Horseman's calling, 5th/6th April

The horses being used at Horsemans Calling will be a mixture of client and stud horses. The will demonstrate at the event but this is only a starting block, they will continue their work with help, advice and support from the trainers who worked with them.

Many Thanks

Horsemans Calling Organiser
 
The event is being sponsored by Jurys Inn hotel Group. The main hotel for the event is Milton Keynes. For preferential rates please log onto their website, www.jurysinns.com , select Milton Keynes, either 4th or 5th April and in the promo code put HORSE. You will then get discounted rates

Many Thanks

Horsemans Calling Organiser
 
magicmoose said:
Stacey Westfall won Road to The Horse in 2006 that this is based on. I would certainly pay to see her.

I like Jason Webb's way of working and Grant Bazin restarted The Moose for me, so I'm not ruling out that it could be good. So much depends on the competitors putting the horse first and keeping their egos out of it.
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Good Evening,

The judging is only on how the horse behaves, its bond with the trainer and how they reposnd, and not how 'far' the trainers get. There is no test fo rth horses to keep the event ethical, and the trainers we have selected will not let the 'lime light' get to their heads. The judging and scoring has also been put in the programs so that the auidence can score along and see what the judging are looking for. We trainers will not be marked any more if their horses end up with a rider on their back.

Many Thanks

Horsemans Calling Organiser
 
AengusOg said:
Some of the demos will feature lady trainers.

So far there only seems to be one team of competitors registered.
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We did actually ask a number of women trainers but non were actually availble to join the event, or have moved to focus on courses rather then taking in and training horses.

Our current team of competitors are:

Grant Bazin & Dan Wilson - Practical Horsemanship
Jason Webb & Tom Mitchell - Australian Horsemanship
Guy Robertson + groom - Guy Robertson Horsemanship.

Update can be found on the website and our Facebook page.

Many Thanks

Horsemans Calling Organiser
 
dogatemysalad said:
I've seen some clips from the US which were very interesting. I would have liked to have gone but because Parelli are doing demonstrations, it would spoil the day, so I shan't be going.
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Parelli are just one of the demonstrators, The event is to bring together all methods and celebrate these without prejudice. The timings for the event will be going up on the website soon, and you can move to see another demo when Parelli are on, or do a bit of shopping !

Many Thanks

Horsemans Calling Organiser
 
Tinypony said:
It was open for people to apply, so I don't think there was anything stopping females taking part.

I've got reservations about these competitions, but have decided to keep an open mind. I think watching Parelli demo's is optional, I haven't read anything in the T+C's about chaining people to their seats...
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Yes there are no chains to the seats so if you dont want to watch a demo you can do a bit of shopping or head to the cafe. There were numerous women trainers who were approached but as mentioned in a previous post of mine, non of them had the date available or they were focusing on courses rather then training and bringing on horses. The event isnt an intense comepetion. The judges are only marking on how the horse behaves, the bond it has with the trainer and the method. There is no test in this event, so the horses are not under any pressure and the trainers have no reason to enflae thier ego's..infact that'd be shooting themselves in the foot! The motto is 'for the good of the horse', and we have worked very very hard to make it the most ethical and benifical event for horses that is currently out there. The program even has a scoring sheet, so that the auidence can see what the judges are looking for.

Many Thank

Horsemans Calling Organiser
 
anyone else going, I think I am going on my own (unless my daughter decides at the last moment to join me) and it wold be good to meet up with some people from here if anyone wants to meet up PM me
 
Who went? What did you think? I found it interesting to watch the trainers, some of the demos not quite so, but a good first attempt at organising the event.
 
I went on & thought it was a great first attempt.

I was concerned about the competition aspect of it, but you soon forget it was a competition as it felt much more like a demonstration of three horseman demonstrating their techniques. The horses needs were always put first - as demonstrated when the first part of the 'competition' was scrapped as the horses were not ready to be started (mainly too young, immature & not physically ready) - so instead, it was just done as a training demonstration.

If the organisers were looking for feedback - I'd like more explanations from the judges. Particularly as to why when the horses to be backed were bought in, the vet deemed the mare Grant had to be unsuitable & had to be replaced. I understand, they may be limited as to what they can say from a sensitive data point of view - but even just 'she was unsound' would help. And a more detailed explanation as to why Grant won.

I'd have liked to have had more shopping and stands - I was hoping there was going to be nutrition stands & the chance to speak to people like nutritionists, barefoot trimmers and so on. The shopping village felt a little 'empty' .

Oh, plus some more time tables or staff to let you know where things were going on & at what time. Even a printed out schedule on paper would have been a great & relatively inexpensive touch.

I loved some of the demo's - I really enjoyed the Parelli (but then I do Parelli) anyway but some didn't appeal - but that will always be the case. I just used that time for a walk around, grab a coffee or talk to people.

I hope this event runs again - it was great & I learnt a lot :)
 
Flipping heck, great fun trying to post here at the moment!
I found the work the trainers did really interesting. Demos were OK (but then I've seen a huge amount of Parelli in the past, and a lot was Parelli or very similar). I thought Lynne Henry with Think Like a Pony was inspirational and anyone who teaches children or who has children with ponies should look up her site.
I made copious notes as the trainers worked, in the judged and non-judged sections. I find that really useful to recap. Even at the end of day 1 people around me were confusing sequence of events. I agree that it would have been really helpful to have a brief overview of the judges views and how they came to their final decision. Even the judges on Strictly give some explanation of their scoring! I feel quite cheated that didn't happen.
I thought that the lovely Hermione horse was withdrawn because she looked lame in one hind (nearside if I remember correctly). Again, I'm not sure what a big deal it would have been to have just said so, the owners had put their horses up for a public event after all and it was no big deal. A lot of lameness wouldn't be obvious until a horse was trotting and on a circle.
If they do this again they need to improve their publicity hugely. People didn't know this was happening, most of the publicity was on Facebook. Attendance was quite poor and that was pretty bad for the people who took stands (I wonder what that cost?). But overall a good go at the first running of the event, and very brave of them to try to do the competition with much improved welfare.
 
As there were problems posting on thread yesterday can I bring this up to see if any other H+H'ers were there?
 
Did anyone actually attend this event? What did you think?

There were some clips posted on the Epona.tv blog (which slammed the competitive part of the event) here...

http://epona.tv/blog/2014/april/horsemans-calling

probably chosen and edited to support the views of the blogger. In my view, they are pretty awful but I have no idea how representative they are of the trainers involved.
 
fburton said:
Did anyone actually attend this event? What did you think?

There were some clips posted on the Epona.tv blog (which slammed the competitive part of the event) here...

http://epona.tv/blog/2014/april/horsemans-calling


probably chosen and edited to support the views of the blogger. In my view, they are pretty awful but I have no idea how representative they are of the trainers involved.
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I have no time for Epona in general
But they do kind of have a point here?

I can not, and never will support these types of events. This is not the environment in which to work with horses. One big ego trip and money making debarcle. I would have far more respect for a horseperson who turned down performing in one of these circus shows out of principle.
 
not one trained behaviourist on the panel.

I fail to see the humour, or the sense, in a grown man getting on a weak and unready young horse in that way. unless of course, its all about his ego.

If thats NH I'll stick to traditional thanks-where I teach horses with the aim of them remaining calm and happy not with the aim of ever changing goal posts and flooding.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
not one trained behaviourist on the panel.

I fail to see the humour, or the sense, in a grown man getting on a weak and unready young horse in that way. unless of course, its all about his ego.

If thats NH I'll stick to traditional thanks-where I teach horses with the aim of them remaining calm and happy not with the aim of ever changing goal posts and flooding.
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Well said MoC. It is exactly this sort of event that gets NH a bad name from anyone with a modicum of sense. It's all about trainer's ego and not the long-term benefit of the horse.
 
I think it's a shame that the labels get applied. It's all just horsemanship, some good, some bad, some somewhere in the middle.
 
because usually the nose weight of the trailer is on the jockey wheel which is not designed to hold up trailer + horse weight/movement (and having sat in the car while loading there is a fair bit of the latter!) The equitreks do have the horses standing over more spread twin wheels than say an ifor but I'm just surprised there is no risk especially with a known difficult loader so was just very surprised to see as such at a demo, glad they mentioned it anyways :)
 
Well I was there (I'm the OP). I saw nothing that concerned me regarding horse welfare. and I saw plenty of sympathetic horsemanship. I'd never seen Guy Robertson work before, and would have picked him for my winner. The lack of feedback from the judges was very disappointing, and the timetable was a bit hit and miss but hopefully the organisers have taken this on board and will improve next year. Meanwhile, I applaud them for all their hard work at getting the event off the ground.
 
Landcruiser said:
Well I was there (I'm the OP). I saw nothing that concerned me regarding horse welfare. and I saw plenty of sympathetic horsemanship. I'd never seen Guy Robertson work before, and would have picked him for my winner. The lack of feedback from the judges was very disappointing, and the timetable was a bit hit and miss but hopefully the organisers have taken this on board and will improve next year. Meanwhile, I applaud them for all their hard work at getting the event off the ground.
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As I said in my blog, I felt some of the work was uncomfortable viewing, but I understood a lot of it as well and didn't have a problem with it. Guy would have been my winner.
 
I went and tbh the competetive element was not an issue-it was not about how far they got but how they got there, for me the winner would have been Guy,he was cool calm and collected and for me showed a real understanding of the horses he worked with.
The winners however were of a more traditional leaning and were the ones with the calmest least spectacular horses (no explosions or acrobatics).
I did see horses welfare being put first and that non of the horses were exposed to anymore than they be at a show or days outing in any new environment/experience.

the trailer loading when not attached to vehicles was addressed and yes the sponsors said due to the weight of them loading whilst not hitched was not a safety issue, that said I do think it was a bit unwise as people learn from what they see.
I was so impressed with Guy I am trying to organise a workshop day near Chelmsford Essex if anyone is interested.
 
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