Spencer Dominick
Horsemanship Clinic
May 17-18, 2025 | Big Timber, Montana
Join Spencer Dominick for a horsemanship clinic designed towards improving our relationship and understanding with horses, mules and donkeys
During this weekend we will be working together to learn a diversity of fundamental skills that will enhance your partnership with your horse. We believe everyone deserves an opportunity to learn in a clinic setting, regardless of where you are in your learning process. Please bring your experience, goals and questions. The clinic will take advantage of the setting on a working cattle ranch to round out your skills with practical applications like working through natural obstacles and beginning cattle work (afternoon session only). You are welcome to bring your own horse, or lease one of ours for the weekend.
Morning and afternoon sessions
This clinic will be divided into morning (fundamentals) and afternoon (applied fundamentals) cohorts, to welcome a diversity of skill levels. When you register, you will either register for the two mornings or the two afternoons (or both, if you have multiple animals!).
The morning session: building blocks (limit 7 people):
Our time together will allow you to set a positive, solid foundation with unstarted or newly started horses, or for people who need a refresher in fundamentals of communication. Work will include developing a groundwork routine, moving feet, desensitizing, softness, identifying areas needing more work before next steps. The time will include instruction under saddle translating groundwork to riding where appropriate.
The afternoon cohort: working on feel (limit 7 people)
This time is geared towards the horse owner or intermediate rider who wants to deepen and refine their relationship with their equine, and then apply those skills beginning to work cows or out on the trail through natural obstacles.
What you can expect when you get here
Ranch setting. This clinic will be taking place on the Blake ranch, a small family owned and operated cattle ranch. We do not have an arena, but we have a dry lot where we will be doing arena-type skill-building. The benefit of the ranch will be felt most while riding open country outside of the dry lot where we have plenty of natural obstacles to work with and we will have cows available for exercises either working in the pen or pasture.
Camp out using your setup or ours.
1)You can use the full glamping setup at our Home Base Camp (individual canvas sleeping tent, cot, mattress, pillow, you bring the sleeping bag). Access to self-serve dining tent and outdoor kitchen. $50 per sleeping tent.
2)Pitch your own tent or sleep in your horse trailer - free of charge if participating in clinic.
Overnight your horse. We have 12x12 panel pens available to keep your horse overnight right next to the campsites and area where we will be doing the clinic. Please bring your own buckets/ feeder/ hay nets and leave the pens clean when you are finished. $25 per night per horse. For the safety of the herd, we will turn away any horses with respiratory symptoms (nasal discharge, cough, etc.).
*Parking is limited and we cannot accommodate trailers or RVs longer than 24’
Clinic Details & Itinerary
Day 1 (Saturday May 17th)
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Fundamentals of Horsemanship
Fundamental groundwork skills as they relate to riding and catching your horse
Position in the saddle for different jobs with safety and effectiveness in mind
Framework for making safe decisions around tack, safely tying horses and safe choices while riding
How to build confidence for horse and rider in new situations & desensitizing.
Basics of riding and feeling the horse under you
Approach to keep your horse with you
Skill prep for trail and cow work
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Focus and Feel
ground work related to moving front and hind quarters & specific feet
desensitizing to build confidence
prep your horse for roping and ponying pack animals
maintaining feel through transitions
creating a light feel
prep for real world application of skills
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Bring a dish to share and gather around a meal with other clinic participants at our home base camp.
Option to camp out with overnight pens for your equine.
Day 2 (Sunday May 18th)
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Fundamentals of Horsemanship – Trail & Cow
Review skills from previous day
Ride out on the ranch and safely work through natural obstacles like creeks, bridges, ditches and varying terrain
Discuss and work with behavior and opinions about herd and home
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Focus and Feel – Applying Skills on the trail and ranch
Review of day 1, warm up
Ride out and apply skills learned in day 1 to a trail setting with natural obstacles
Group exercises with cows and/ or cutting flag
A note from trainer and clinician, Spencer Dominick
Horses are the gift that keeps on giving! When I was born, we had horses. My first real job was as a wrangler on our family's 7-D Guest Ranch in Sunlight Basin, Wyoming at the age of nine. I have led pack trips for 20 years, and had a professional training business since 1999 in Wilsall, Montana. I have done cow work, hunting, and farming. I earned a degree in art education from MSU. My main profession is to start horses, mules and donkeys, refine horses, teach lessons and teach clinics .
My goals as a trainer are:
To learn from every horse and every horse person.
To help create positive communication and relationships.
To build skills that make versatile horses.
To have safe experiences.
My life is blessed by thousands of wonderful relationships with horses, mules, and donkeys. They have given me sustenance, wonderful adventure, kindness, hardship and all the colors of life.
Thank you for your interest,
Spencer
2-day Clinic Price: $365
To reserve your spot,
Select the cohort you would like to join (morning or afternoon) and add the total amount ($365) to your cart to register.
(Optional) if you’d like to spend the night with your horse add the $25/ night stall fee.
(Optional) if you would like to use our home base camp (glamping tents, cots, mattresses, pillow, community dining tent and outdoor kitchen), add the $50 fee to your cart.
If you would like to be self- sufficient and camp out with your own gear, you can camp out on your own in a field next to the clinic, you are welcome to at no cost.
(Optional) if you’d like to lease one of our horses for the clinic, add the 2-day horse lease fee to your cart.
Check out
Please read our Refund Policy
Reserve your spot
All important trip details including directions to the ranch, packing list, waiver, and questionnaire will be included in a confirmation email received after completing your reservation.