monty roberts demonstrations

[foxviewstud]

has anyone ever been and seen this man in action????really want to go and just wondered if he is as good as he is on tv??i think he is absolutely brill and love watching his memories on horse and country tv even though some of them are really upsetting for him.

[titch]

I watched him at Poltimore. Found him good to watch but watching him ride was the best bit . He had a sweet horse called Dooley. He could pirouette so fast just from the seat no reins nothing on. Then he would gallop him towards the audience and come to a halt, once again no saddle or bridle etc.

[medwinatswpa]

I saw him and Kelly Roberts and was amazed at what he could achieve at such a "electric" environment with scared and stubborn animals.

But then I did the Equine Event at Stoneleigh and as I was running a stand for the British Spotted Pony Society I was there for three days and one of the events in the demonstration arena was Jenny Lorriston-Clarke. She, like Monty, is a showman of the finest calibre. She uses the methods of lunging and long-reining and driving the animal on from behind to verbally given commands.

Monty was just beginning his tour for the first time in this country and everyone was talking about the new way of training, but Jenny summed it all up when she said [in her own blunt manner] "See there is nothing wrong with lunging, the horse goes through the same stages as this new fangled Monty Roberts takes them through. He just puts them in a cage and I put them on the end of a rope!" She also went on to say that we should all observe as many people as possible working horses and take a little away from each to form your own good practise.

Monty has a gift for working and being able to engage with horses - just as Jenny Lorriston-Clarke does. They are both worth seeing, but the principles of being able to understand what a horse is thinking at any point in time is a gift that may not be able to be learnt but it is a pleasure to watch someone who has that gift!