ass Donkey Rescue in the Breeds Pavilion. Dr. Purdy ran a donkey rescue for two years prior to his time at UMass. 
It was great to see our authors, and wonderful to see the positive responses to their work from so many riders. There is nothing as rewarding as speaking with “reading riders” face-to-face and hearing what they have to say about our books and what our authors are teaching. It gives us new ideas and helps us keep the “good reading” coming. We can’t wait to see what else our authors–old and new–have to offer in the coming year. Stay tuned!