[QUOTE=Equus_girl;3935489]
I went to his symposium in CA last winter and honestly, I did not get anything from it.
I have a 5yo with riding school background and was really hoping to get something valuable as far as training goes and also because the program stated that he will start the day with “young horses training,” but all the young horses presented were typical “dressagy” huge warmbloods with dressage bloodlines in full professional training, properly started, already shown, etc.
The part I enjoyed was when he worked with hunter/jumper horses and helped riders use lateral work to improve their jumping.
I am not saying it was a waste of time, but I guess I wanted to see more of regular horses and riders making mistakes and him helping them out, but probably I should have went to a clinic vs symposium.
Let us know what you think of it![/QUOTE]
As the owner of one of those young horses in the symposium this feels a bit like a “slam”. Is it somehow wrong for me to have a super young horse that I want the “best” for - so I have him in full professional training to make sure the basis of his education is a good as possible? So that we will have no “holes” later in the work.
In a symposium it is normal to have the trainer want horses that are proficient and even a little “ahead” of the work they are demonstrating - since it is meant to be a demonstration not a “fixing things”. Conrad was trying to show the progression of what he expects from a 3yo to a 4yo to a 6yo to a PSG horse etc. To see “normal” horses with normal issues a clinic would be a more appropriate forum than a symposium. But typically with Conrad in his clinics you will still get a “fancier” set of horse/rider combinations. Conrad is amazing, has a brilliant technique for training and I never cease to learn something from him.