Wellington, FL – December 28, 2013 – The USHJA Zone 4 Hunter and Jumper Committees are working in tandem with Floridian Community Bank to offer a free Riders Clinic for Zone 4 members at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach on February 25, 2013. The clinic is open to all Zone 4 USEF/USHJA members of varying levels at absolutely no cost. Zone 4 is pleased to announce Cynthia Hankins as the clinician for the first Riders Clinic this year.
Hankins is a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and has a resume and reputation that speaks for itself with numerous accolades and years of experience in the equitation, hunter and jumper rings. Hankins was the fifth place finisher at the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals when she was only 12 years old, and continued on to achieve many of the most coveted junior awards.
Her most successful junior weekend came at Harrisburg’s Pennsylvania National Horse Show where, aboard Nissen, she was Small Junior Hunter Champion with three blue ribbons, Grand Hunter Champion and Best Child Rider. Hankins also went on to win the USEF Hunter Seat Medal.
Hankins began riding when she was a young child, with her mother as the trainer. She won the lead line division at the Devon Horse Show when she was both three and four years of age. She continued her experience with horses, foxhunting alongside her parents, and participating the pony club. She was a pupil of the esteemed George H. Morris, and promotes his system of riding.
In 2000, Hankins made a move to Paris, France, where she was introduced to a different lifestyle than that which she had come to know in America. She quickly found herself back in the saddle, showing young horses in France, and winning the 4- and 5-year-old Hunter Finals five times at the prestigious Grande Finale at Fontainebleu. One of the horses Hankins showed in France continued on to win championships at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL.
Hankins has used hard work, determination and her passion for training to continue her work in the equestrian industry. She worked as a private trainer for a prominent French amateur rider, training and riding his horses at some of the highest-level venues including the Global Riders Tour. She has demonstrated her level of experience with wins at Chantilly, Monaco, Valkensvaard, Holland, Vimeiro, Portugal and Arezzo, Italy.
As an “R” judge for over 30 years, Hankins has judged all the major equitation finals at least once, and has also judged major hunter classics from the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, to some of the most sought after hunter events on the West Coast. In 2012, she was a clinician for the USHJA’s Emerging Athletes Program, and is a guest trainer on EquestrianCoach.com. Hankins also produced the acclaimed DVD, “A Day at the Finals”, and is the equitation rider on the “Get Connected” video.
For more information on the Zone 4 Clinic, please contact Chris Gilman at dudeville@bellsouth.net. The clinic is free for all active Zone 4 members, and is also free to audit. The USHJA Zone 4 welcomes all spectators.
To view video segments from EquestrianCoach.com featuring Cynthia Hankins, please visit http://www.equestriancoach.com/content/form-follows-function and http://www.equestriancoach.com/content/form-follows-function-over-fences.
To download an entry form, please contact Chris Gilman at dudeville@bellsouth.net or click here.
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