Just as there are incompetent, bumbling, unprofessional lawyers, so too are there licensed therapists/counselors ill-equipped for the job. That someone earned a degree and passed state certification requirements =/= competence nor professionalism.
I’m not saying this is the case here, as I don’t know the woman.
I think he owes us editors’ fees for “foreword”. You KNOW he got that correction here.
It’s taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the biomechanics of Nuno’s “dead leg” effect. It’s an overexaggerated posterior pelvic tilt, and the hypo-lordosis of the lumbar spine accompanying it.
And that would be the so-called “clutch” effect. But would still probably require a strong core in the opposing abdominal muscles. Just guessing, if the back muscles are tight.
You’d think so, but no. A posterior pelvic tilt is considered an orthopedic pathology & is usually caused by muscle imbalance & weakness in one or more key areas. Over time, the lower back muscles become too lengthen and the abs too short & tight to where neither can effectively do the work of stabilizing the rest of the body.
https://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2019/pelvic-tilt-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-correct-it
Or at least enable spellcheck
What claims was he actually making in the book with regards to Iron Spring, er, I mean, “Metal Pond” farm? Didn’t he claim in the past that they offered him a job or something?
I think you’re referring to Van Olst, over in the Netherlands. According to the book, Nick claims that when he said he was being considered for a job with Van Olst, it was all a joke that turned into a big misunderstanding. 
Since I have attempted to purge the horcrux that is Nick’s book from my mind, some details of the following may be a bit off. Anyone who’s read the book… feel free to correct:
Metal Pond Farm was home to his favorite stallion of ever and ever, Walkabout (clearly the flashy Roemer), and he visited whenever possible, starting when he was growing up. The place was kind enough to indulge him. Eventually he even took his kids at some point. He had a photo of Roemer-- I mean Walkabout-- that Mary Alice Malone had signed, which he displayed on his social media. But apparently he was contacted and asked to remove that photo once Nick’s penchant for embellishing his resume and accomplishments, and labeling dressage officials as corrupt, came to light. Needless to say, Swamp Town was blamed in the book for pooping all over his sweet memories of Metal Pond Farm.
He got caught lying.
Well, yeah, that too.
For a guy who loves to threaten to sue/fail to sue, he’s shockingly ignorant about the very branch of law he loves to appeal to. His renaming various places is both completely childish (Metal Pond for Iron Spring, give me a break) and also spectacularly ineffective.
To provide strong protection from libel and defamation claims, authors know to hide the identities of their subjects thoroughly. Not that this guy has ever done an ounce of diligence or even casual self-study, but a quick canter through libel law via the free and ubiquitous google would have informed him that what he thinks are clever and snarky thinly-veiled references are actually easy pickings for anyone inclined to sue him and get his vanity-printed (honestly, one cannot call it published) pulp fiction pulled from Amazon.
Just one of the top hits one can pull up in less than 30 seconds of effort:
There are several ways to avoid invasion of privacy lawsuits. Our first tip is to get written permission from your characters. If you obtain written consent, they can’t later file a suit stating you’ve breached their privacy.
Our second tip is the same as with defamation: Change all identifying characteristics. Give your characters a different name, different job, different wardrobes—anything you can change to prevent them from being recognized by your words affords you a degree of protection. Some writers like to create an amalgam of characters to mix up identifying facts.
Our third tip is tell the truth. Don’t lie (or even embellish). It’s unethical at best; at worst, it can get you in legal hot water."
Also:
To protect the privacy of individuals in your book and avoid a libel lawsuit, you have to put in the extra work and get creative.
- Don’t assume changing names is enough, because it’s not. If you make a claim about your doctor and only change the name, people who know you or the doctor might still be able to identify the doctor. Change multiple aspects. Ensure that those who know you or the doctor won’t be able to reasonably identify the individual.
- Don’t use a recognizable aspect of a person. It is tempting to use certain details about a person that make them interesting, such as wearing a handlebar mustache or riding a Segway—but don’t do it. It’s easy proof that you are indeed writing about a real person. Instead, get creative and come up with some interesting quirks of your own.
Yes, he underestimated how small the dressage world is.
He apparently thought that no one would notice his grandiose claims and contact Van Olst or Robert Dover or the board at Devon or any of the other people whose names he was dropping and whose photos he was using, with whom he was trying to falsely associate himself, and to verify them.
Whoops! It turned out that people did ask the folks he claimed to know or train with about him, and he was not being truthful.
He can’t reasonably blame anyone for checking up on his claims since they’ve seen his disturbing internet presence and his claims of being a “Grand Prix” rider and trainer of Dressage. No one would believe any of his claims of being a offered any training position after seeing the videos/photos of him ride or of his attempt to “teach” in a clinic.
And it ain’t COTH’s fault that he lied.
Had he been telling the truth in his ''book" there’d have been no need to disguise anybody or any place.
Such a good point!
It’s so disheartening to see people like NP emulating their exalted leader. He seems so proud to be so hateful and to spew awful things at other people. I can’t even imagine living with all that negativity inside me.
As for the retired psychotherapist, I thought it was anathema for mental health professionals to make a diagnosis of someone they are not treating, let alone a bunch of “someones” (i.e., us) by lumping us all together.
That is incredibly unprofessional. Assuming she actually wrote it as is and Nick didn’t do his usual spin job on it.
Yes, he thought having a “quote” praising him and sympathizing with his perceived victimization would lend authority and validation to his victim hood, but instead it just brings horror and disgust that a so called professional would violate her professional ethics like that. I don’t think it occurred to him that people know how those in that profession are supposed to practice.
He’s underestimated the intelligence and experience of the dressage community and the members of this forum.
Surprise! The bathrobe wearing, basement dwelling members here, actually knew the people that he has pretended (lied about) associating with.
Of course, now all the trainers,riders and judges are corrupt. Way to alienate every last person in the world of people who actually work at riding and training horses , that you so want to be a part of.
If he had told the truth from the start, there would have been no need for the book!
She did it after she retired, so it’s now her opinion. But yes, that would get her a big slap and probably mandatory ethics classes if she were still practicing. As I understand it, no one here has standing to sue or complain to the board as she didn’t specifically name names.
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