What To Expect
Clinics have become the major focus of my horsemanship. Their popularity and the demand for more clinics both in Australia and overseas is steadily growing.
Even though there are many trainers doing clinics these days, most of them take the form of teaching people a series of methods in the hope that one of these methods will make a difference to you and your horse. There are many “schools of horsemanship” that concentrate on teaching people a range of exercises in an attempt to teach a horse submission and obedience. Even the schools that come under the generic banner of “natural horsemanship” are largely teaching “a method” that are designed to make a horse fit into the cookie-cutter mould of what most people imagine they want.
What is missing among the mix of horsemanship clinics available is an approach to understanding the inside of the horse. Training is all about being able to direct a horse’s thoughts. When a horse thinks about doing something, he tries his best to make it happen. Our job as riders is to help a horse have the same thought we want him to have. When it is his idea, and not just our idea alone, the horse and rider are in unison and harmony. But having a horse follow a rider’s idea depends on the feelings he carries inside. Resistance comes from bad feelings and the better a horse feels about the work the less resistance he offers.
My clinics are for people with all levels of experience and different interests of pursuit. You might be working on flying changes or picking up your horse’s feet. You may want to compete in dressage or reining or you may want to start a horse under saddle or perhaps just get along better with your horse. Each clinic addresses the needs of each rider.
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Ross taught me that being able to better recognise how a horse feels at any given moment is pivotal in understanding horses and being able to have any sort of success with them…
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Ross is an excellent horseman, but the thing that makes his clinics stand out is that he is also one of the best communicators of horsemanship around, so that he can make a change in your horse but he can also give you the tools to see the changes you need to make for yourself and the understanding to use them.
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The “try" for anyone who has been around Ross knows this term, it seem so simple but yet so important. Ross talks about building a try in a horse but from my experience he also is building a try in the people he is teaching. If you want a 10 step plan then this is not a journey for you, but if you are seeking something deeper with more meaning then you will not be disappointed. I have learned that the more you look the more you see and feel and with each little breakthrough brings you a little closer to that elusive oneness we seek and this is the best part of this journey. I am so grateful for Ross’ endless patience and the time and effort he puts into explaining a very difficult concept and my horse thanks him as well.
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I have known Ross for eight years. In this time I have not only had him restart an ex-race horse but have also attended monthly lesson days with a few of my horses. To sustain and grow on the knowledge I have gained so far I run and attend his clinics. I find them to be extremely beneficial. Having two or three day clinics means that you can work intensely on the issues at hand and see the real impact it makes. The difference with my horse and I from the first day to the last is amazing. I highly recommend participating in a clinic and if you can't, then fence sitting is a must!!!
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Ross works from the horse’s point of view and attempts to teach the human to be sensitive and strong enough simultaneously to get along better with their horse. He shows up for whatever we bring and he is ready for the challenge, whether it is refining something going well or bringing awareness to subtleties that need a whole new way of application.
Clinic Format
Clinics can range from 2 day to 5 days. As you might expect the longer the clinic the more there is to be gained.
The facilities that are required for a clinic are very basic. All I need is a safe environment. I have worked in a grassed tennis court and in a 5 star venue. It is sometimes handy to have a safe round yard available, but it is not necessary.
My charge is a flat fee per day. So the cost per individual participant is my daily fee divided by the number of participants. Organizers may wish to add the cost of venue hire, promotion etc to the participants fee.
