As the title says, what is the difference between a dressage symposium and a dressage clinic?
Went to a symposium recently and was a little disappointed. It seemed very basic, the riders got very little useful instruction and mostly walked around until it was time to demonstrate something. No efforts were made to really improve the horse/rider combinations.
I feel like maybe I misunderstood what I was signing up for?
Please enlighten me!
A symposium is for the audience, a clinic is for the riders.
You can also have either clinic or symposium at any level. You could go to a low level clinic too.
OP - you didnât say if you were riding or in the audience/auditing.
IMHO, as netg said, the symposium is for the audience. The riders are chosen to be able to reliably demonstrate the points the clinician is making. So for an example, for a new test symposium, the rider/horse pairs are chosen to be able to reliably ride a decent test at the level they are demonstrating. The rider may or may not get much out of the experience, other than a few comments and the chance to ride in a new place.
On the other hand, a clinic is primarily for the riders (again as netg pointed out). As an auditor, you are watching what amounts to a lesson and it will focus on the needs/abilities of that particular pair. A good clinician may also include comments that help auditors understand or apply the lesson to other horses, but it isnât the top priority.
Thanks for the clarification. I guess what confused me was the description in the advertisements. By saying things like âfind out the secrets to increasing your scores by 5%!â And âwill work with each rider to increase their scores and give examples and training exercises to help each combination reach their goalsâ I expected more technical discussions of the actual riding/training, and not just running through the test movements. Just not as in depth as I had hoped.
Now I know for next time 
Well, both clinics and symposiums can over promise and under deliver.
Thats why its a good idea to audit before riding in one. Or at least doing a lot of research.
That said, as a thread on ring craft on COTH pointed out usefully last year, many riders lose points on geometry and precision that could be easily fixed. 5% would mean half a point on a move marked out of ten, like going from 6 to 6.5. At lower levels someone might do that just by riding corners correctly, having crisper transitions and a square halt.
And watching someone coach a training or first level rider trying to make the jump from 60 to 65: that could be very useful to some in the audience and just absolute bore to others 
What tips did you get?
Also clinician or symposium speaker can only work with whatâs in front of him, so some clinics might end up being pitched at a low level despite whateverâs promised.
For instance it might be a wonderful thing for the rider to move from a 58 to a 63 at training level, but like watching paint dry to someone who is thinking about 3rd level.
The purpose of a symposium is to educate the audience. The riders are participating for demonstrarion purposes.
The purpose of a clinic is to educate the rider. While auditors may be allowed, teaching them is not the clinicianâs priority. They are there to teach the rider.
I would add that in a clinic situation the clinician should focus on the rider and not âengageâ with the audience unless there is a break. As a rider I am usually paying big bucks and would like the focus to be on myself and my horse not the audience. If that is going on then it is a symposium and should have been billed that way.
OP, was this the symposium in the PNW from this last weekend?
I went to a symposium given by a Team Level instructor, former Olympian. Instructor had mostly UL riders. None of the riders when requested were able to deliver a free walk. Instructor just slid on by.
I wasnât the only member of the audience who queried this. It was fluffed off.
I have ever since been totally unimpressed by this instructor, regardless of who is employing them for what.
Sadly it is hard to tell in advance if you are getting what you paid for.
Yes. Frankly, I will save my money next timeâŠ
Hmmm that made me curious. I googled and found a recent event, very pricey for audience, with a high level judge. Billed as how to ride the 2019 tests and improve your scores.
Iâd be upset too if I paid that much and it didnât deliver. On the other hand if its really test oriented, pattern oriented, then there might not be time to school and coach the riders individually. I have no idea what the norm is for these kinds of events, or if to some extent symposia with table and bottle service are more social events for many?
What you get from a clinic or symposium is very dependent on the instructor. Some people are great teachersâŠothersâŠnot so goodâŠor worse, they belittle and insult riders.
Now you know to avoid this person. I have certain clinicians who have a big name but who I will not take lessons from .
I only audited. After some very snarky answers to questions from the audience I decided not to ask anything. One of the riders asked for advice on how to inprove her horseâs medium trot and was told âJust do it!â
So IMHO not very helpful at all and a complete waste of moneyâŠ
Well, that is all on the instructor, and nothing to do with the format being symposium or clinic.
Was this symposium basically just a demo of updated test patterns? The info basically just ânow you walk here and canter thereâ level of information?
I see that fairly BNT are making the rounds currently doing this in care regions. And charging high fees to audit.
Or was it some NNT (no name trainer) without much to offer?
It was Axel Steiner.
:eek:
I am surprised, Axel has given very useful tips at clinics/symposium I have attended.
just curious what level do you show?
Iâve never seen any clinics by him but thatâs certainly BNT.
Googling it, looks like this was the new 2019 tests symposium? Iâve never been to one of these (living in Canada) but maybe the point is more about pattern and not schooling? Perhaps someone that has attended these new test symposia regularly might know if thatâs what to expect?
I donât like it, that you felt responses were snarky, that doesnât seem called for.
However I have done a roll out of new tests symposium with a gp trainer, and it really was almost exclusively about watching the flow of each test/how it was put together, and what it should basically look like with skilled riders/horses, with the trainer talking through the test about what rider should do to perform the movement written, but not how the specific rider demonstrating needs to do xy to produce z on their particular horse. It tended more general that specific, because again, itâs for the audience. It was definitely not a riding lesson for the demonstrators. Itâs quite possible Mr. Steiner was not engaged enough with the specifics of each combo to offer effective advice on how Molly could make dobbinâs medium trot better, because thatâs. not where his focus lay during the clinic.
but I agree that responses could have been more positive and tactful.
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