It's About The Horse

cynthia peterson · Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 4:01 pm Post subject:

Because CA was close to me (down the road 15 miles) I actually seen how to do Parelli better then some Parelli info I had at the time (just the old Levels) To say CA and Linda P would be the two extreme examples of opposite of what I thought Pat was teaching would be the right word. (Too tough, too soft) CA was better to begin with, I think years of teaching hardened him. I think Pat said something like he thought he would be teaching "alligator" hunters to begin with (experienced cowboys) and it was hard for him to scale down to his customer base, women and beginners. Pat Parelli handled this much better. I don't think CA wanted to stay at that, resents it, and he has the talent to go and win and "gets" to be in that world. He has a excellent seat, of course youth does help, and he does do things precisely, to the good and the bad. His Material and DVDs are extremely well done, cover everything and are well filmed (he had something like 3 professional camera men doing them, even in the beginning) He also can keep on his format, he has no Linda or Mark to direct him. That can be good or bad. His constant bending is his downfall. A little, yes, but it seems to be a thing with him to overdo things. Still, he has things to learn from, taking with a balanced mind, and temper it with Parelli and it may work. I think Linda said something like CA "rode with them" one summer when asked if he "did" Parelli. I do like his other sources too. Still the too tough thing going on. I will not go into how I know this.....

Still, the man is a marketing Genius. He seems to run the whole thing himself. He never had to have wives to further his program. (and watch the money) And he never had to have someone buy part of the business to bring money in. You have to hand that to him. Of course his advertising assc. like the vice breaker (a shocking collar like the dog collar) is disturbing.

jackspark · Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 Posts: 4477 Location: Missouri

Like him and his material. I have been to several tour stops and he has always given me time to talk to him and been gracious. I have learned a lot from him and credit his direction to undoing a lot of my Parelli misconceptions. He was a good balance to the Linda Levels, for me.

Nobody is ALL good or ALL bad. If you want to find good things, you will.
_________________
Nancy

Flying Monkey Trainer

A journey of a thousand miles must
begin with a single step. Lao Tzu

cynthia peterson · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 2:21 pm Post subject:

jackspark: Yes, I would concur CA is the flip side of Linda Parelli. I think it is important to point out again that CA could be his own man, he didn't have to have a buyout or a wife to chip in with direction.

I would say I think Pat is more like CA then Linda. Maybe we can all learn from the three. Kinda' like the three bears story.

jackspark · Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 Posts: 4477 Location: Missouri

learningthedance · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:15 pm Post subject:

I love his horse Mindy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAHxbnQpSss
_________________
Elise

"Some people are always grumbling
because roses have thorns;
I am thankful
that thorns have roses."
Alphonse Karr

Jack · Member Joined: 22 Oct 2009 Posts: 269

Clinton apprenticed under Al Dunning though he doesn''t seem to mention him as a mentor. He recently did a RFD show with Gordon Mckinley, who he always mentions as his teacher.

On another recent show, he was teaching a mare to sidepass (groundwork) when an audience member asked him how he taught the horse to sidepass towards him. He agreed to show how he did it but first asked the questioner, "why would you want to do that?". His feeling was that most people don''t need to teach the horse to "push" towards them but rather need re-enforcement of keeping the horse away.

I thought that was a good point, and believe he recognizes a lot of what he does as "showmanship" (circus?) to please the crowd and not something that is really needed to have a good horse. I appreciated his canter in mentioning how unneccessary sidepassing towards the handler is and also enjoyed watching him display his skills as he achieved it.

Jack

jackspark · Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 Posts: 4477 Location: Missouri

Interesting. I wonder what the beef was with Dunning. He either mentions Jefferies or McKinnley as mentors. I've never heard him talk about anyone else.
_________________
Nancy

Flying Monkey Trainer

A journey of a thousand miles must
begin with a single step. Lao Tzu

PasoBaby_CarolU · Site Admin Joined: 31 Jan 2009 Posts: 9038

Clinton also spent several weeks with Larry Whitesell learning Gaited Horsemanship. He then did his own DVD set on how to get gait. He didn't credit Larry either.

Al Dunning is one of my favorites. His old tapes are what I still use for Reining training.
_________________
Carol Nudell
Corazon de Oro Paso Finos

"The path to your horse's heart lies through your own."

Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. - Words of Wisdom - Mhar

‎"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss activities; Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

jackspark · Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 Posts: 4477 Location: Missouri

I have watched that DVD set and got some fairly good info from it. I guess ya never know what goes on between clinicians or mentor-mentee relationships
_________________
Nancy

Flying Monkey Trainer

A journey of a thousand miles must
begin with a single step. Lao Tzu