What the WHAT?! He doesn’t see a problem with this? Or at least afterward? (Going on the charitable thought that he is or was under a doctor’s care for reasons.) He put that out for public knowledge? Gross and inappropriate doesn’t begin to cover it, IMO.
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How are we even sure about the showers thing? Seeing as such a completely bizarre and WTF thing has never come up til just now - and that Iowa episode was years ago and many loooong threads full of oddness ago… color me extremely skeptical.
This. Probably both of them.
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I remember he made spaghetti (or something) for them afterwards, as a few of the attendees commented specifically on that. I would have thought they’d have mentioned him leaving mid-clinic to shower…
Not questioning Ambitious here, but maybe the clinic sponsor misremembers or has him confused with another wackadoo?
I just think that facts are far more important than conjecture or weird theories or opinions presented as fact… and some of the speculation and what not in these threads crosses a line.
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Found one reference to that clinic and NP cooking for them. OP looks to be yet another houseguest, but I know there were pictures somewhere on FB…
I wonder how all those 10 movers in his barn are doing these days? They were “babies just getting started under saddle” back then…surely they’re setting records at GP now.
Nick uses exclamation points like they were on sale at Walmart. It’s one of his hallmarks as a writer.
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Thanks for putting both sides of this saga in one place. It’s both fascinating and scary how Nick creates such a different version of what occurred.
From Barn Manager’s View:
Nick’s resume turns out to be grossly misrepresented
He fails his audition: a brief interview, a riding test and a mini lesson
He lacks a sense of ease around horses and seems out of his element
He’s delicately sent on his way, just to get him gone
From Nick’s Viewpoint:
The difficult mare lacks basic training; won’t go forward
He must observe the problem; puts woman back on mare
Analysis: Mare needs work on longe line; gets mare unstuck (Puts woman on again)
It’s majickal! Woman can now trot the mare without “beating it like a donkey”
He’s confident that he has the job; conjures up a proposal on way home
The clashing of alternate realities results in a typical NP verbal tirade, laced with nasty expletives-- which he does not deny-- when his $2,000 a month salary proposal is rejected.
This is such a classic example of what you get when you attempt to deal with him. This entire exchange needs to be preserved for anyone considering his services in the future.
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You forgot the part where he took pictures of her farm without her knowledge or permission and tried to use them for personal gain by posting them on the internet (his facebook page.)
He didn’t “put her on the mare”. She got on, to show him how to get the mare to walk trot and canter because he was unable to get the mare to move forward at the walk. He wouldn’t get back on the mare and wanted to longe her. That’s when the interview was over.
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I read that part as being from Nick’s POV. As in, he was in control of the “interview” and test ride. So of course he doesn’t ask the farm owner to ride her own horse, he “puts her on” after he’s ridden the mare himself and presumably fixed a host of problems.
As he put it, “I got you great results and you were trotting by yourself…”
Because he’s Nick the Maestro and no woman is going to tell him what to do or point out his inadequacies, of which there are many.
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Really well said.
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I think he is not capable of taking instruction, thus all of the self employment attempts and limited work history. I knew a person whose ego was such that they had to be the “boss” and they couldn’t hold down a job because of it. They were dishonest as well…
I think he has that same issue, and cannot afford to keep a horse (no shame in that, many people can’t) so he doesn’t really have the option of being an adult ammie.
If he really enjoyed horses he might save up enough for lessons, but he doesn’t take instruction well and as we all know, instruction and saddle time are essential for progress.
It is difficult to understand how some peoples minds work, especially when they self sabotage like this guy does.
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No, I think he got a nice score on the draft at Training level. . But you are right, the horse had already been trained and shown at second. And I think he was the only one in his classes. And instead of enjoying a good score on the horse at training, he had to claim he trained the horse. His owner was happy enough to get the horse out of the pasture and ridden again, but he kept claiming he was training third, and the horse was in no condition to be asking for that so the owner pulled him off the ride. Plus he wasn’t taking care of her expensive tack. If he would just be real, he would get so much further.
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No, the sponsor of one of the clinics told me herself what happened and why she had to refund eight participants.
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Got it! Still disturbing of course.
Re: showers - The first Iowa clinic host in Oct or Nov 2013, the owner of the black Friesian, said in a PM that he took multiple showers per day (he stayed at her home) and that he made suggestive comments about hooking up with women there and it was ok because he and his wife were in different time zones or zipcodes, can’t remember exactly which. I don’t recall anything about him showering during the clinic.
The 2nd Iowa clinic was the one where the clinic host, different from 1st clinic host and held at a different barn, said she had to refund fees due to complaints about short length of lessons.
Interesting to note that he had no repeat customers from his first clinic riding in his second clinic. They were approximately 2 months apart and located relatively close to each other IIRC.
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I listened to an interview with a comedian who was down and living in his car. He did a set somewhere and had to drive there as he could not afford a plane ticket. Someone approached him and said they wanted him to perform for them solely. They would pay him not to perform anywhere else. He said ok.
They gave him a cheque for $50,000.00.
He bought an apartment and showered a lot to start with. It was such a luxury.
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It does not appear that NP has been lacking for a shower at home.
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Thanks for sorting that out. Sorry if I confused things.
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I can certainly understand why the lessons were so short. 
He probably ran out of knowledge of things to teach about five minutes in.
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Yes, this is what I was trying to convey. Sorry if it was misconstrued.
This story is in the book and yet again has a slightly different retelling. Nick never admits to any problems riding the mare. Instead, he notices a myriad of issues while the woman is riding and opts to school the mare on the longe line. Then he puts the woman on again and, as I recall, walks alongside her on the ground, sort of coaching and encouraging her. Voila! She can trot! (Probably now using Reins of Silk). Thus Nick comes away believing, in his own mind, that the entire day has been a success because, “You were trotting by yourself!”
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