Speaking of Clinicians: Leslie Desmond?

[mvp]

Would you thinking horseman types go to a Leslie Desmond clinic?

She’s coming to my backwoods area and I think I should go. I’ll watch any good horseman do their stuff and be sure to get something I didn’t have before.

But would you pay $45/day to audit it? Are all four days necessary?

I think the first day has Desmond working individually with horse/rider teams so that she can get to know them. I like the style and I wonder if I’d learn enough watching 1.5 hours of Desmond with a horse/rider that might not be like me/my horses. The other days are larger groups.

I’m not sure, but I think I recall someone here saying that Desmond was brusque with riders (or worse)?

In any case, I’d appreciate your input.

[mvp]

PS Fillabeana,

It’s being held in Glide, OR in the beginning of May.

[thrghbrd]

My best friend has been to SEVERAL Leslie Desmond clinics, I have never been.

My BFF SWEARS by her! She always has had wonderful things to say about her and the clinics.

You should go and I think from what I’ve heard from BFF…you’ll learn ALOT!

[Emilia]

I think, it is your duty as a COTHer to go there and then provide a detailed written report!

I am very interested in her since she co-wrote the book with Bill Dorrance. I read everything, she published so far.

I own her 10 CD audio series. It is good and she gives a glimpse in them about her progression as a horse person and the way she got to meet Bill Dorrance (CD # 8, trail to Mt Toro, I think).

One of the things that might appeal to you, Mvp, is that she has had dipped into both worlds, English as well as western riding education.

Her base comes from the cavalry instructor she had as a child on the East Coast. She often mentioned, his concepts were similar to Bill Dorrance’s ones.

Leslie Desmond was one of the persons, who helped me to go back to my European base, because her work helped me to realize it was a great education and the place I belonged.

Now, I never met her, but everything she has written and recorded has been of value to me. I can “hear” her, because our backgrounds are similar. Also, she spends part of the year in (the Northern) Europe. She knows the environment and the way riding education has been carried there.

I do not know, how blunt she is. She definitely sounds blunt on the audios, but she also sounds like a person, who has been very hard on herself, too.

She is tough and seems to be a big proponent of riders needing to become braver to get through to their horses. Some people do not want to hear about it.

Again, it helped me a lot in my training. I had a little bump a couple of years ago and, after experimenting with the concept of riding horse at all gaits (including gallop) on loose rein out in the open, I was able to get it back together with him. I do not downplay it was super scary to attempt at first!

It turned out, he was one of those horses, who needed to be sure, I trusted him and could stay with him, without restricting him, no matter what he did. He settled and opened up to me after that even more.

I would have never known about this without reading the “True Horsemanship Through Feel,” her articles, and listening to the CDs.

So, yes, please, go and let us know about it! :yes:

[mvp]

That’s a nice description of Desmond. I’m cool with someone who has high standards so long as they do “attraction rather than promotion.” That is to say, they show students why they’d want to up their game, rather than pushing them to do that.

If I go, I certainly will tell you guys all about it.

[Bluey]

I would go to any clinic by anyone you can ever get to, because you can’t ever see, experience and hear enough, even if you decide afterwards not to go back to that one clinician.

It is eye opening to learn what others do, even stuff you never thought you may be very interested in hearing.
You can’t ever know enough, knowledge adds up and is what makes us better then at what we chose to do.

Will be interesting what you report back.

[Fillabeana]

Thanks, mvp.
I would like to go and see.
That is a really bad time for me, though, I will be super busy with work.

[wyeoakequine]

mvp - Did you decide to go?

I’d be interested to hear your impressions… I rode in a clinic with Leslie last Spring and am sorry to say it was a pretty terrible experience for my horse and myself, and I left ten times more confused than I started.

I’d be interested to hear your impressions, because possibly she was just having a really bad weekend when I was with her? The clinic organizer had absolutely LOVED Leslie in other clinics (hence why she went through the effort to organize a clinic), but now won’t even consider working with her again.