DATES: Saturday and Sunday, November 20-21, 2021

TIME: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm (A 2-hour lunch break will allow you to enjoy the lovely grounds of the Varian Arabians Ranch and/or drive into Old Village of nearby Arroyo Grande, with a variety of restaurant options)

FEE

  • $450 for horse to be trained at the clinic - Submit Request Form to be considered for training. Payment will be collected after selection 
  • $45 to attend the clinic as an auditor - Register Online

LOCATION: Varian Arabians Ranch - 1275 Corbett Canyon Road, Arroyo Grande

QUESTIONS: Contact CommunityPrograms@cuesta.edu

INSTRUCTOR: Andres Castaño 

Meet the instructor

Andres Castaño
Performance Trainer

Andres on horseback

 

Andres Castaño has been described as ‘an astoundingly naturally gifted trainer.’ With an approach of softness and sensitivity, Andres is perfectly suited for the intelligence of the Arabian horse.

Andres grew up in Medellin, Colombia, and can remember riding and handling horses since the tender age of three. He fondly recalls all-day trail rides with his parents and siblings across the mountains of Colombia nearly every weekend of his childhood.

It wasn’t until age 18 that Andres decided to work with horses professionally. His first job? Working with Arabians for the first time – Polish Arabian endurance horses, to be specific. Since that time, he has lived in the United States training Arabian horses, hosting natural horsemanship clinics, and entertaining through live performances that showcase the versatility of the Arabian breed… anything from tricks, liberty work and bareback jumping to bridleless mounted shooting, roping and more.

You can likely see, by now, how effortlessly Andres Castaño’s philosophy fuses with that of Sheila Varian.

Andres brings yet another dimension of color to the deep, rich Varian philosophy through providing training services for young horses, desensitization, trail, and the show ring alongside Jaime Hernandez, as well as continuing to host horsemanship clinics under the Varian banner.

Daily Workshop Schedule

8:30am - 9:00am - Check-in and coffee

9:00am - 11:00am - Horse training (2 horses)

11:00am - 11:30am - Q&A with Andres

Lunch break

2:00pm - 4:00pm - Horse training (2 horses)

4:00pm - 4:30pm - Q&A with Andres