Apparently, anyone can claim to be a dressage clinician

[kbbarn]

At the hunter/jumper barn I ride at, they were approached by a person, we shall call him Mr. X ( if anyone wants the real name, PM me). Mr. X claims that he is a wonderful dressage rider/trainer, has impressed people like Walter Zettl with his special 'peice of tack' that he has created, and has been called a true horseman by many other professionals. He will do a clinic for our group for fairly cheap so that we can see if we want to do more clinics with him.

I love clinics since I just want to get out and do something different from standard lessons, so I a game. My dressage gelding is pretty easy to bring back to normal if some not-so-skilled person gets on him, so I am not worried.

Go to Mr. X clinic. I find him and within 5 minutes, he is talking about himself and his great 'peice of tack' that he designed will fix all horses problem.

Most of the riding was not bad but it was nothing new. Anyhow, pretty much how 'clinic' went then at the end he went into a 20 minute diatribe of how great of a horseman he is, how great his piece of tack is and how much Walter Zettl went around at a horse expo with this tack and told everyone to school with it. It was a bit odd for a 'clinic'.

Unless I was hearing things, the next topic asked was of horses bucking and what to do about it. The response was, you should jump off the horse and kick it in the rear. That is when I said Thanks

[dresstar]

That is the funniest thing I have ever heard! It is s true anyone can hang a sign out and say I am a professional trainer. But most people don't look closely to who their are taking lesson from. It is very sad. But a lot of beginner riders of all types would not know the difference.
But how do you govern all the trainers out their. I going to try that when one of my young horses bucks.......
:lol::lol:

[slc2]

As Tony Clifton said, bullshit bullshit bullshit.

The most important thing about bullshit, is to have new bullshit the other bullshitters don't have.

That boy'll go far.

[achcosuva]

So, wait, what does this piece of tack do?

If it fixes all my horse's problems, does that mean I won't have to get off and kick him in the rear every time he bucks? :lol:

[BaroquePony]

Originally posted by kbbarn:

My favorite was he got onto the topic of horses bucking and what to do about it. According to him, you should jump off the horse and kick it in the rear.

Oh, that was hilarious.

He's gonna try this method with the wrong horse and end up getting nailed into another orbit.

[JRG]

I often find it really funny that there are so many people that think Dressage is easy.....untill they try it for real. My guess is that this guy...is one of those people.

[Capriole]

The special "piece of tack" wouldn't happen to be a spirit bridle, would it? :rolleyes: :lol:

[merrygoround]

Sigh :sigh: :sigh:!!!!

They are all over the place, they run amuck!

Best rule: Keep your sense of humour, look before you leap ( or pay).:yes:

[twohotponies]

What is a spirit bridle?

[SisterToSoreFoot]

I don't get the leg yield between two poles...doesn't the leg yield require equal parts forward and sideways?? It's a diagonal, not purely sideways movement. Sounds like he was trying to teach something cowboys do to open gates...Sounds like a real Pat Parelli of the dressage world. I'm off to google "spirit bridle" now.

[Meandering Elf]

i figured this is who the OP was talking about after the first mention of his special equipment and WAZ in the same breath

I am sure he will float in soon he used to be a somewhat regular poseur here.

[Icecapade]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.canadiantack.com/ppics/Afirca_bb_small.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.canadiantack.com/bitlessbridle.htm&usg=__-PFLC47Z1FQD4VXQ1gA9oJzywN8=&h=348&w=325&sz=16&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=5hrnq8ld-UswpM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspirit%2Bbridle%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26 sa%3DN

found this... i love the rev part... but seen this bridle years ago.

[BaroquePony]

i love the rev part

aahhhh, faith based dressage. no sweat or sophistication involved, just pray like h*ll your horse will whoa and turn when you ask (shout?).

[Icecapade]

ha ha ha ha

whats your name "whoah damnit"

yours? "please god stop"

:D

[FriesianX]

Ah, I learned years ago, ANYONE can hang out a shingle and call themselves a trainer, even can claim to be a miracle worker! And SOMEONE will pay them for their services. Something about human nature - some people just long to be taken advantage of :lol: At this point in life, I won't clinic with anyone (even BIG NAME trainer, author, rider, judge, etc) until I've audited at least once.

Years ago (many years ago), I audited with a "BNT" who abused the heck out of everyone - cursed, screamed, yelled, called them names. I signed up based on the recommendation of a local trainer and a friend, and by lunch time, I was ready to bag it and go home (my ride was right after lunch). I got on (figured I'd paid and hauled, may as well ride) and told him "I paid for this experience, I'm a reasonably intelligent person, you don't need to yell or call me names". He was so taken aback, he actually communicated semi reasonably - however, his only advice to me was to see-saw my hands to get my young, green horse more "on the bit" :eek: I paid for this?

Yeah, anyone can call themselves a trainer:confused:

[rabicon]

Yes, he was trying to teach a sidepass not a leg yield. No wonder all the dressage riders were confused, there is no sidepass in dressage :cool:

[Equibrit]

Squeeze your horses head and you'll be doing FEI before you know it;
http://spirithorseltd.com.futuresite.register.com/_wsn/page2.html

[rabicon]

He sounds like this guy that works in the warehouse of my inlaws business. He told my husband (now remember this boy is cowboy up :lol:;)) that he was riding a 20 yr old qh the other day and the farrier came and told him that they could be doing that 4th level dressage stuff in like 3 months if they took lessons :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: ROTFLMAO is what I did when my husband came home and told me this. The boy knows that I have started dressage this past year and I guess was trying to be cool *rolleyes*. My husband just told him to go blow smoke up someone elses ass that has no clue about horses ;) Some people really just don't get it.

[BaroquePony]

Orihinally posted by Meandering Elf:

I am sure he will float in soon ......

Now, if he can teach my horse to walk on water .... that I would be willing to pay for. Then I wouldn't have to clean up all those messy galloping boots.

[Lambie Boat]

how much did you pay for that lesson? how many riders in this clinic? and he's coming back? whuuu?


p.s. lots of classical dressage folks training the sidepass now, for real

[slc2]

Really good dressage clinicians are very rare.

Many of them have no credentials at all and nothing that would even remotely qualify them to be a clinician (which is far, far harder than being either an instructor or a trainer), and people don't do their homework and find that out.

Many have experience, but can't communicate well. Being a very famous trainer/competitor who rides top quality horses doesn't mean someone can communicate or figure out how to train dressage with very varied, limited horses from Western, hunt seat, saddle seat and backyard training.

Many other clinicians are just not so much bad as inappropriate in what they teach. A person who works alone at home without much help and has very little interest in motivating their horse to move energetically doesn't really benefit from doing something he doesn't want to do and will never do once he leaves the clinic - he's better off learning to do something he can do at home, and will want to do at home.

Many don't have sufficient experience to train or teach, or are only experienced with one type of horse or one type of problem - students with many different sorts of horses with very different backgrounds are actually very challenging to design good exercises for and to teach. Unfortunately it seems these people usually get the least experienced teachers, rather than the most experienced teachers which is what they need.

[goeslikestink]

its all bull op if hes a top notch trianer been there and done it google his name
like pippa funnel google her and you will find loads of info for exsample

all decent accredited trainers can be found on societies listed with the fei

[BaroquePony]

Not to be a stick in the mud, but there are some very good dressage riders and horse(wo)men that do teach very well, but chose NOT to go the route of FEI and there are some FEI judges/riders/trainers that are lousy.

However, the good ones generally do stick with some very basic classical methods (and there are so many exercises that are considered classical that you could not learn all of them in one or even many clinics).

And yes, even though the "sidepass" is more or less western, western riding can be traced all the way back to the Spanish Riding School in its true development and origin.

Edit to add: shouting at the horse is not considered correct training whether eastern or western and getting off of a bucking horse and kicking it in the @$$ is one of the most outrageous and dangerous ideas I have heard yet.

I believe you (the OP) figured that one out pretty fast.

Hope NO ONE at that clinic really took this guy seriously.

Great for a laugh though.

[slc2]

I dunno, I stopped laughing at 'the Rev' a long, long time ago. It became sad when so many people got his tack and started believing he is a trainer. The whole idea the guy can even GET a clinic is sad.

[Bellfleur]

Somethings just defy common sense, don't they? I don't actually see how the horse is supposed to make any sort of connection to the two events. Did he happen to have any strange theories on how that was supposed to occur.

How many of us have horses that regularly buck us off just because they want to anyhow? Any I have ridden that bucked me off are either scared or something hurts.

The visuals are quite hysterical though! it sounds like something out of a 3 Stooges movie.

I would however pay money to have him demo (repeatedly) the bucked off kick your horse in the ass routine to get it to stop. Maybe we could get a rodeo to loan us a horse or two. We could sell tickets to the event. :lol::lol::lol::lol:

[NoDQhere]

I want to see the jump off and kick him in the a$$ too :yes:.

Seriously though, it does seem like everyone wants to jump on the dressage wagon. It looks "easy" and it sells!

If he sticks with it, he WILL find out it isn't so easy.

[STF]

My favorite was he got onto the topic of horses bucking and what to do about it. According to him, you should jump off the horse and kick it in the rear. That is when I said Thanks, had a lovely time - BYE! and was out of there.


Oh my!!! LMAO

Please PM me with the persons name, Id love to know.

[CatOnLap]

another one of God's deluded soldiers.
STF- click on the link for the spiriit bridle on page 1 and his name shall majickally appear before you.

[Romany]

Tried to click on the link that had the photos of him jumping but they are gone.


I think I found a pic of him jumping: never heard of the guy, so I googled what I gleaned from this discussion, and on the majikal bridle's website there is a pic of a man sort of hovering over a horse as it gets over a jump, if that's any help...

[BaroquePony]

Originally posted by CatOnLap:

another one of God's deluded soldiers.

:lol:

Although, I must admit there has been a time or two that I have been reduced to prayer when I've been swinging my leg over a new horse.

[LarissaL]

I love the Wayback Machine.

A presidential candidate with a hint of SWAP-ness.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080114211301/commonman.info/corrupt.htm

I really would get a kick out of emailing my presidential hopeful at "spiritbridle@yahoo.com" though.

[Bellfleur]

OMG I so needed a good laugh :lol::lol::lol: I read the newspaper article listed above.

This guy does NOT seriously work with horses or in any way be entrusted with their care. He sounds like he has serious anger issues.