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Amanda, pictured at a clinic on the left, gave me a great review of her experiences at Clinton Anderson clinics. I’ve never been to one, but if you have and would like to leave some feedback, click the Trainer Reviews page (on the navigation menu at the top or to the right on the screen), click Clinton Anderson, and then in the text box under Leave a Reply, leave your feedback, and click Submit Comment. Thanks Amanda!

I was in five clinics with Clinton; it’s been a couple years. Now looking back, I kick myself for not keeping a journal or something to remember easier. My first was a three-day was in December (had to be in ‘02). Basically you learn how to soften up your horse from the ground (lateral flexion), do a bunch of different ground work exercises in the morning, then after lunch you ride, starting out doing a lot of softening exercises under saddle.

Then it was kind of crazy, there was about 14 or 15 riders in a 100×200 indoor arena, and when we began riding he had us hang onto the center of our reins with one hand and trot our horses around, then canter without steering! He said only do a one-rein stop “if you felt your life was in danger.” He said horses don’t run into each other in their spare time. There were some close calls though, lots of ear pinning and cow kicks! He also made everyone post…it is a perfect way for someone to learn balance and develop an independent seat. I remember being so tired at the end of the day in the first clinic. I wasn’t used to working so hard!

I believe I did another three-day [clinic] the following May ’03; some was review, some was new stuff. I think it was in this one we “tracked” a buffalo calf. I remember that was so fun. The mare I had at the time was freaked out at first (I was too!), but eventually she really got into it and got closer and closer to it.

My next two [clinics] were two to five day ones back to back. They were in September ’04. During the first five-day he kind of separated me out and did different things because I was in the clinics before. During the second five-day, after the clinics we’d go to another outdoor arena, and I got to do one-on-one with him while he schooled his futurity horse for that year, which was amazing. I guess he figured I spent enough money with him to warrant private lessons!

Then sometime after that I did an advanced clinic with him (can’t remember that date). There you learned vertical flexion, lateral work like leg yielding, two-tracking, counter bending, rollbacks into the fence, and side passing. He also gave us something I consider as valuable as gold at this clinic and that is a list of 41 groundwork exercises and 48 riding exercises, which I continue to train by today. Then he moved to Ohio, so that was the end of the clinics for me.

I can honestly say I would not be where I am today, horse training wise, if I hadn’t done those clinics. I learned confidence in riding and training mostly from the clinics (I think the particular exercise was cantering around with only one hand on the loose reins, whizzing between other riders). I felt like I could canter forever and anywhere after that! But also, that you have to make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult when training, that is basic horse communication (how they learn from each other), so we need to teach that way for them to understand. Also approach and retreat, it’s the release that really teaches, not the pressure you give.

There’s far too many things to list what else I learned, but I consider myself blessed to be able to learn from him through the clinics.