The clinic is at a private barn, and is being hosted privately. That is, not through a club/organization or EC. As I understand it from talking to people around here, eventing used to be a bit bigger 15-20 years ago. There was a course in town that had everything except water which is still there but rotten, a course 2.5 hours away that was not maintained and taken down, the one 4 hours away (though I think this one is a bit newer?), and one 6 hours away which is also gone now. I think there were just more people with horses in our area back then, so more people in more disciplines. But the economy went down the toilet around then with a lot of mills shutting now, and now the horse community is fairly small.
Well, I admire you for your motivation and determination. If I had to drive 4+ hours to school I would stick to jumping and dressage. I love some of the ideas on this thread. Good luck!
I haven’t read through all of the posts, so if this has already been said, sorry …
The main thing (besides jumping and gymnastics) is going to be riding over varied terrain at all of the gaits at some point … so do you have access to areas where you can trail ride and in some spots do your dressage work in the field or over and through some trails … much preferred hills, slopes, bending around trees, going through water and everything you can find minus the jumps?
A huge component is endurance and rhythm over hill and dale … until it becomes something you can do in your sleep.
If you have woods,hills, and occasional stream, you can, by first walking your “course”, then trotting your “course” and then cantering your course, prep. An occasional downed tree is an added benefit, sometimes you have to sorta shift a tree or log, very discretely. 
Ditches are sometimes hard to come by, sometimes it takes ingenuity to get access to one. 
Fruehling,
I can sympathise - there are areas in the Mid-West like yours where complete course have just been abandoned not so much by financial forces but by individuals (or their kids) losing interest. It being infinitely easier to repair fences than build from scratch, can you gain access to the one in your town & see if any obstacles can still be used safely? Sometimes too it is possible to downsize a larger jump such that you end up with one more suitable to the level you need. We had to do that for a course in our area after a lot of the smaller portables were sold off. If you can’t find someone to jump with you, please ensure you have a spotter when you jump for safety’s sake.
Best of luck & welcome to the insanity!
[QUOTE=kashmere;8480680]
There is some wonderful advice on this thread! Pony Grandma and jn4jenny I think really nailed it.
I’m lucky in that I live in a very very small province near the centre of it, so while there aren’t a ton of options for XC courses full stop, they are all relatively close. That being said, I have always always mostly schooled at home. Trails and a field are your friend.
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Good luck! :)[/QUOTE]
I’m in an area where we use hacking heavily to supplement for lack of XC access. We have a great time with the philosophy of go all the places and over/through all the things.
Is there a ditch in your way? cross it!
Is there a log with relatively safe takeoff/landing? Hop it
Bank-like ground on the trail? Go up/down it!
Ball bearing like beach stones between you and the ocean? Figure it out pony, I’ll stay out of your way!
Ocean or lake? In you go pony! Let’s go hang out
All of it with patience, fun and a dressage whip. If they stop to look at the ditch/log/bank, let them look. Then, leg and gentle taptaptap, forward is the way out please. Wiggle left/right? bring them back. Backing up? keep tapping forward. Calm and forward is the way out. Throw a party once they do it.
Go with others and go alone. You can practise the shapes in the arena and the ‘point and go’ out of the arena. I took my mare to her first HT and 2nd off property competition ever at 2’6" last year. After a couple of months of this and 6 logs the day before. She trotted the course and hopped everything like a champ.
She’s become the EASIEST jump ride of my life this way. Flatwork is a work in progress, but jumping? Okey dokey, hang on mom.
Where in NW BC?
[QUOTE=Fruehling;8483261]
The clinic is at a private barn, and is being hosted privately. That is, not through a club/organization or EC. As I understand it from talking to people around here, eventing used to be a bit bigger 15-20 years ago. There was a course in town that had everything except water which is still there but rotten, a course 2.5 hours away that was not maintained and taken down, the one 4 hours away (though I think this one is a bit newer?), and one 6 hours away which is also gone now. I think there were just more people with horses in our area back then, so more people in more disciplines. But the economy went down the toilet around then with a lot of mills shutting now, and now the horse community is fairly small.[/QUOTE]
Sending you a private message - got a taste of eventing in Northwestern Alberta last year and have since moved to Central Interior BC, kind of wondering if we are in similar places and can compare notes of where to go school 
