Has anyone been to a Landsafe clinic? There’s one near me in August that I’m considering and I’d love to hear feedback!
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I’ve not been, but am friends with someone that always hosts one or two a year for their lesson kids and clients and raves about them.
I’d do it, but with my neck issues…I don’t need to hurt myself practice falling 
A barn near me does them and they’re very popular.
The ones near me are quite spendy, but I don’t know if that’s Landsafe or the host facility.
I am no longer eligible to participate because of age, but I would like to audit.
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Hunter rider here. I attended because I wanted to work on fall technique and confidence after an injury.
I recommend it! It’s quite a rigorous weekend, and you will spend a lot of time upside down. Make sure to take some Dramamine. Exercises are progressive and you will get tons of practice.
I have since made use of the techniques in a fall and they do help to keep you safe. Hoping to take a refresher this year.
Good luck, and let us know if you attend!
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I worry that I’d be sore for months after one of these clinics!
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We have hosted a Landsafe clinic, and I highly recommend them. It may seem expensive, but they have exceptional equipment to really help you learn how to fall. I couldn’t participate due to a non-riding injury, but audited the whole thing. What was really amazing was seeing the difference in the participants from the beginning of day one to the end of day two. The progressive exercises really had an impact on how riders reacted to a fall.
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Thanks all! Sounds like it’s a worthwhile weekend.
My husband did the clinic a couple years ago and loved it. He was by far the oldest there but said it was definitely worth going. Yes, he was quite sore for several days afterwards but said it was worth it. He highly recommends anyone that rides to go to the clinic and learn if you have the opportunity.
How long does it “stick” for? I can completely understand how much you could improve in a weekend. However, unless you’re popping off a few times a year does the muscle memory really stick if you bounce once or twice a decade?
I did Landsafe two years ago, and I feel like I definitely remember a lot of it. The biggest thing that I took away was drop the reins and use your hands to break your fall if you can. It’s much better to break your wrist than your neck. I (knock wood) haven’t taken a fall since the clinic, but I am toying with the idea of going back for a refresher before I start riding my new 4 year old OTTB this fall.
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I signed up for the clinic next weekend and am looking forward to it!
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I did one a number of years ago. I agree with the recommendation to use some sort of motion sickness preventative if you tend to get seasick. There is a lot of tumbling involved.
My biggest takeaway was “Protect the moneymaker,” i.e, tuck your head. When I participated all of the activities were done without a helmet so you could practice the head-tucked, brace position.
While generally valuable, my experience has been that the techniques taught are most effective with falls that occur at speed, i.e., on a cross-country course. I’m not a grand prix rider, so my falls over jumps have not been fast or high enough that I could tuck and roll. You also learn techniques to understand when to bail, and how to handle a horse who stands up. Plenty of practice in rolling away.
You really do have to practice the techniques from time to time afterwards. Oh, and Danny has a healthy ego, which you would expect.
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My husband did one (I watched) a few years ago and credits it with saving his life.
My Clydesdale bolted with him out of nowhere in a lesson and threw him in to one of the wall columns of our indoor arena. Instead of hitting it head first he tucked and rolled as taught and took the impact in his shoulder. He dislocated and broke his shoulder but it was much better than an impact to his head.
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I recommend this to everyone who can get into the course. Even dressage riders.
I have participated 100% 3 times, just went and did some practice a couple of weeks ago as I didn’t need to take the whole course, but wanted to practice. Be ready to take dramanine!
The first time, before I had back surgery, in 2021, it was fun and pretty vigorous, but it did not do any more harm to my bad back than any other stuff I do.
In 2023, I had spinal fusion surgery, then 12 weeks post surgery, had my first opportunity to practice…my horse tripped, bad…had one of those stumbles that kept going and when he hit that vertical point of “no return”, the training kicked in…mostly. I did a variety of the emergency dismount that you train on the second day, combined with the rotational fall training of the first day, but I did not run on landing as I should have, and I also did not go into a roll, BUT, remember I was 12 weeks post spinal fusion surgery. I was still recovering…and yes, I had my surgeon’s approval to ride.
In summer 2023, Landsafe came back, this was 6 months post surgery, and I signed up. I wanted to work on those landing techniques, and get past the fear of hurting myself on tumbling. I’ll be honest, that first sommersault I was nearly in tears, from fear. But, it was fine, it didn’t hurt, and what I noticed is that even with my still getting stronger from surgery, my body had retained the memory from 2021. I did every exercise, although I sometimes only did 2 practice tumbles, not 3+, I was saving my back/energy.
In 2024, I decided I felt great, and I was going to do it one more time. I have an unsuitably big horse and I fall off him a bit too easily if things go wrong, because I’m small, and I like practicing on cushions and a fake horse. It was super fun that time, and I asked Danny and Kelli if they had anyway for me to just come do a few practice falls, since I didn’t think I needed the full training again, and they said I should stop by.
This year, I had convinced my friend to send her daughter and I went on day two to watch and pop in where there was time, and since someone had fallen ill and didn’t come back, and several participants had injuries, there was room for me in the rotation, so I ended up doing almost the entire second day with the class. There are a few form pointers that Danny gets me on, the cage for my arms and making sure I keep the roll going after a fall.
I’ve watched the progression of others who attend a second or third time, and everyone who returns starts out miles ahead of the people who are doing it for the first time.
As for the cost, I find it is very reasonably priced. It is close to 8 hours of training, the bring insane amounts of equipment and when you divide that rate out by 8 hours, it is less than 50/hour. It is usually around $400ish where I attend.
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I went to the clinic this weekend and highly recommend it! They did a great job building up progressively and having the horse simulator was really helpful to go through different fall scenarios.
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