PGA of Canada

CASE STUDY - PICKERING HORSE CENTRE www.pickeringhorsecentre.ca HOW LTED/LTAD IMPACTS THE BUSINESS: Long Term Equestrian Development plays a strong role at The Pickering Horse Centre. Parents are regularly exposed and educated (through posters, handouts and brochures) on the stages of LTED. Parents are routinely informed of where their child is in his or her development and what he or she needs to get to the next stage. LTED is used as a benchmarking tool. At times, parents ask their child to be more challenged but the coaching staff does not always believe this is appropriate. LTED is used to support the coaching staffs decisions. The Pickering Horse Centre uses LTED to structure competitions appropriately. Considerable time is spent on planning, training and preparing months in advance of the competition. The LTED also helps the coaches, athletes and parents keep the competition selection and timing realistic and match it to the athlete's and horses ability and skill level. Talent is often recognized in our athletes early on and then they are strongly encouraged to start the steps to become a certified coach. FACILITIES: Athletes are recruited through the centre's instructional riding school as young as 7-years old. As they progress, some students show a strong desire to compete at a higher level and develop enough to become part of the show program. The centre's facility includes six large outdoor sand rings (two with lights for night riding), an indoor riding arena with a heated viewing lounge, two barns with the total of 50 stalls, a round pen, a 20-stall barn specific for stall rentals at horse shows. COACH AND ATHLETE RECRUITMENT: Coaches are developed through the NCCP and supported with the centre's coaching system. Coaches receive their certification by mentoring with Competition Coach Specialists. The centre uses its current athlete pool to recruit future coaches. OTHER: The Pickering Horse Centre doesn't have a specific sport science team. The athlete's performance, skills and gaps are evaluated throughout the season by the centre's coaches. In order to support these identified gaps, the Centre hosts regular clinics and brings in sport science experts on mental skills, analyzing performance, health and nutrition, team building and physical assessments. "The tools in this document have helped me improve the revenue and long term viability of my instruction company. The partnership of golf's governing bodies with the Coaching Association of Canada helps all golfers in Canada. As a PGA of Canada professional, we are obligated to serve the golfing community as well as possible, and this document is a major contributor to that. This will help to trend the job span of PGA of Canada Professionals to more 12-month contracts. I look forward to seeing this document evolve and grow our game." Todd Halpen PGA of Canada Candidate for Membership Golf Canada Centre Calgary 15

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