At $300 per ride/lesson, is he worth it? How is he with horses that aren’t quite “dressage” yet? Not real steady in the bridle yet…comes and goes. This question is for an experience rider I know.
I have had probably hundreds of lessons with him, he is very good in my opinion with youngsters, he explains things well and paints word pictures, plus he is quite funny! I’ve never paid that for any lesson so I understand your concern, maybe audit?
1 Like
She’s tired of auditing and wants to RIDE! My thoughts are that if the horse is as inconsistent and I know he is, how could she get anything out of the lesson. Unless, he can spot WHY the horse falls apart at some point on every lap.
1 Like
As someone who used to go to a lot of clinics I would suggest using that money for a lot of lessons with a trainer who can help you get to the point where your horse is steady.
Save the big bucks for when you need that upper level coaching and expertise.
I bet you would get a lot from the clinic with Barisone, but assuming you had two rides, would you get 6-10 lessons worth? Assuming you can find quality instruction for $60-100 per lesson in your area.
But, if you can easily afford it, I have only heard riders singing praise for his teaching. I have not made it down to audit him when he is near me though.
7 Likes
[QUOTE=ezduzit;6939795]
At $300 per ride/lesson, is he worth it? How is he with horses that aren’t quite “dressage” yet? Not real steady in the bridle yet…comes and goes. This question is for an experience rider I know.[/QUOTE]
Whoa! Is that for a clinic or to trailer in to his facility in NJ?
I trailered in and lessoned with his wife, Vera for $150 a lesson. She was excellent.
The rider would definitely profit more by having her regular instructor, help her thorough getting her horse steady in the bridle. If her present instructor is not helping, perhaps she could find another who can.
Top clinicians are not magicians. And some things are a long slow process for both horse and rider. I say this, even though I do know some wonderful clinician, but even they come without a tophat, and rabbit. 
So to answer your initial question. In this case Michael, talented as he may be, is not worth her money.
4 Likes
[QUOTE=ezduzit;6939846]
She’s tired of auditing and wants to RIDE! My thoughts are that if the horse is as inconsistent and I know he is, how could she get anything out of the lesson. Unless, he can spot WHY the horse falls apart at some point on every lap.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=merrygoround;6939949]The rider would definitely profit more by having her regular instructor, help her thorough getting her horse steady in the bridle. If her present instructor is not helping, perhaps she could find another who can.
Top clinicians are not magicians. And some things are a long slow process for both horse and rider. I say this, even though I do know some wonderful clinician, but even they come without a tophat, and rabbit.
So to answer your initial question. In this case Michael, talented as he may be, is not worth her money.[/QUOTE]
Normally I would say no, one lesson is not worth $300, best to spend that on a local instructor. However if she has a regular instructor and there is something that she is just not getting perhaps a different approach will help.
AHA moments are priceless.
After seeing him on Colbert I would love to audit one of his clinics but wouldn’t ride
2 Likes
As someone who has paid that much, and more, for a lesson with a BNT I can tell you I learned A LOT during my 45 minutes! Not the lesson I had intended or hoped to learn, but I did learn a lesson. No one, in my opinion, is ever worth that kind of money for a single lesson. I learned way more paying the $50 to audit and watch.
If you want the experience and the FUN of riding in a clinic in front of your peers and friends, than by all means do it. I whole heartily believe that if you want to LEARN and make progress on an issue than taking several regular lessons would be more beneficial.
That said, I am not saying that you won’t learn anything or the issue won’t be addressed, but that more often than not your money will be better spent on several lessons rather than on one $300 45 minute secession.
2 Likes
Thanks for the feed back. Some ideas I don’t know if she’s considered. I sent her a link to the discussion.
I love auditing. I would take the camper and sit there for both days absorbing ALL the lessons.
btw, $300 is for one lesson. Must include his travels costs, etc.
For me, I’d say no, that that kind of money isn’t going to be well spent until you’re really topped out at what other coaches can give you.
However, part of the question is what her other options are. If this is say, Elk, New Mexico, and he’s coming into town, and her next nearest option for a good instructor is 6 hours away, it might be the right choice. If she lives in Sonoma County, there are dozens of quality instructors around who aren’t big names (plus some who are) who would teach her for quite a bit less and have more time to spend.
And if you have the money, why the heck not? The only reason to skip would be if you’d be taking a slot from someone who needs it more.
To me, one of the ways to get the most value out of riding out of a clinic is if that teacher either brings experience that is not available to you normally or if you can engage in some regular schedule - monthly or a few times a year - so that you get someone who knows your riding arc and gets a sense of who you are and what issues you have.
Auditing is excellent and something I highly recommend whether she rides or not. You can learn a ton just sitting and listening and watching.
One thing I would add is that for a young horse nearly everywhere there is someone around who is good to work with, even if they aren’t in your chosen discipline.
1 Like
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies. The nearest quality instruction is 2 hours away one way. Hence, my dilemma and Mr. Barisone will only be 45 minutes.
[QUOTE=ezduzit;6939846]
She’s tired of auditing and wants to RIDE! My thoughts are that if the horse is as inconsistent and I know he is, how could she get anything out of the lesson. Unless, he can spot WHY the horse falls apart at some point on every lap.[/QUOTE]
Well, is it really the horse who is the problem? I suspect if she can’t get the horse steady and it falls apart at some point on every lap there’s a rider issue more than a horse issue.
I speak from experience, not condescension or judgment. It took me one lesson with my new trainer to completely rethink how to use my seat correctly. Many more to be consistent about it, but if instruction’s not easily available most of the time and he could give that kind of help and could be videotaped - being able to look at video and compare for the next period in between lessons with the next nearest instructor could be extremely valuable. In order for my horse to go well and consistently, even in the lower levels, he needs someone riding like an upper level rider. Some horses just need “help” to hold it together, or are sensitive enough that you have to get it right because each mistake you make will be reflected in their going. So I’m learning from an FEI rider how to ride like an upper level rider to get back out at the lower levels - and in the meantime really improving my half pass and pirouettes… (Our contact has been fixed for quite a while, in the meantime. At least until our next show!)
2 Likes
[QUOTE=workin’onit;6940742]
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies. The nearest quality instruction is 2 hours away one way. Hence, my dilemma and Mr. Barisone will only be 45 minutes.[/QUOTE]
Well, if you have the money, and it sounds like fun, then go for it. You can’t expect miracles in a weekend clinic situation but he may have a key that sets you on your path.
2 hours in my truck is about $100 round trip in gas alone. Totally appropriate to factor that in.
1 Like
[QUOTE=netg;6940911]
Well, is it really the horse who is the problem? I suspect if she can’t get the horse steady and it falls apart at some point on every lap there’s a rider issue more than a horse issue.
I speak from experience, not condescension or judgment. It took me one lesson with my new trainer to completely rethink how to use my seat correctly. Many more to be consistent about it …[/QUOTE]
One lesson with a good trainer CAN be a magic moment. If he can put his finger on the reason why she can’t get the horse steady and start her on the track with some tools to resolving it, then it probably is worth the $$$. Whether he can or not is anyone’s guess, so the question is are you prepared to spend the money on the chance that he might be able to help?
He is a fabulous teacher. But, if the rider does not possess the basics and the horse is green or is of really poor quality, the money would be better spent with someone who is an experienced teacher with less than talented riders and horses.
At any rate, a one time ride with someone like that will at least get the pair evaluated. He is really a straight shooter about the potential and needs of the rider.
1 Like
Yes, we do have contact issues, I’ve struggled with how to ride him forward into the contact and how to get him to come more over his back. He is a modern type Morgan horse. He loves to stretch down. He has three very nice gaits, with lots of jump in the canter, and I’ve never worked with this much talent. He is recovering from EPM diagnosed last Fall with very minimal symptoms. I would be trading a breed show to attend this clinic to help prepare for dressage show this summer.
I’m going to give you absolutely no help whatsoever.
I have ridden with him several times. Absolutely love his style. Every single horse & rider has noticeably improved in the 45 minutes that they rode with him.
You do have to be willing to put up with a certain amount of “when I was at the Olympics” stories.
But - that being said, I don’t know if she would get $300 worth of value from a ride with him. I did not even think about going until my horse was schooling PSG.
There were a whole variety of types and levels at each of the ones I attended, though. He gives each pair the same level of attention, regardless of level.
I am curious, though, your location is Michigan? I am assuming you are talking about the June date outside Lansing? If that is the case, and you are 45 minutes from that farm - there are multiple quality instruction options in a hour radius from there.
I would take into consideration how much money has already been spent addressing this contact issue? How many lessons and how much money in gas? For example, if you take a weekly $60 lesson with a trainer that you board with (no gas) for 3 months that’s $720. If the contact issue is still present after the 3 months with your current trainer, then I think spending $300 on a lesson with Barisone may be worth the money. But if you’ve only taken 1 lesson every 6 weeks, and the total invested is at $120, then I agree with other posters that your money may be better spent investing in regular, local instruction.
Also, how valuable is training progress to you? Some riders are particularly focused on moving up the levels, earning higher scores, etc. while some are more focused on the pleasure of the journey. If you are more of a journey, less destination, then $300 for a 45 minute lesson might be a ridiculous expense that brings you little satisfaction. What if you only gleam a tiny snippet of insight? Again, how valuable is progress to you?
ETA: Will your trainer be at the clinic and able to watch your lesson? If she/he is I think that would sway me further toward recommending it.
Well, it is hard to say. I ride with a BNT weekly. It costs a fortune and I have no business spending the money, but I get so much more out of it than a lesson with your average trainer. So considering that I already ride with a BNT, on sun I dropped $250 for a lesson with another BNT who was in town for a clinic.
It was totally worth it. But then I am willing to skip all the normal stuff that other folks do in their daily life because I want that kind of instruction.
You have to decide for yourself. If your weekly instruction isn’t getting you through the issue, I would do the clinic. But it is a ton of money.
