I am finally meeting him tommorow!!! I was origionally going to ride in the clinic but i decided against it (i am not going to ride in front of the best trainer ever unless i am perfect! haha) so i am auditing it.
I know how mean people like him are. They think they can do everything right and you can't. And they are so mean they yell at you. I used to have a riding instructor that was so mean she had adult women crying! She yells at you, smokes like CRAZY, and talks on her cell phone the whole time.... not worth your money.She is VERY MEAN, theres more to just how bad she is but I'm not going to even start.
So im back from watching the clinic- it was really cool! We stayed to watch each class he taught. In the 2'6'' class he worked with them on lateral vs. longitudonal schooling and taught them how to use an opening rein while jumping (he stood at the corner of the ring and made each girl copy his hand movements while they jumped a gymnastics) In the 3' class he did lots of half turns, half turns in reverse, turn on the forehand, etc. He really emphasized changing pace and impulsion while jumping, to mix things up. He also taught them how to start using an automatic release. In the 3'6'' class, he worked them with shoulder-ins, countercantering, automatic release, fitting distances into tight lines, then gave them some pretty difficult courses to do which involved imediate tuning after they jumped a fence.
I wouldnt say he was flat out rude or mean to anyone, but he deffinetly had some pet peeves (like when someone wouldnt move fast enough to do what he would ask, he got pretty angry. He also seems to hate when people go off course, and when they didnt seem to be trying hard enough.) He wasnt actually very picky, he kept focus on just what he was trying to teach the riders at the time, which i think is good because i find it hard to learn something when youre constantly having to make sure everything else youre doing is perfect. He "picked" on some people, but praised more ("now watch this girl, shes got it down!").
Overall it was very interesting to watch and i think now that i know what hes like i will ride there next year!
It's cool that he was focusing mainly on what they were working on instead of everything at once. I understand the pet peeve about people taking too long...one of my friends that I sometimes take lessons with always holds the group up when we have an order for gymnastics, courses, or whatever we're working on and then gets mad at you if you tell her she's taking too long.
How much does it cost to attend or audit one of his clinics?
It sounds like it was a really rewarding experience for you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
He comes here every year, our tack shop sponsors a clinic at a really nice center, and I know a bunch of people who go. While they do enjoy it and tend to learn a lot, they come out with hooorror stories of his attitude. At this last one he flat out told someone they were fat and needed to lose weight. A REALLY talented rider mind you. I don't think that's ever okay.
But maybe I shall venture out next year to watch, I missed this last one as I was at a QH show. Don't think he'd much appriciate me and my AQHA hunter.
i think it qas $75 per person to audit and im not sure about how much it costs to ride. It probably varies from place to place.
And i know what you mean about George being that way, he told two people at the clinic that they needed to get in better shape in order to become better riders.
Both of the trainers at my barn take lessons from him. THey say that he si very particular about ur hand and leg position and believe highly in basic aids.
people can criticize george for this or that, but the fact is he knows what he is doing and has decades of awards both personally and through his students. his roster of students is a whos who in the showjumping and hunter worlds. in order to be successful at the highest levels you have to be obsessive about details. some see it as critical or being picked on but when you go to a show you are striving for perfection and you are asking for the judges opinion. the truth of the matter is he gets results and whether you ride with him or just take a clinic that is what you are paying for. by the way they are very expensive and the price depends on how much the host farm tacks onto the price. joe fargis was $450 for 2 hrs, but worth every penny of it! if you do a clinic every once in a while it is money well spent because the improvement in you and your horse can be way more dramatic than anything you get from weekly lessons with an average trainer! if you can get one for a birthday gift or save up, auditing is ok but when you get there you wish you had your horse there and were riding...so much better to be riding in one than just watching. oh and almost as helpful as auditing, go to some of the a-3 shows and hang out at the schooling areas of the grand prix ring or even the hunter ring, you can learn a great deal and its free!
