Light Hands Horsemanship 2008
by Colleen Carter, DVM
Located in the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley in central California lies a beautiful Morgan breeding farm which served as the setting for the 2008 Light Hands Horsemanship Clinic. On May 30 – June 1, 2008 approximately 100 horsemen representing a wide variety of disciplines met at Intrepid Farms, owned by the well known Morgan Horse exhibitor and breeder Art Perry. Art has appeared for 27 years in the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena showcasing his beautiful Morgan horses in full parade attire. The purpose of this clinic was to promote idea of lightness in the training, handling and exhibiting of the horse. Spalding Laboratories (suppliers of the Fly Predators, natural fly control systems) were the gracious sponsors of this event. This event brought together clinicians from several disciplines who all teach and utilize light methods of horse handling. These speakers included Dr. Robert M. Miller, Jon Ensign, Lester Buckley, and Eitan Beth-Halachmy. This year the special new clinician was the well known Saddlebred and Morgan trainer, instructor and judge Anne Judd. An international array of attendees included horsemen from Brazil, Australia, and England as well as many states in the US. Several other well-known clinicians stopped by and attended this event even though they were not on the program. These included Monty Roberts and the legendary Quarter horse trainer Jack Brainerd. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to attend this event and spend quality one-on-one time with these clinicians.
Dr. Miller, a veterinarian considered by many to be the founding father of equine psychology, started off both days by discussing the equine mind. His techniques for starting foals off on the right step by imprint training are world renown. He also discussed techniques for correcting behavior problems already established in the adult horse and mule.
Jon Ensign, a clinician from Montana who typically starts a couple of hundred colts a year, followed with a demonstration on starting a two year old colt. This particular colt was a paint/draft horse cross who already had a few issues that quickly became apparent. But Jon’s quiet and consistent manner prevailed and he was able to mount the saddled colt and ride him in the round pen with a halter and lead by the end of the second day.
Following this demonstration was Lester Buckley. Lester has started horses at several large ranch operations including the King Ranch in Texas and currently at the Parker Ranch in Hawaii. He also is licensed in Germany as a dressage trainer and trains with a well-known German dressage farm. He trains both sport horses and ranch horses. His demonstration involved working with a young Lusitanian colt that had already been started and began working on the finer points of both western and dressage riding. He concentrated on discussions regarding proper muscle development techniques of the different type of muscle tissue dependent upon its use.
Noted Saddlebred and Morgan trainer, Anne Judd, then took over the ring and gave great demonstrations regarding the proper equitation seats and how they assist with the concept of lightness. She was using the impressive, almost 18 hand golden Saddlebred horse Sunshine Superman, provided by owner Louise Curran and trainer Robb Wallen, as the mount for her two riders to demonstrate the different seats as well as exercises that help a rider to develop and maintain proper balance.
The finale of both days was a performance by the incomparable Eitan Beth-Halachmy and his Morgan stallion, Santa Fe Renegade. Eitan is a world champion Morgan horse trainer who has developed his own style called “Cowboy Dressage”. This team represented the USA at the end of the last World Equestrian Games (WEG) in the exhibition used to showcase the next WEG venue (Lexington, KY in 2010). His freestyle “Cowboy Dressage” demonstration, done on a loose rein, brings tears to the eyes of many who watch. Dressage is his discipline, but he fully embraced the cowboy style when he came to the United States from Israel.
I have attended many of these types of clinics over the years and always bring home ideas to use with my own horses. I was especially excited by the addition of Anne Judd to the roster of this clinic. Rarely do we see clinics open minded enough to include Saddlebred or Morgan Saddleseat type horses and trainers. I was very proud of the way she represented our breed. The sound of camera shutters clicking in the background when Sunshine Superman entered the ring was a fabulous sound to the ears of this Saddlebred lover. I would encourage any horse lover to attend this clinic in the future. They have a website you can check out to find out the dates and locations for this event next year. Check them out at www.lighthandshorsemanship.com.
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| Dr. Robert Miller & Dr. Carter |
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| Eitan Beth-Halachmy & Santa Fe Renegade |
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| Anne Judd (standing), Sunshine Superman & Amber Pitt |
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