**** day - ROR clinic with Nick Turner

Curragh

Curragh

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Hi all,

Well, I booked me and my ex racer on the ror clinic with Nick Turner about a month ago. I've been really looking forward to it and keen to get my boy out & experienced.

It started well, he helped with getting him to relax and we did lots of pole work. But, then we started to work in canter and he just encouraged me to let my boy go forward in dis-united canter, wrong leg...it didn't matter?! I have been trying so hard to teach him to strike off on the right lead. I was by this point thinking 'oh God if my instructor could see this she would be shouting her head off at him!' He only gave me critism, no praise for me or my boy. I couldn't see how letting him motorbike around the corner's would do any good and this is what I stated at the start of the lesson, that I needed help with.

Then we did some jumping, my boy hasn't done any show jumping. He let me jump 3 times and then said 'oh back to walk, lesson over' I had just sat there for the last 15 or so minutes watching the other 2 girls having their goes. I felt so ****, he then finished up by speaking to each of us about our lesson. No praise for either of us and then I sat there while he spoke to the other two girls, well done blah blah. How I didn't burst into tears, I don't know? Never have I felt so deflated....drove the hour & half back home and decided I will not be taught by Nick Turner again.

A lot of time, money and effort to be taught nothing to help with my canter!

Sorry rant over, I'm so pissed....Well done if you got this far x
 
Many hugs for you and the ex-racer, sounds like you did well, but the dick head only saw some other animals that were a bit more advanced than yours, his mistake not yours, also sounds like he shouldn't be training if he cann't give constructive advice.:mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Glad you posted this...I had an utterly sh*t xc clinic with him once on Catembi. Was starting to think that I'd imagined it as most people seem to think that the sun shines out of his ****.

Told him I didn't want to do ditches, & the first thing we did was a ditch. So I decided to go around it & just do the jump, & got bawled at & threatened with being sent back to the lorry! I was mid-30's at the time, so not some child on a pony.

Then he set the group to do a jump at a time, then was moving onto the next jump before the last 2 had finished, i.e. not even watching them.

I thought he was a total ****. Sorry you had a **** day & glad it isn't just me who doesn't rate him.

And at the end, instead of waiting to chat or answer q's, he was in such a hurry to depart that he even forgot his money. ****
 
Oh dear that's not good at all, I heard he was good too, and was telling a girl at my yard with an ex racer to go and have a lesson with him.

I had a similar experience with John Smart how on earth I didn't walk out of the lesson and tell him to f off I'll never know!
 
At least you didnt book more than one lesson, shame about the lesson being a pile of ****. What a silly man, argh doesnt it annoy you when things like this happen?! :mad::(

*passes piece of cake*
 
Poor you! <<<<<hugs>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I was considering bookingme and my ex racer into one of those clinics but was backing off cos I wasn't sure it would be worth the 1 1/2 drive - I def won't bother now. Thanks for posting!

x
 
A friend of mine had similar problem when she took her daughter to a clinic.

He told her that her horse was an example of just how an event horse shouldn't be, and the teenager cried all the way home. They knew he wasn't a superstar horse, just an average PC horse, and it was very demoralising. I wonder why people have to be so mean - we can't all ride superstars.
 
I booked the clinic thru the ROR, I did want to complain, but didn't at the time as I knew I'd end up upset. I'm going to email the ROR tomorrow and make my comments known!
 
Poor you, how demoralising and disappointing

Some of these 'famous' riders need to take a look at themselves.

Don't be too disheartened, it sounds like your boy coped well with a very confusing day
 
that is such a shame - I was so close to booking my horse in for that clinic - then decided that as my normal trainer was back from bermuda for a few days I would far rather have a lesson with him as he knows how my horse goes and prefers to learn. I have had so many trainers in the past some really fantastic and some really bad and really hate the assumptions they can make. Your confidence and comfort are paramount, if you are treated in such a dismissive manner then your confidence is bound to be knocked, how can that benefit.
 
I had a lesson with him a few years back. I thought he was rubbish, he didn't help me at all and just put a bungee on my horse. Worst 45 pounds iv ever spent!
 
Seahorse said:
Oh dear that's not good at all, I heard he was good too, and was telling a girl at my yard with an ex racer to go and have a lesson with him.

I had a similar experience with John Smart how on earth I didn't walk out of the lesson and tell him to f off I'll never know!
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Funnily enough I had a similar experience with John Smart. At the time I was riding a large and young Hanovarian stallion who had never been ridden in company so before the session started I wanted to lunge him to make sure I wasn't going to die! He launched into a speech of 'do you think geoff glazzard lunges all of his stallions before he gets on? No he bloody doesn't etc etc". I could have boxed up and gone home but actually once we got going, he was very good and encouraging. Don't know that I would book another clinic though!
Sorry to hear about your Nick Turner clinic. So many more nice and inspiring instructors out there
 
Not surprisingly he doesn't have any testimonials on his website - reckon a lot of other people have found him **** too! Bet he doesn't have the nerve to get feedback on his website. Sorry for you though, must have been so disheartening.
 
Unfortunately some trainers/professional riders are fantastic on the horse but don't always possess the same skills when on the ground.

It’s such a shame when you have looked forward to having this lesson, obviously you don’t expect to ride around and get constant praise and be told how wonderful your horse is going to turn out, its not about that, it’s about the RI giving you the time of day, working with you and your horse no matter what level/experience your both at and not matter what price tag is around your horses neck.

I agree with the others, if you feel you were pushed aside a bit and not given the time, patience and understanding the others received during the group lesson, then he or any other RI/trainer…what ever you call them, should be made aware of it so they don’t continue to teach like this, besides if they don’t know their doing it, how can they go about changing.

Even more so when focusing on training classes with ex race horses.
 
Sounds hurrendous, but definatly give feed back. As kenzo has said some brilliant riders cannot transfer the same ability to teaching.

I have, in the past allowed my young ex-racer to canter on the wrong leg as she got stressy with the constant correction, her point was - I asked for canter and that is what she gave, I did however, push her round the first corner where 9 times out of 10 she put a flying change in. 2 years later she is consistantly on the correct lead.



Chin up
 
First of all I accept that many people have had less than helpful clinics with Nick Turner but I have had a number of individual lessons, admittedly not group clinics, with him and they have all been excellent. I remember my first lessons on my then new mare who I couldn't canter in a circle at the time, he was brilliant and showing me what to do at trot and then working forward to jumping. I came out on an absolute high from that first lesson, he was positive and provide me with lots of ideas on how to develop her/me. I had several lessons afterwards, he always commented on how we had progressed as a couple and left me with future work.
 
Another Nick Turner fan. I went to a clinic with him and took my sons 13.2 pony. He was great, immediatley spotted what the problems were, rectified them and was full of praise for her afterwards. I was in with horses and we looked very silly.

I am sorry you had such a bad time with him though, not what you paid for.
 
Angua2 said:
I have, in the past allowed my young ex-racer to canter on the wrong leg as she got stressy with the constant correction, her point was - I asked for canter and that is what she gave, I did however, push her round the first corner where 9 times out of 10 she put a flying change in. 2 years later she is consistantly on the correct lead
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I was taught this too, in the very beginning, it teaches them to slow themselves down and balance themselves rather than reliying on you. It is quite scary and if you weren't comfortable with this he should of explained the reasons behind it.
FWIW I once had a lesson with a BSJA coach (as a birthday treat) with my horse, and we were jumping massive (for him) 1.20m+ fences at the end, everybody watching (it was that kind of yard) thought it was fabulous, but I wasn't happy because I just couldn't 'get' was she was trying to achieve with the way we were going.

Put it down to experience and move on.
BTW I know I harp on, but I would really recommend Pammy Hutton, she is fab with TB's, and makes you feel really at ease.
 
I think its a real shame that you had a **** time, your money is the same as anyone else's and you should have equal attention. I hate trainers who are rude or unhelpful, its not big, its not clever and what do they hope to achieve. Imo all it illustrates is that they aren't good trainers.

A lot of these ' names ' really only give good quality coaching and attention to people they think might be useful at some point to them ie either through buying a horse from them or future lessons for talented people who go on to win stuff and they then get the recognition.

I had a similar experience with a BS coach in that he was charm itself with me but treated a friend very badly.

The best thing is to vote with your feet as there are plenty of good trainers out there.
 
OP - I think its also important to remember that a trainer no matter who they are or how good or bad they are, they can't work miricles or fix a problem during one lesson.

Sometimes we get things in our head (me included...I've been guilty of it too and I'm sure many of us have done the same), maybe in your case (trying to sort out the canter problem) and expected to see an improvement or get it right at least once or twice in a lesson, but it doesnt always go like this.

I wouldnt take it too much to heart, or feel too dissapointed beacause of that reason only (which I'm not saying it is) guess I'm just stressing the point that you should not feel like you have not acheived anything just because you didnt get that canter than you were perhaps hoping for. :)
 
I have read this post with great interest as I am trained by Nick and have been for the last 5 years. I have one to one lessons with him and attend courses and clinics that he runs. I have found him to be brilliant with the horses that I have taken to him. He has always been quick to assess the issues and advise on how to rectify them. I have had good and bad lessons and I have to say that the bad ones are usually instigated by me putting too much pressure on myself to perform and impress because of my own personal desire to get it right.
I am sorry you had a bad clinic and I am sure that if you express you concerns directly to him he will happily discuss them with you. Maybe we are all too quick to blame the trainer when things don't go as planned?
 
catembi said:
Glad you posted this...I had an utterly sh*t xc clinic with him once on Catembi. Was starting to think that I'd imagined it as most people seem to think that the sun shines out of his ****.

Told him I didn't want to do ditches, & the first thing we did was a ditch. So I decided to go around it & just do the jump, & got bawled at & threatened with being sent back to the lorry! I was mid-30's at the time, so not some child on a pony.

Then he set the group to do a jump at a time, then was moving onto the next jump before the last 2 had finished, i.e. not even watching them.

I thought he was a total ****. Sorry you had a **** day & glad it isn't just me who doesn't rate him.

And at the end, instead of waiting to chat or answer q's, he was in such a hurry to depart that he even forgot his money. ****
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Cant believe he is still around- i had a horrific lesson with him 18 years ago that completely put me off showjumping as all he did was take the p*ss out of me :( kept telling me how cr*p my horse was and when challenged to ride him and do better.. he didnt ride him better than me..i took no pleasure from that small victory. I suspect he is someone who is great with more advanced horses/riders but cannot cope/communicate with those who are doing their best but struggling.
 
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