So, runflat, I had to see what had gotten this thread back up. I am the original poster, but changed my username over a year ago-thats what caught my attention. I see it was your first post. I’m surprised that something about Alfredo so encouraged you to join and post-and then not really ad anything horsey to the conversation. He now comes to my area monthly and I think anyone who has spent even 5 minutes near him is aware of his flirtatious side. I have never seen or heard him go overboard, it is pretty amusing. He has done so well with so many of the trainers horses (and ammys) that demand has him here frequntly. I audit all I can, I no longer own the horse I rode with him. If anyone ever has hte opportunity, I would go for it. He’s very compassionate, quiet, patient and understanding with the horses. Not so much with the riders, but certainly not bad. For him its all about helping the horses to understand and enjoy something difficult.
This is the pi/pa trainer for Hilda Gurney and lots of top riders on the west coast. He has nothing to hide, no voodoo, nothing evil, very straightforward. He’s quite a character. If you’ve seen Ernst Hoyos/Lisa Wilcox’s in hand work (video, youtube, etc), it is very similar.
We hosted a Pi/Pa clinic with him in January, it was very successful! So successful that we are having him back next week, and I am riding with him. He is very kind to the horses and riders alike. Pi/Pa can be stressful to learn for some horses, and he always ended on a positive note. Additionally, he offers lots of other exercises that can help in other areas of riding movements, not just pi/pa. I am very much looking forward to working with him next week as a matter of fact, we still have some open spots. so if you are in N. Texas, let me know!
My trainer brings him in on a regular basis. I audited for the first time last month, and really felt I got a lot out of it. I hope to ride with him in the near future.
His humor is a bonus and makes for a nice working environment.
Confidence and attitude are a large part of training and working with animals as I am sure that you are all aware. I don’t know if I would use the word arrogance. I think that you have to put yourself in his shoes a little bit. If he is doubtful in his actions, it translates to the horse and results in a lessening of his effectiveness. And teaching the piaffe/passage is all about being clear and decisive with your aids. Just like riding.
Move with confidence, the horse will follow. Here is a video of Alfredo working with a horse that I had in training at the time. I don’t really read arrogance in it, but you be the judge.
http://www.youtube.com/user/EPatricioDressage?feature=mhum#p/u/1/HFF2IGK8qUI
As yourself this: Could a 100 meter sprinter finish the race in under 10 seconds if he didn’t have the confidence to do so? Its all attitude ladies.
“It is better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not.” Such is my world
Confidence and attitude are a large part of training and working with animals as I am sure that you are all aware. I don’t know if I would use the word arrogance. I think that you have to put yourself in his shoes a little bit. If he is doubtful in his actions, it translates to the horse and results in a lessening of his effectiveness. And teaching the piaffe/passage is all about being clear and decisive with your aids. Just like riding.
Well said, EPat!
I’m riding with him in April, so I’ll get to experience the clinic one-on-one.
Lucky you! I hear he is coming to the Wellington , Florida area March 25,26,27th. Can’t wait to audit, from what I have seen he is a master at his work.
horsey girl, where is he coming in Wellington? I’m there, and I would love to get in on this. Whose barn is he coming to?
Alfredo is fun and very good. He is the pi/pa coach for Heather Blitz with Paragon, Steffen Peters with Magic, Leslie Morse and many others.
I don’t think he is overly flirtatious, he means nothing by it, its just a latin thing! He is quite funny and engaging as well.
I think DG123 is responding to a year-old message re Florida
You’re right. Duh.
not in the least- he’s busy as can be and has a lot of clients all over the country. I doubt he’s ‘in need’ of anything.
Did a great job with my young horse…still think he has the best timing and instinct when it comes to Pi/Pa work…
Yes I joined just to post my warning about this clinician.
I felt it was important enough to figure out how to join the CLOTH forum.
I have read some threads but never felt the need to post before.
Hopefully I can prevent some heartache.
Here is my post:
I feel strongly that I need to post my experience with Alfredo.
I feel sad, but I hope I can prevent someone from having the same experience I had.
I really want folks to be aware so they can be warned. I have taken several clinics from him before and found his timing and his use of reward with my very young horse nice. Yes, he was blustery and border-line creepy with his Latin flirting, but the learning was worth it.
Until the last clinic…
First two days were fine. He had apparently stayed out all night the night before. He was almost two hours late and came in still inebriated. He could hardly stand up and reeked of alcohol. His borderline behavior went over the border.
There was also some questionable behavior with a 12-year-old girl;
he poured a bottle of water down her shirt and said she was dying.
And because of his intoxication, his timing was way off. And by way off— he basically just beat the snot out of the horses randomly.
My filly left with raised whip welts all over her body. His timing was so off, no one had any idea why she was beaten repeatedly.
Basically he was just drunk and not right in the head.
Half of the spectators left in tears, and three riders scratched their afternoon slots.
He was asked never to return to the facility.
Now, I do feel like his behavior was caused by the alcohol, BUT very sad and disappointing to pay lots of money for someone you considered an expert only to have him abuse your horse and scream at and berate you. I was shaking.
Also, another red flag, I brushed this info off too… but Alfredo is NOT thought of highly in Spain.He did NOT attend the Royal school of Equestrian art in Jarez
even though he claims he did. Maybe he lived near the city at one time.
He loves to name drop, and I wonder how much else is just made up?
Sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on an accent in this country.
Clinic attendees be forewarned. If he shows up inebriated…for the sake of your horse, I would scratch.
I wish I had.
And so does my poor horse.
[QUOTE=barebacklarker;7651745]
Yes I joined just to post my warning about this clinician.
I felt it was important enough to figure out how to join the CLOTH forum.
I have read some threads but never felt the need to post before.
Hopefully I can prevent some heartache.
Here is my post:
I feel strongly that I need to post my experience with Alfredo.
I feel sad, but I hope I can prevent someone from having the same experience I had.
I really want folks to be aware so they can be warned. I have taken several clinics from him before and found his timing and his use of reward with my very young horse nice. Yes, he was blustery and border-line creepy with his Latin flirting, but the learning was worth it.
Until the last clinic…
First two days were fine. He had apparently stayed out all night the night before. He was almost two hours late and came in still inebriated. He could hardly stand up and reeked of alcohol. His borderline behavior went over the border.
There was also some questionable behavior with a 12-year-old girl;
he poured a bottle of water down her shirt and said she was dying.
And because of his intoxication, his timing was way off. And by way off— he basically just beat the snot out of the horses randomly.
My filly left with raised whip welts all over her body. His timing was so off, no one had any idea why she was beaten repeatedly.
Basically he was just drunk and not right in the head.
Half of the spectators left in tears, and three riders scratched their afternoon slots.
He was asked never to return to the facility.
Now, I do feel like his behavior was caused by the alcohol, BUT very sad and disappointing to pay lots of money for someone you considered an expert only to have him abuse your horse and scream at and berate you. I was shaking.
Also, another red flag, I brushed this info off too… but Alfredo is NOT thought of highly in Spain.He did NOT attend the Royal school of Equestrian art in Jarez
even though he claims he did. Maybe he lived near the city at one time.
He loves to name drop, and I wonder how much else is just made up?
Sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on an accent in this country.
Clinic attendees be forewarned. If he shows up inebriated…for the sake of your horse, I would scratch.
I wish I had.
And so does my poor horse.[/QUOTE]
Quoted for posterity…and…in!
Hernandez clinics in my area every week, it seems, and the ladies rush to bring their horses (lame or not, prepared or not) for 20 minutes with the “maestro.” Some even make the grave error of letting him get on their horses. It’s a sad spectacle. And he’s creepy–everyone knows that. Yuck.
I smell troll!
Alfredo Hernandez Reply
My name is Alfredo Hernandez. I have been a professional in the horse business for almost 30 years. I have been reading the posts here on this forum. Thank you to each and every one of you that posted to this reply. I do not feel a need to explain myself because I know I have done nothing inappropriate. I am open to putting myself onto this forum to clarify my professionalism. In my career I have many repeat clients of 20 years who have children who now ride with me. I have tremendous courtesy with children and am offended that someone would think otherwise. It is a fact that I appreciate the beauty of a woman. I feel it worthy to express my compliments to them. Anyone is welcome to contact me personally or even post here and I will reply. I am extremely busy with work but will find the time to respond as soon as possible. I never never in my life have hurt a horse. I do ask for response, boundaries, and respect. I consider abuse when someone uses unnecessary punishment and I do not do this. I will be returning to this same region of the country again and riding with the same horses. Anyone is willing to audit, including the person here trying to use defamation. I do not have any time for hating anybody but I have a lot of time to love people and animals. Thank you everyone for your positive support. I look forward to working with you again.
[QUOTE=Alfredo Hernandez;7667157]
My name is Alfredo Hernandez. I have been a professional in the horse business for almost 30 years. I have been reading the posts here on this forum. Thank you to each and every one of you that posted to this reply. I do not feel a need to explain myself because I know I have done nothing inappropriate. I am open to putting myself onto this forum to clarify my professionalism. In my career I have many repeat clients of 20 years who have children who now ride with me. I have tremendous courtesy with children and am offended that someone would think otherwise. It is a fact that I appreciate the beauty of a woman. I feel it worthy to express my compliments to them. Anyone is welcome to contact me personally or even post here and I will reply. I am extremely busy with work but will find the time to respond as soon as possible. I never never in my life have hurt a horse. I do ask for response, boundaries, and respect. I consider abuse when someone uses unnecessary punishment and I do not do this. I will be returning to this same region of the country again and riding with the same horses. Anyone is willing to audit, including the person here trying to use defamation. I do not have any time for hating anybody but I have a lot of time to love people and animals. Thank you everyone for your positive support. I look forward to working with you again.[/QUOTE]
Bem-vindo ao fórum COTH Sr. Hernandez, se é que você realmente é.
Whilst that is the about extent of my Portuguese, I will paste the quote of your bio in this post.
I do have one question for you, however. Did you train at the Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre? That is, the national school that works with the Alter Real horse? The present head riding masters are João Pedro Rodrigues & António Borba Monteiro
the link to the Bio is http://windsweptfarms.net/WWW.windsweptfarms.net/Alfredo_Hernandez.html
"Classically trained at the Portuguese Riding School, Alfredo Hernandez Specializes in the Piaffe, Passage and Spanish Walk/Trot. He utilizes these classical movements as a athlete would to develop strength and improve each horse’s gaits. Originally from Jerez, Spain, Alfredo has become one of this countries leading experts in developing and schooling the Piaffe and Passage in-hand.
In the Piaffe/Passage he is currently coaching Steffan Peters, Alyssa Pitts, Heather Blitz, Betsy Steiner, Sandy Howard, and has coached many other top riders from around the country including Hilda Gurney, Jan Ebeling, and Leslie Morse.
Alfredo Hernandez is a California based dressage trainer who works with horses in all stages of training from 3-year-olds to FEI to start developing the basics for piaffe and passage, or to improve the piaffe & passage for seasoned competitors. Riders and horses of all levels are welcome. He works his magic with all ages, breed and level of horses. Horses in the clinic need not be started in Passage/Piaffe, these sessions can be designed to introduce or develop Passage/Piaffe and can also provide focused instruction in other areas of dressage.
Alfredo enjoys working with amateurs and professionals alike. His clinics are fun (featuring his infectious sense of humor) and educational for everybody.
We welcome outside riders, and can provide both overnight stabling and day accommodations so that riders trailering in will be able to watch other sessions throughout the day. "
In this bio we clearly see that Mr. Hernandez is from Jerez but trained at the Portuguese Riding school. There is clearly no claim that he trained at the Jerez school. This negates the post from barebacklarker:
[QUOTE=Alfredo Hernandez;7667157]
My name is Alfredo Hernandez. I have been a professional in the horse business for almost 30 years. I have been reading the posts here on this forum. Thank you to each and every one of you that posted to this reply. I do not feel a need to explain myself because I know I have done nothing inappropriate. I am open to putting myself onto this forum to clarify my professionalism. In my career I have many repeat clients of 20 years who have children who now ride with me. I have tremendous courtesy with children and am offended that someone would think otherwise. It is a fact that I appreciate the beauty of a woman. I feel it worthy to express my compliments to them. Anyone is welcome to contact me personally or even post here and I will reply. I am extremely busy with work but will find the time to respond as soon as possible. I never never in my life have hurt a horse. I do ask for response, boundaries, and respect. I consider abuse when someone uses unnecessary punishment and I do not do this. I will be returning to this same region of the country again and riding with the same horses. Anyone is willing to audit, including the person here trying to use defamation. I do not have any time for hating anybody but I have a lot of time to love people and animals. Thank you everyone for your positive support. I look forward to working with you again.[/QUOTE]
Just curious, what part of the country will you be returning to? The part of the country barebacklarker is from? If so, how do you know where that is?
I have only heard good things about Mr. Hernandez and was disappointed when my horse went lame and I wasn’t able to attend one of the AH clinics. That said, I do find the bolded statement a little odd.
There was no questionable behavior with a 12 year old girl. I was there and her father was also. I spoke with him and he said if he knew who posted this he would ask them to take it down. Alfredo poured water on the girl because she was starting to feel faint and over heating. I felt like he was very respectful of any younger riders that were there at one point the same girl walked in and there were some adult jokes going on and he scolded the auditors and said that is not appropriate to be saying stuff like that around such a young girl. As far as the rest of the post I think some people have a hard time with any corrections being made and makes them uncomfortable. I was not at the clinic the day this happened, but I do know that I have never seen Alfredo out of line with a horse. I think he has amazing timing with horses and uses corrections when needed. I know not everyone is going to get along with every clinician, but I have enjoyed and learned a lot from his clinics. He may not be for everyone but I’ve never worked with someone that is willing to teach you the things he knows and really try to help you get the piaffe and passage on your own despite wether you are a trainer or and adult amateur.
[QUOTE=busylady;7668089]
Just curious, what part of the country will you be returning to? The part of the country barebacklarker is from? If so, how do you know where that is?
I have only heard good things about Mr. Hernandez and was disappointed when my horse went lame and I wasn’t able to attend one of the AH clinics. That said, I do find the bolded statement a little odd.[/QUOTE]
My personal take when reading this - it’s a language issue.
