Trainers and Clinicians - Not Ready for Prime Time Players

Something has been bugging me lately. It's been bugging me a lot. It started with this kid.

His name is Carson James. He keeps showing up on my FB page.
First off, I want  to be clear, he does a lot of things right.
His basic knowledge is okay.
Thing is, his execution is pretty shaky. In the video below, all I can see is his hands, picking, picking picking. He is making a video on creating a quiet horse, yet his fidgeting sends his horse constant messages asking for movement. When the horse responds, he receives a correction.
I recognize this, because K spent FOREVER kicking my butt over this very same habit. Eventually, I learned when to cue, when to fix and when to leave my horse the hell alone.
Then I was ready to spend the next eight years or so learning how to build a bridle horse.
In the mean time, I didn't start making videos.

This kid needs to spend some time with a quality horse trainer. It didn't really matter to me until I saw the video below.
My big fat huge problem is he is representing himself as a trainer of bridle horses.
Dude, you're not even close.
Not only that, but this is the kind of stuff that makes riders from other disciplines make fun of us.

Carson's video is a mish-mash of horse whispery stuff and some pretty rough riding.

The video below shows a World Champion run by a horse I'm quite fond of. He's still in the two-rein here, which means he's still not considered finished.
His trainer, Kevin Stallings, does not spend a bunch of time riding bridleless, or desensitizing his youngsters with a flag. He does however, create horses like the one you see below.
Watch how Kevin rides, watch how the horse carries himself, then go back and watch Carson again.




This kid is trying to scrape together a living, a very tough thing to do as a young trainer, so I understand what he's doing, even if I wish he wasn't.

If you want to see one that actually pisses me off...here goes.

In a recent interview in Western Horseman, Clinton Anderson said he was stepping out of the clinic gig so he could become proficient in the show pen.
He was very up front about knowing he couldn't advance in cow horse and reining unless he took the time to live breathe and ride the events.
He felt that in order to be taken seriously by someone other than beginning horse folks he needed to prove himself as an NRHA, NRCHA and NCHA competitor.
I thought...Great! Good for him!

It's an argument I have had many, many times.
Natural Horsemanship is shaped around the basic training put on many good western horses in the first thirty days of their training - while they're learning other stuff, like being ridden.
In order to keep making money and continue drawing crowds these very basic concepts are turned into smoke and mirrors, piddly little tasks, and lots of reasons to not actually get out and ride.

This approach has its appeal, but, when taken too far, it tends to create stiff dull horses who don't ride well and definitely don't cut in the show pen.

The worst part of this methodology is creating a bunch of horse owners never growing into the advanced (fun) levels of horses because they're still going to clinics to perfect game 72 part c/224.

Needless to say, I was very interested to see how Anderson's training program changed as he got deeper into the pro show circuit.

Then...what pops up on FB?

AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

How is he qualified to start selling videos on training performance horses? By his own admission, he just started riding in open shows. He hasn't won anything! Trust me--I know, hauling to a frigging show does not a competitor make.

This isn't the first time Ol' Clint has played this game. Several years ago Horse and Rider magazine followed Clinton Anderson as he started two reining prospects, preparing them the Down Under Way before sending them off to a competitive reining trainer. If I remember right, he planned on riding whichever came out the best in the Snaffle Bit Futurity.

First one washed out, then the other.

There was no follow up. Both Horse and Rider Magazine and Anderson became verrrrry quiet. I was dying to know some details. My personal guess was both prospects were so dull by the time the poor reining guy got them he couldn't get anything done. I'll never know, nobody was talking.

There is an enormous difference between the approach to training a top level competitor and creating a calm, friendly, trail riding companion.

This kind of crap can only degrade the beauty of a well trained horse.

Finally, I have posted four photos of trainers teaching a young horse to spin. Take your time, look at hands, body position, weight...then look at the horses. Check out the legs, the bend, the shoulders...

Carson - http://www.carsonjames.com/about/

Sandy Collier - http://www.sandycollier.com/nrcha_aqha_nrha_champion.html

Clinton - http://clintonandersonperformancehorses.com/

Pete Kyle - http://www.aqha.com/Showing/World-Show/Blog/09132013-CRI-FEI-Reining-at-WS.aspx

There is an on-going argument that clinicians are the only affordable way for people to learn. Some of the trainers I featured on this post are pretty pricey, but Sandy Collier has an amazing set of videos out that actually teach stuff beyond jiggling ropes and following you around a round pen.

None of the featured trainers cost as much as Clinton. I checked out his website and the prices he slaps on his horses. Do me a favor. Check out this site.

http://www.warrenreining.com/trainer-profiles.html

Look at his horses, their bloodlines, the services he offers and his experience. He shows and wins on what he breeds. So do his clients. Devin is a friend, a local guy and highly accessible. I can guarantee if you haul out to him and invest the same amount of money in lessons as you would on The Four Savvy's you'll have a whole new insight to what a partnership with a good horse can be.