There have been some questions & concerns with these clinics, which is understandable.  I realize it’s not just me and my horses that have been put through the ringer; but the entire industry has been through some pretty serious upheaval in the past 5 years.  So, I'll work to address the main items brought to my attention so far here.  

Grouping (beginners, green jumping horses, young jumpers, etc.)

   This format is what I've learned, from four decades of teaching and giving clinics (maybe not always right smack in the middle of & living on the A circuit, though I definitely have done that a few times; but believe me, it's been a rare reprieve when I'm not instructing), works for me.  Six hours of good in ring informative instruction (we will do an hour of classroom instruction per day as well) is about the maximum I can do. I can handle any reasonable level of diversity with up to 5 students, and the technical and verbal aspects of my knowledge and style are best reserved for the more advanced.
 
  However, if a student is jumping lower than 3’ and really wants to be there (and can help to fill a clinic), I have zero problem teaching less than advanced students (which I have done much of over the decades, just instructing local working students alone).

 

   I am however hoping other professionals will quickly pick up on some of the major points I've been making for a long time, & we can get some of these really useful & effective tactics introduced earlier. That way we are not constantly re-inventing the wheel (i.e. I'm not having to explain to one of the top up and coming young US Grand Prix riders in the world why a strong connected lower leg, even with a hot sensitive mare, is still really important, a week before a World Cup Championship Final; through no fault of her own by the way … I’ve seen it over and over and it is just where we honestly currently are.)

​

   If we have enough young or green horses (fairly new to jumping, though they need to at least be comfortably jumping over cross rails, and the rider needs to be somewhat experienced) or up and coming competitive young jumpers; I’m happy to separate those groups out. Obviously, green horse requirements are quite different from experienced horses we would like to consistently bring the best out in, or keep going well, as long as possible.  

​

   Because as I’ve mentioned a few times, we have a little catching up to do as far as developing competitive U.S. bred horses for the highest International level goes.  (And sorry guys, but bringing in trainers from other countries to develop a few horses bred here doesn't really qualify as genuinely producing our own in my mind.  Tho nice try ... :)  And then there is the simple fact that any horse with American thoroughbred blood in it (which definitely overall runs hotter and edgier, and in my humble opinion a little faster than European thoroughbred blood) is more difficult.

​

  So we ARE breaching some new ground working to develop our own horses (and the riders that can TRAIN AND ride them) for the highest level in this country.  The point being, for a place as huge & diverse as the U.S., this is a goal that is going to eventually require a major group effort if we are to succeed, especially consistently and long term (long past my lifespan I hope).   

​

Prices
   The prices on the clinics are now set, & fair from my experience with and what I know about past clinics in this realm.  After receiving some feedback already, I’ve still just dropped the rates 25%, because I do not want to exclude those determined to learn directly from me and give their horse’s their best possible chance of success (which is really the core of my teaching).  

​

   Rates are reasonable (in spite of what I know some are going to say about all of this, but they are just looking for any excuse and could care less about real horsemanship or the sport in the U.S., which is becoming more and more blantantly obvious by the day) given what my coaching was the missing key ingredient to us recently accomplishing as a country and given what some have charged (that did not develop their own horses EVER or act as the missing ingredient to top International competitive horsemanship; i.e. most of these International horse and human teams probably would have won without the coach because often they were or had already won much of everything anyway to even be there).

​

   And the fact that the road it's taken for me & my horses to still be standing here knowing what I know and can keep on proving is something no competitive sport horseman of the leading democratic country of the world should ever have to go through.  

​

   But I'll tell you guys what, since I know we are having to overcome a lot to get this rolling (& I can promise you from a long track record of keeping students 99% healthy, you will not be spending money to end up in the ER or with an injured horse); if you don't legitimately feel I have helped you with at least one agreeably important thing you tell me you would like to see improve with you or your horse, you will only pay half price for this clinic. 

 

In Addition ...the need that is being filled with a different type of clinic for U.S. Show Jumpers; by a trainer that has grown up in it, worked their way up to the top of it, and consistently fought for the good of our sport and the horses that allow us to pursue it ...

​

   This is about having the awareness to follow the horse's lead & learn from a source with a true understanding of how to bring out the best in each horse & rider AND to recognize & develop top talent before they're consistently winning at the highest level.  It's about about seeing past the pomp & circumstance of highly effective decades long marketing, financial thuggery & the death like grip & control of an industry by a small group of less than ethically minded individuals in the pursuit of power, rather than all encompassing horsemanship.  

 

   It's about becoming better so we can stand more trully empowered and independently self sufficient as a country working towards excellence in an equestrian sport that represents who we really are as a nation & a people (i.e. working HONORABLY with horses we've bred & in many cases with blood we've been developing & infatuated with as a culture for over 100 years.)  Because in this particular sport, with the good athletic blood that is predominately here, it's not going to happen unless some of that ego is put aside & moved beyond, & we dig a little deeper. 

​

   Hopefully this eases a few anxieties and helps to re-insert and emphasize the ideas of why we are doing this, and the fact that even with the challenge of this sport's expense, difficulty and competitiveness ... we can and are meant to rise up to it, and to still have fun with and enjoy our horses while we are getting there.  See you guys soon!:)

 

​