On the subject of clinics, has anyone ridden with Daniel Stewart?

[Jersey_Fresh]

MSEDA is hosting a clinic with Daniel Stewart at the end of January. I searched on here and couldn’t find anything. Im looking for feedback to see if it is worth the money.

I like that he focuses on pressure proof riding and the psychology behind it. My horse is super talented and I ride well, but the mental aspect of riding holds me back. I’m a convert from the hunter world, and we did our first season at starter with mixed results either placing in the top 3 of a big field or getting eliminated in stadium (so dumb, all we ever did in our previous life was jump in a ring). I think learning to handle and ride through my nerves when under pressure would be something I could really benefit from, so if his clinics are good for that I am interested. I am not the bravest of souls so I dont want to sign up to ride with him if its something that could shatter our confidence. But my horse is and hes quirky but kind, so something that could help would really help us this season.

Any feedback would be great!

[BEARCAT]

Absolutely do it! He is super positive and supportive, and the exercises aren’t “difficult” per say, but he does put you under pressure mentally and you will learn a ton.
I have audited several of his clinics and it has really improved my mindset for riding/showing.
Don’t expect to jump big fences, it’s more about the process and mental preparedness and he might start you off with low jumps…

[Hilary]

There was a thread on this a few months ago - my experience with him was that the jumps were just asides, he’s not there to help you train your horse, so if you just want crossrails, that’s fine.

What it pointed out for me was that I had an issue with confidence with THIS horse, not riding in general. Really glad I did it.

I think you would get a lot of out his work.

[Ready_To_Riot]

How much is the clinic? I feel like my money would be much better spent here rather than with Laine since I have turned into a big freaking chicken!

[bornfreenowexpensive]

A pony club has hosted him a few times at my farm. I was able to audit one year. I thought he was quite good. It is not like your typical riding clinics. The focus is really different. A number of riders in our barn have now ridden with him several times and gotten a lot out of it. I bought one of his books and it is quite good. Most of it was not new to me because I have been competitive in other sports…but he does address an area that I find many riders and trainers lacking (unless they were also athletes in other sports). Also his work out stuff is GREAT. Really cool modifications to make some exercises very specific to riding.

I would say you can get a lot out of his clinic by auditing too. But those that rode certainly thought it was worth it. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend his clinic to the OP if you have issues with your nerves. That is the focus.

For me…that is not personally an issue. But we have several anxious riders at our farm and they really got a lot of tools to help from him. Also helped a few of our ADD people too learn to focus more. Just a really good focus on the mental aspects of the sport and some useful tools to address some common issues.

[Desert_Topaz]

I can’t speak highly enough of Daniel and his clinics. We’ve had him out here three times.

[Jersey_Fresh]

[QUOTE=Ready To Riot;8462751]
How much is the clinic? I feel like my money would be much better spent here rather than with Laine since I have turned into a big freaking chicken![/QUOTE]

It is $175/ session

[Jersey_Fresh]

Thank you everyone! I registered today and just need to wait to see if I get in.

I actually emailed Daniel after posting this to ask about his clinic. I didnt expect him to respond but he did and I think riding with him would be a great experience for us.

So fingers crossed and if I get in, Ill report back.

[snoopy]

Be prepared for the inevitable s-curve diagnosis. Everyone gets one.

[betsyk]

Another piece of advice: set aside the weekend and audit the whole thing, from start to finish. Watch the different groups and don’t miss the talks and video reviews and whatever unmounted stuff is included. The conversation and the processing is actually more important than the saddle time. Even if you’ve heard/seen him at other venues (he comes to MW Horse Fair regularly and he probably goes other places, too) he changes things a little each time.

[Jersey_Fresh]

[QUOTE=betsyk;8468263]
Another piece of advice: set aside the weekend and audit the whole thing, from start to finish. Watch the different groups and don’t miss the talks and video reviews and whatever unmounted stuff is included. The conversation and the processing is actually more important than the saddle time. Even if you’ve heard/seen him at other venues (he comes to MW Horse Fair regularly and he probably goes other places, too) he changes things a little each time.[/QUOTE]

This is a good plan. Im going to the meeting on Saturday where he is speaking. On Sunday, I hope to ride in teh early session if I can and then if my horse will stand on my trailer and chill I will stay for the later one. Monday I have to work so Ill miss that whole day.

[PaintedOvation412]

I rode with him probably seven years ago or so and I got a lot out of it. Like others said, it wasn’t so much a focus on training the horse as it was helping me understand myself as a rider and what I could improve upon. I was about 13 at the time and was very sick with a sore throat (doctor confirmed I was no longer contagious, if anyone was concerned) that day but insisted on riding. He was very understanding and just kept my water bottle next to his and had me walk into the middle so that I didn’t have to yell across the arena. I still remember that mostly because he kept it a friendly environment so I was able to really just focus on what he was teaching me. We were in groups of four for riding but over lunch (this was a pony club event) he showed us videos or our riding and talked us through what each person did well and what he had been trying to get them to work on. It was great to see what everybody, not just myself, had been doing. Overall, I think it was very well run and he has effective teaching methods. I still remember details about how my knee moved from that video, so it made an impact.

[Duramax]

I did one close to 10 years ago and didn’t love it. I felt like the process was very unfair to the horses. He intentionally tried to mess with your focus (and that’s fine) but it created yucky riding that the horses paid for. I’ve heard that he has improved his system. He is very nice to look at and is a good entertainer.

[betsyk]

[QUOTE=Duramax;8469236]
I did one close to 10 years ago and didn’t love it. I felt like the process was very unfair to the horses. He intentionally tried to mess with your focus (and that’s fine) but it created yucky riding that the horses paid for. I’ve heard that he has improved his system. He is very nice to look at and is a good entertainer. :)[/QUOTE]

I can see why you would say this. I wouldn’t bring a horse who wasn’t sound and a “roll with it” kinda guy, because he does have some activities where he puts the pressure on the riders in some way and the horse needs to be game to go along with it. Though I was impressed the last time I saw him, because he had swapped out the “go fast, make tight turns” activities for some others that were a little easier on the horses.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

No crappy or hard on the horse exercises at the clinics I saw as you were penalized for that. Jumps were kept extremely small too and easy for the horses as the point of the clinics was not training the horses. You wouldn’t want to ride a super green horse or difficult horse as the focus really is on the rider’s mental game.