https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83jYtsPHFxI This is also what I saw at a clinic I audited last summer. LOTS of hand and arm wrangling with VERY long reins, elbows at times way behind his hips.
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Also, he totally dished many international ridersā¦SP, CdJ, Hester etc. Sometimes he leaned way back. His explanation was āto give the horse room in his back to allow it to come up. Sitting straight up puts more wt on the horseās back.ā I never saw much of a connection and not a forward into a reaching connection.
I have to say my husband has maybe been on a horse a handful of times in his life and he never looked anything like that and he has no idea what he is doingā¦nor claims to. What the HECK did I just watch?
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There are a couple of vets that use his stretching program for horses with kissing spines after injections. They have had good results with it. My pony will stretch like that on the lunge line and under saddle if I allow it, heās never been ātaughtā it, but it feels good to him sometime to stretch out/down and snort a bit.
I think the A2R is a very non-tactful rider, and not someone I would want riding my horse. But all in all, I would rather someone follow his crap vs practice Rolkur.
āBut all in all, I would rather someone follow his crap vs practice Rolkur.ā Not me. Two sides of the same coin. This is just as bad, but in a different way.
There is a lot to be said for the stretch, no question. Itās just that this clown isnāt doing it right. Ever. And anyone calling himself a āmasterā and then in the same breath dissing SP, CdJ, Hester, et al has revealed himself for the charlatan he is. The proof is in the pudding. Where are all these GP horses heās produced? I wish Oliviera were still alive so that he could out the liar.
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The thing is this doesnāt look like stretching. Itās a flat neck falling down with gravity. The front legs are under the body and strides are shortened. I doubt any Vet would want that. Stretch should be just that - stretching. That means the back is up and neck is rounded. Stretching the muscles. The belly appears to sag in this outline which couldnāt help kissing spines in my opinion.
yes, the idea of stretch is valid and definitely utilized by dressage trainers and riders. It can not be the end goal though.
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Our area isnāt big on dressage and itās hard finding a trainer. I had two that were very poor. I briefly followed him and his group is almost like a cult - a little scary. Some people ride that way for a year before bringing their horse up into contact. Currently drive 60+ miles for a trainer - well worth it!
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Its taking two awful choices and trying to choose which one is the least detrimental.
Has the A2R guy produced any high level horses? Iāve never seen them, but Iāve never followed anything he does or wasted time on him.
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Looked up Willās scores on Centerline, not impressive to say the least.
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That is exactly what my pony does 
I love the snort!
Yep. Median scores for everything 3rd and above are in the 50s, and he hasnāt shown in 22 years.
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Its not just Art2ride. Recently attended a very full clinic in a southern state of Australia where the ex German Olympic team coach (eventing) was taking up the same methodology as Will F. - and all the old local DQs and judges were eating out his hand and all fluffing themselves out on the benches.
I thought, āand I thought [to myself] your seriously saying this is the way to get a dressage horse to at least Small Tour this way?ā]. Nah.
Like weāve said, sometimes a clinic is āgoldā and sometimes its just the ācharismaā syndrome. Interesting to have been there and Iām glad I was, but it was not my proverbial [provincial?] cup of tea. He will never be my trainer.
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See I thought Another form of Parelli as well. I have never heard of it. Just another new āThingā or fad for some to follow. I thought, gee Western Pleasure in a Dressage saddle. 
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Oh my goodnessā¦
a friend attended the final day of this clinic and she told me that he is starting his own dressage federation. What?!? Thank the ones that exist are t as good as what heās doing. I guess if your method doesnāt fit with a system you just create your own? He better not call it Dressage.
also, she said he spent the entire day explaining why his friendās saddle brand was the only one that anyone good usesā¦
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ughā¦ This doesnāt sound goodā¦
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Well that was weird! I guess if I was pressed to say something kind I would say he is very limber. Otherwise the whole leaning back thing seemed silly and of no value.
(The posters that mentioned the pepperoniās are spot on!)
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So this is kind of a senior upgraded āMaestroā
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Seems way less unstable and this guys actually has followers. But also not someone that will add value to a horseās education or soundness. Scary that people fall for this stuff when there are very well trained teachers in the same area. Thus guy canāt possibly keep horses sound with this style.
upon further research I found that he has started a federation and he has his own tests and everything!
oh myā¦
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I somehow got added to the A2R Facebook page a while back, and was not impressed with what I saw. I even asked around about what I was seeing, and got shot down pretty hard by ātrue believers.ā What I saw was a lot of horses running around on the forehand with their noses on the ground. A 1980s western pleasure riderās delight! Going on the forehand is not at all healthy for the horse, and can lead to joint issues down the road. I guess I kind ofā¦maybeā¦understand the idea behind wanting to teach the rider to go off their seat (good), and teaching a horse to stretch across their topline and into the contact (also good), but like many of the trendy NH trainers, I think they have taken it way too far and instead turned it into something harmful to the horse instead of helpful.
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