So Fin was backed at the place Mark R does his clinics? You can’t get away from there!
Never meet your heroes, eh. I think Mark R is the real deal. But if he’s supportiing people who obviously aren’t then that is very disappointing. It’s hard to believe after all these years of doing clinics with them that he wouldn’t have noticed a bit of a skills gap between the marketing hype and the reality!!
He was backed in 2019 by a good trainer at his old yard -- who I know, and she said he was a very good boy, super easy to back -- ridden away twice, and then sat in a field for almost two years (through no fault of his own). He was sent to that yard for re-backing, essentially. I viewed him a week or two after his return from the training yard, so it all would have been fresh in his mind.
Yes fair enough. But writing off a pony who an amateur then does very well with is not really a very good look! And this isn’t hearsay- this is CI’s actual experiences with her own horses
It has taken me six months to get the little guy going in arenas and hacking alone. He did not steer reliably when I bought him, so it's significant progress. Obviously if you're a trainer and you've got a horse in for 30 or 60 days or whatever, you don't have that kind of time. On the other hand, I'm not a professional, and I wasn't in a rush or trying to do anything by a certain time, so why push him?
In fairness, as AE knows, what happened with my old horse wasn't a training issue. I think moving her was the right decision, and I think they were genuinely concerned for her welfare. However, the way they handled it was less than ideal.
I have ridden with Mark quite a lot, both in England and America. I would say he is the real deal. I had a Kathleen clinic in England too., it was fabulous, as well as riding with her at Mark's/Dave's. In fact, the clinic I went to here was her first solo clinic when she set up separately from Mark, she was great!
I have also visited the yard in question. I found them to be on a different wavelength. They do have nice stabling, and say the right things initially, but I found them fairly intractable in how they actually operate. I also watched them give a lesson on a school horse which was obviously... erm... unlevel. There seemed to be little progress but much oooh-ing and ahhh-ing about how well it was going. It was actually painful to watch, so I stopped watching.
I rode with Mark at that yard some years ago. I thought it was alright, which is why I ended up there as a livery, very briefly. Mark and Chrissie were wonderful, and that clinic did wonders for my riding.
To kind of go back to the original topic, I think Mark's aikido-inspired approach would really help Fin find "safe and neutral" when he goes to plant-and-freeze mode. Kathleen Lindley would probably be very helpful too. I have no transport so can't get to Kinross, but I'm on a big yard. There might be enough interest there.
You have worked really hard on improving yourself, you deserve some payback.
