Horse Sport has an article on Alicia Dickinson. Can’t figure out how to put link here on my phone. Will try again on my laptop tomorrow unless someone else can kindly do it before then.
Title of article is: Whistleblower’s Dressage Extravaganza Cancelled After Backlash
I read an article about that a week or so ago but they did not mention it was her. They just said the event organizers misrepresented their brand by seemingly advertising the park itself was putting up that prize money and that is what they were getting the negative feedback on. At least that is how I read it the first time.
It looks like they named her and added the additional information more recently.
That is all so bizarre I can’t believe any of that is true. Escorted to the bathroom by security? $800 lessons by someone with no experience? Secret locations?
Well if that is all true… what a messy, well mess.
Makes we wonder of the context even more in the Charlotte video. What was she told about this horse and rider and what if any problems was the horse showing before the video we all see.
Someone willing to con unsuspecting people online and in person is not above allegedly creating a situation and then filming it for their own advantage.
Again not saying this is an acceptable training method at all, it is cringy and not going to work BUT if there was an agenda behind bringing in Charlotte it clearly paid off in spades….
Quite messy, indeed. Whoever the whistleblower is, though, doesn’t change the documented fact that CD was terribly abusive and deserved to be outed.
This woman (Dickinson) is a charlatan to be avoided. I’m glad she’s been outed, too.
Thanks for posting!
Wow! That is quite the scam she had going there!
Not that this excuses Charlotte’s actions in any way, but it would appear that Dickinson’s timing in releasing the footage was retaliatory. The business relationship went south for unspecified reasons, and Dickinson figured, “I’ll get her for this. Just everyone wait.”
Pure speculation, but the woman looks a bit of a nutter.
I’ve actually seen “Your Riding Success” ads for online coaching on FB. They all seemed aimed at beginners, “are you afraid to trot? We can help” kind of things.
This just sounds like a Meatloaf Maestro situation, I believe he had similar rules at his ‘clinics’
General question, has anyone else come forward with any similar stories from Charlotte’s many many clinics and lessons given over the years?
The irony of someone with a no cell phone policy taking down their “enemies” with a cell phone video.
Who is falling for these charlatans to begin with, especially for such exorbitant amounts of money?
That Dickinson lady is sounding more and more like a swarmy scam artist. The article mentions that she was planning to use Dujardin to front a syndication for support of a young rider. Was the money she hoped to collect from investors going to actually go toward the young rider, or was it going to go into Dickinson’s pocket?
Was Dujardin on board with the syndication effort, or was Dickinson name-dropping without Dujardin’s consent, so the syndicate would be more attractive to investors? Dickinson says their relationship ended “soon after the whipping incident.” Did it end because of the incident, or did it end because Dujardin wouldn’t play along with the syndicate proposal? Did Dickinson try to force Dujardin into the syndicate relationship by threatening to release the video? And this is not the first time I have wondered if a blackmail attempt was part of the picture - Dickinson sounds like just the sort of person who would try something like that.
I checked out that prize list brochure promoting the competition. You could spend a bit of time analyzing the prize list for red flags. From their mission statement “creating a non-judgmental environment” (at a competition??) to using those special words like “empower” to offering a “luxury dressage saddle” that is listed at $4,000 AUD ($2,718 USD). While $2,718 is not pocket change, it certainly isn’t at the higher end of saddles that I would consider “luxury”, not to mention not listing the brand name.
What the…?
How was this gal funding all the swell swag? Pleased the event got cancelled and it looks like she’s gonna get HER comeuppance…
Sounds like the “luxury saddle” is her own “brand”?
Worse than the Pepperonis.
Decided to delve a bit deeper while enjoying my slow rainy Saturday morning. She sells girths, bridles, breeches, etc as well. On her girth page, she lists:
“ Allowing the pressure that is normally transferred onto the horse (causing discomfort, potential behavioural and performance issues), to be absorbed by the Luxesorb technology. Luxesorb is made of interconnected energy dissipating molecules. These structures, called cross-links, allow the gel molecules to move freely around one another while remaining linked. The material absorbs and dissipates force, relieving the performance horse of incorrect or unnecessary pressure.”
However, after searching for the words in bold, I found this:
“ Impact gel is a patented material made of interconnected energy dissipating molecules. These structures, called cross-links, allow the gel molecules to move freely around one another while remaining linked. The Impact Gel absorbs and dissipates force of impact and pressure points associated with inconsistencies of saddle fit.”
“ Prior to founding Impact Gel, Matthew Kriesel formed the Mattec Corporation with Richard Childress, the owner of multiple racing teams.”
So her products use Impact Gel (I’m assuming), yet she calls it Luxesorb and copies some of the text off the Impact Gel site.
From the article: “Please do your homework and only deal with accredited coaches and professionals with real references.”
If only people would.
you have to love that hokus pokus language.
Do the creators of the gel stuff know she is doing that?
Good question.
Pretty sure they know she’s using their product and their description. Since the Impact Gel people make products for horses, maybe they also manufacture the hocus pocus girth for her, too.
If they learn what she’s really about, they may rethink doing business with her. Or not, if it’s profitable.
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