Paul Dietz - Day 1 Big Bear Clinic

Travis and I went for a run one evening this week. We ran a very quick mile (for me) that felt faster than 8 minutes (my previous fastest), but I didn't bring my Garmin to prove it.

As we walked back to the house, he commented that if Bubba Watson were to come to Big Bear and want to stay at our house, eat dinner with us, and golf with him for a weekend, he would be ecstatic. He realizes that this is how I feel when Paul comes to town.

Paul arrived in the wee hours of the morning on July 5 and parked their "toter" home alongside the house and put the horses in the arena. I commented that that planets were aligning for his clinic. The Pleiades, Venus and Jupiter, and the moon were grouped together in a bright display at 4:30am. 


In order to get out of the Arizona heat and get some filming done for a groundwork video, they came to Big Bear for some R&R. We all rode in the cow sorting jackpot. Alisa took us out on her boat. We went on a trail ride. It was a nice week pre-clinic. 

Megan & Frankie, Moo & Zoey, Gene & Gray, Paul & Rey, Alisa & Pinot,
Suz & Drifter, Chey & Rocco, Sharon & Gen, Heidi & HD, Mo & Josey

Friday, July 13, kicked off the clinic with a full day of horsemanship. Familiar faces were Alisa, Melissa, and Mo...and new to the clinic this year were Heidi, Sharon, Jana, Kelly and Cheyenne. We started with groundwork, as some of the new faces were confused by what they saw at the demo (how do you move a horse's hindquarters from the ground? how do you get them bent? how does it relate to riding?). My initial reaction was to avoid groundwork and get to riding, but as the morning settled into a routine of Paul helping each one on how to get their horses to move, I saw how much people were benefiting from this crucial step of horsemanship.

Kelly sat on the sidelines as Megan worked with her new horse, Frankie. After groundwork got a little better for him, he was left to "soak" on what Megan had done with him (forward, backward, leading, driving, hindquarters to the left and right, front quarters to the left and right, and stop). The horse came with little information (kids can ride him!) but it soon became clear that Frankie had some baggage and needed help.

The groundwork session was interrupted briefly when a gasp from the bleachers revealed that Frankie had gotten himself into a bit of trouble. He was fidgeting with the breastcollar and had gotten his lower jaw completely stuck. He panicked and promptly threw himself to the ground to wait for help. Gene unbuckled the collar and Frankie took to bucking.

The class was talking with the exception of a few observers. I grabbed Kelly. "You have to watch this. You are going to see something incredible. Just watch."

Frankie bucked and turned and looked for a way out. Paul patiently moved forward or back, depending on Frankie's positioning. If Frankie wanted to leave, Paul would quietly send him. If Frankie showed interest in Paul's help, he would take pressure off the horse. For those who were watching, it was tense.

Paul said, "Everyone needs to breathe. He can feel your energy too!"

Once the air relaxed, Frankie soon came to Paul. I've seen him work with horses like this and it's really amazing if you pay attention. He sets it up to let the horse make a choice to come to him. And when a troubled horse relaxes and takes that step, it can bring tears to your eyes.


Sadly, many in the class missed it. There was even judgment of "roundpen work" when maybe, just maybe, they have never seen roundpen work like this.


We rode briefly before lunch, working tight serpentines around cones, trying to "attach a rein to a foot". 


On our lunchbreak, Kelly expressed her concerns for what she was getting into as a new horse owner with very little (almost nil) horse experience. She didn't understand what she saw in the roundpen when Paul worked her horse, but she saw something special. She was open to learning as much as she could. If there were a book of terminology, she would have needed it.


In the afternoon, slickers were needed for about an hour, and Megan rode Frankie, the class rode serpentines, and Paul worked at planting the seed for removing tie-downs from some movement-restricted horses. A tie-down is often a compulsory piece of tack for gymkhana riders. Riders learn to rely on them with a false sense of security. It's just something that is embedded into the brain when you are taught to ride, rather than teaching the rider to teach the horse where to carry his head. Heidi stepped out on a limb and said she would take of the tie-down Saturday. Her apprehension was obvious, but she was willing to take a step. 


That step turned out to be huge...

Heidi and HD, sans tiedown

More to come on another amazing clinic by Paul Dietz.