RIP Kenneth Clawson

Was so terribly sad to hear that Ken had lost his battle with leukaemia. He was a fantastic person and will be greatly missed. Thinking of his family, Paul (wonderful too) and all at SLRE.
 
Was lucky to spend time with him watching a few of his demos when I was at college (06-08) and will always remember his sympathetic, encouraging yet firm teaching style.

R.I.P - he was a great man.
 
DarkHorseB said:
One thing I would say is Paul Davies his partner teaches in a very similar way to Kenneth. Having had lessons with both of them it is clear how well they worked together and share many teaching methods. So I would always recommend someone to have a lesson with Paul and would like to think much of KC's teaching ethos will carry on with Paul.
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Yes, completely agree with this ^^^
 
I had the pleasure of having a lesson with Kenneth a few years ago and stopping at his house, he was such a kind and sympathetic training. Will be missed by all.
RIP Kenneth...
Thoughs are with Paul and all associated with Kenneth..x
 
Sorry, I posted on FB early yesterday evening, and haven't had a chance to come on here till now. I'm so glad you posted this thread, Mistatiger, as a means for us all to share our grief and memories.

I was so shocked to hear yesterday as I had thought he was on the road to recovery.

Inspirational is a very over-used adjective, but it is one which truly applied to Kenneth. He inspired me to try things I might not have had the confidence to try, and be a person I might not have had the imagination to be without his influence. His input was always wise, often visionary and seldom without a good dose of humour. I only saw him truly angry when he witnessed a horse being punished for a rider's faults. He expected those around him to strive to achieve the highest standards of which they were capable, and was generous with his praise and shared their joy when they did just that - which was frequently the case, given the power and insight of the man.

I have to confess that I am crying as I write this, but I can only repeat what I said on Facebook last night: my thoughts are with Paul and his family, and I hope that Kenneth is gossiping with, chuckling with and inspiring the angels tonight. RIP Kenneth.
 
A lovely post TableDancer it has brought a lump to my throat. I wasn't lucky enough to have been taught by Kenneth, but D_K often parses on what Kenneth taught him, so in an indirect way I am also very grateful for his teaching.

RIP Kenneth you will be missed by many.
 
How very, very sad.

My daughter was lucky enough to spend a few days with him at Rolleston & even though she was a lowly PC teenager, riding an elderly connie pony, he was as delightful, supportive, encouraging & attentive as if she'd been an Olympic hopeful.
A truly genuine & remarkable man.

Our thoughts are with his friends & family. RIP.
 
Have only just found this thread, so apologies for being late, but wanted to add my own memories of the late and very wonderful Ken Clawson:

Back in 1968, my friend Pam and I went to Kimberley House for riding lessons. At that time, Ken was a BHSAI. Even at that early stage of his teaching career he had such a natural, easy way with people, plus a great sense of humour.

After our lessons, Pam and I usually walked from Leire to Broughton Astley to catch the bus home. Ken, on hearing this, said we could both ride 'Apollo' back to his field. So, riding bareback, with just a headcollar and rope, Pam and I would be spared the (mile or so) walk. I have fond memories of us both on Apollo, as we sang and laughed as we headed homeward. Very happy times, and all thanks to Ken.

Another occasion I can think of is when I hired a pony called Shandy to ride at a Misterton and District Riding Club gymkhana. Shandy could be nappy, but that day he was absolutely awful! When we returned to Leire later on, I got thirty shillings (pre-decimal) to pay Ken for the hire. He refused to take the money and said he'd make sure I had a better time at the next show. He was true to his word. For the next show, he put me on a livery horse called Tusa, a skewbald mare of around 15.2hh. We came fourth in the show jumping, which was my first ever rosette for anything. Lots of you reading this will know how special and fab that feels!

Ken was special in lots of ways. Another example is when he let my friend and I ride a horse called 'Hobo' in the indoor school. Hobo (BSJA name may have been 'The Littlest Hobo', or somesuch) was a horse that Pam and I admired.....and thought we'd never in a million years be allowed to ride, but Ken knew how to inspire and foster dreams in young riders.

We worked hard in lessons - I remember one where we did bareback jumping (in a field) and I fell off a couple of times, but I just got straight back on and soon learnt better 'stickability'. (That was to prove invaluable later in life when I competed on my own horses, especially going cross country).

All in all, weekends at Kimberley House were the highlight of life at that time. Some other horses' names I recall from that time are: Whitsun, A-rab, Brandy and High Jinks.

Horses have been my lifelong passion. I know how lucky I was to have a solid grounding in horsemanship and horsemastership from the truly talented, immensely likeable and generous Ken Clawson.

Absolutely gutted that he is no longer with us. RIP xx
 
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