I have been following this guy on FB. Anyone heard/know of him? He seems like a sweet guy. Just released a book on Eclectic Horseman, Being with Horses by Nashon Cook. The blurb explains that he “has coached, competed and trained internationally in jumping and dressage.” I have watched some of his live feeds and I was impressed by his extreme openness and demeanor. I have not been able to find anything anywhere about the “coached, competed and trained internationally in jumping and dressage” portion.
Bio here: https://horsenetwork.com/2020/07/a-complicated-creature-remis-story/
Seems like a compassionate trainer, very feeling and empathetic to the horse. But in this case, “internationally” does not mean what we normally think it means in the context of competition and training.
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In a Warrick Schiller podcast, he mentioned that he took riding lessons in Thailand and China, before he quit grad school and returned to Colorado. He has competed an Arab locally. Seems like his heart is in a good place.
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This. It depends on your definition of “coached” and “internationally”. He is about 10 miles up the road from me and seems like a very kind person with good intentions. What his education is, outside of the Denver Urban Farm, is unclear, however from the video I have watched (while looking for someone to help me start my 3 year old), I conclude that he is a naturally gifted rider.
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He definitely is naturally gifted. It’s hard because it comes so naturally for him at times I’m not sure he can explain why it’s working so brilliantly. I have a big extremely difficult warmblood with big spook. No one, I mean no one, wants to ride him. Trainers have been thrown, four have said , nope, not fixable. I took him for eval to him and he hops on and starts floating around doing haunches in, beautiful shoulders in and you can’t even see cues and my horse looks relaxed and yawns at the end. I didn’t even know he knew these, and my friend and I were like WTF just happened? The sad part is we take him home and no one can emulate. He rears, bolts, spooks in the aisle. I’ve retired him to pasture sadly. But I will always remember that one beautiful ride, bc I knew it was in there.
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What does it mean?
I assume it means he has ridden and competed in different countries where he’s lived but not at the “international” FEI level or representing a country.
Where I live in Canada, the posher h/j barns can take a goose neck full of 2 foot 6 horses down to California so their students can have the thrill of doing HITS in the winter. Yes, they’ve crossed an international border. But can little Chelsea the cross rails champ then call herself an international competitor?
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I see. Thanks for the explanation.
Competed Internationally = CDI.
Warwick Schiller’s interviewed him on his podcast – episode 19 here https://www.warwickschiller.com/podcast/
Nashon has a really interesting story and seems like one of those sensitive empathic people that exists on a slightly different plane of being from the one I inhabit.
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I know him in person and took a lesson once. I wouldn’t call him a classically educated dressage rider or trainer and am not familiar with any local showing experience. I would advise people interested in lessons or training to watch the horses he rides and trains and judge for yourself. Are they truly over their backs and round and reaching for the bit or are they pulled together in a frame? Does he have students who have shown? He does a great job telling students how amazing they and their horses are doing, which is probably helpful for some people. Hopefully he has learned more since I knew him a few years ago. He does have a very good natural seat on a horse.
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