Leslie Law as a clinician?

[deltawave]

I am thinking hard about doing a Leslie Law clinic up at Hunters Run in June--perfect timing, with a CDE that same weekend just down the road that my farrier will be competing in.

Anyone done clinics with him? I have a horse going solidly Novice and we have made a couple of forays into Training--is he someone who pushes you way up and beyond your level, or appropriate to your level?

Thanks. :)

[merry_one]

He has been one of my favorite instructors forever. You will really enjoy the clinic and yes, he will push you. But appropriately. And when the ride is over you will swear you have wings!

[mjrtango93]

He will push a bit, but definately not above and beyond. He comes to our place a couple times a year and even our older ladies on their fjords, and little paint things have a great time! Just be honest in what you and your horses abilities are so he can match. Also if you are uncomfortable doing something just let him know and you will either omit it or he will modify it. Last time he was here I was on my greenie just started going prelim guy with the intermediate and advanced group (I am very experienced and horse is game). We were doing all the same things until there was a larger oxer off a hard approach that I thought was above his head. Simple enough he let the other horses go, lowered it a couple and I went. We even taught those big guys a thing or 2 about trotting a tall single vertical!

[Outyougo]

Not to be missed! Classic horseman, a treat if he has "a sit" on your horse! Has a growing fan base in the PNW.

[Speedy]

I've ridden with him a few times. I enjoyed him well enough to go back, obviously, but in all honesty, really did not fall in love with the guy. He asked appropriate questions for both of my horses, he was incredibly nice and very funny, we performed well and we learned something in each lesson - all good things - but I can't say a million great things about him for some reason. Inexplicable, really.

Anyway, other stories - I have a friend that rides with him regularly (that was how I hooked up with him), and she really seems to like him. I know of a few other people, who do not ride with him regularly, but have each been to a clinic - and they all felt overfaced. All good riders, all of whom felt that the fences were WAY too big for their respective levels (all of the map, btw, N through I) and all of whom said that they'd never use him again. I really did not have that experience, but thought I'd mention the feedback since you asked specifically whether or not he might overface you. Maybe he was just having a bad week, but there it is.

[Jazzy Lady]

I did a clinic with him in 2005. He challenged us appropriately and made us all pretty confident. Our group of P riders were jumping some of the ** questions at the end confidently.

We had a lot of fun in that group. We were cheering and hooting and hollering. he seemed to enjoy himself too.

[Divine Comedy]

I rode with him in Fall of 2007. I was in the T group, which really consisted mostly of people going N about to move up to T. I don't think anyone felt over-faced, although we did do some easy Prelim questions. However, there was one horse (a draft cross) who was very very out of shape and he started stopping pretty consistently by the end of the second day...which was when we were doing the Prelim questions on XC. Make sure your horse isn't out of shape.

Basically, I liked him a lot. We did some interesting questions that my regular trainer hadn't tried yet, but they seemed to help everyone's confidence.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Before I took a clinic, I had heard from a few people that they thought they were pushed too hard. At least one of those folks was someone who I think can feel overfaced very easily.....I also think that you will hear that about a lot of clinicians.

Honestly, I rode in a clinic with him and didn't feel that way at all.....granted, I'm not one who can be overfaced easily (I have no issues speaking up if I think an exercise might over face my horse). I rode both a prelim horse and a green green novice horse with him....novice horse was a bucking fiend and I couldn't convince him to have a "sit" on him although I did try;) ...something about that I was handling it just fine....LOL, yeah but would rather some one else deal with it...brat pony ;) I enjoyed the clinic and it was a good experience for both my horses and me...even the bucking brat.


You may click with him...you may not. He was your classic event trainer as far as I'm concerned. I ride with good trainers all the time...so didn't learn anything "special" or new (which honestly, I don't expect to anymore) but was reminded of things I hadn't thought about in a while and didn't disagree with anything he said or asked me to do. I also didn't feel like it was a waste of my time or money and would ride with him again.

[regeventer]

I've ridden with him twice and loved it. He challenged me, didn't feel WAY uncomfortable with it, did what I was asked, went great.

Had to get a little used to his "isms" when he speaks though - wasn't quite sure at first what "make strides now" meant!:yes:

Enjoy him!

[Halfhalt08]

I rode with him this past March with a young/green horse who is just starting beginner novice this year. He made it very clear if you felt an exercise was asking too much, to let him know, and he would take no offense if you felt it was best you sat one out or ended early. Granted this was because the group was for greenies, but I thought he was great at making sure no one was overfaced. I also watched the other groups ride and everyone seemed to be having a great time (the feedback afterwards affirmed this).

Other than that, I was one of the lucky ones and he sat on my horse. :D He is very humble, funny, and the more questions you ask, the more more you get out of him. Definitely a positive experience!

He is coming back in July and if I can make it happen again money wise, I plan to ride with him again.

[Blugal]

My personal experience of Leslie was quite good. I met him a couple years before he won gold at the Olympics and wasn't a well-known name in the US - he was super friendly and nice. He was giving a course-walk to benefit the Area's YR at Galway CCI**. I was one of 3 Canadians who'd come down, none of us with a coach, so we all signed up for the course-walk. As it turned out we (and our hangers-on) were the only ones to show up. He gave an insightful walk and asked us about our horses, experience etc. to give us the best advice about how to ride each fence. At the end he said any of us was welcome to give him a shout at his farm in England if we wanted, and he would welcome us as WS if we wanted.

A couple years later I audited a clinic and my overall impression was close to bornfree's experience. The only people who were a bit overfaced were in my opinion trying to ride above their level (one decent rider on a too-green horse for the level, and one rider who'd been having problems at that level and was intimidated by her horse). If they had asked to bow out, I'm sure he would have been gracious, but as it was they wanted to try to do things that were perhaps a bit much and then having problems with it.

[Coppers mom]

I'm a huge pansy (I've done nothing but ride hunter ponies for the last 3 years, and am just now getting back into eventing), and I didn't feel overfaced by him. At first, he had a fence that looked scary big, but he happily moved it down. The fun thing about him is that he makes it more about what's in between and after the jump, and you end up not even realizing that you're jumping a little outside of your typical comfort zone.

He focuses a lot on flat work, probably half the first (stadium day for us) day will be flatwork. The more your horse knows, the better. I think he asked the N/T horses for a little lengthen/shorten, and maybe a little lateral work, but don't quote me on it.

I like him for cross country because he's very laid back, especially with the young horses, and really seems to take the horses level into consideration. Unlike a lot of clinicians, he tells you not just how you want to get to the jump, but how to get there that way (what kind of canter, aids, etc). He progressively builds up to larger stuff, and by the end of the lesson we were jumping 1-2 levels higher than we would typically (I was in the BN group).

I would definitely go again :)

[BBowen]

I have not had the opportunity to ride with him (my baby isn't quite ready), but this is the second year our GMO has had him as a clinician. Everyone in our area seems to love him. I have audited a portion each time and regardless of the level, there has been marked improvement of horses/riders at the end of each session.

Since I had the pleasure of driving him to and from the clinic a couple of times, I had a great opportunity to talk with him about progress with my youngster. He gave me some very helpful tips on how they work with their youngsters. As he said, each horse is different and to take my time. I hope I will be ready to ride with him next year.

[SuZQuzie]

I rode with him this past January and loved the experience. He gave me a ton of confidence and talked alot about how different questions on the XC are meant to be ridden.

He is a bit quiet at first, but it's only because he's trying to get a sense of you and your horse. After that, he can verbalize different ways to improve your riding.

[deltawave]

Thanks, all. Sent the papers in this morning, checked the NOVICE box with a little arrow over to the TRAINING box and wrote "wannabe" next to it. :D Hopefully that will be clear to the organizers! :lol: