Tom Dorrance Benefit Report
by Kris Guerrera
Feel free to share this report and distribute to others as you wish however, PLEASE do not take things out of context. I wrote it with the thought that Tom was sitting on my shoulder. I hope you pass it along with that same thought. We all share the same goals. Everybody's trying and everybody's in different stages of their development Let's keep that in mind. This is only my personal opinion. Some parts of this report will be simple bullet point items. Other parts have more of a touchy-feely story type nature to them. I spent the majority of my time watching Ray Hunt, Buck Brannaman, and Pat Parelli.
Most of my report is broken down into different sections with comments on each of these three men The atmosphere was one of unity and integrity. On several occasions, Carolyn made announcements for things that were lost... a Credit Card, a money clip, a passport, etc. I can honestly say this is the first time I've been in a crowd of people that big and truly felt the items of value would find their way back to the owner. I never worried about somebody walking off with my camera, or T-shirts, or anything else I left lying around. There was an instant feeling of trust and belonging. Even on the first day, "strangers" were meeting each other with hugs instead of handshakes. The first day I ran into about 50 people that I knew from previous clinics, or new friends that I just met for the first time. What a wonderful "reunion".
RAY HUNT
Colt Starting:
1. Before the clinicians started with their colts, Ray gave everybody some wise words. He said, when he's with a horse, he has Mother Nature sitting on one shoulder and Tom on the other. They should work with their horses with that in mind. They are all professional clinicians and they should know what they're doing. He'll just ride around and watch if anybody needs help, they should speak up.
2. When people were catching their colts. Ray reminded them to wait for the horse to be ready to be caught. Don't just run up and grab him.
3. Several clinicians had difficulties leading their colts out of the roundpens. Ray helped several of them by carefully flagging the colt from behind. He cautioned them not to pull - don't pull him to you,just bring his attention in the right direction.
4. At the end of the benefit, Ray said many clinicians were missing the basics. They don't know where the horse is at They're about ^A of the way there.
5 "That's good - now get off before you wreck him."
Horsemanship:
1. Ray handled the horsemanship class the same way he'd handle a class at any one of his clinics. Doing the same exercises. The first day was a little more limited because ALL riders were in the arena at the same time. It was very crowded. The second day, the horsemanship portion of the day was broken down into two different classes. He made some of the same comments that he makes at his other clinics, for example, "the colt class could do better than this"'
(For those of you who feel that at some time in your life Ray was picking on you, you're in good company! LOL)
2. The focus was not on how fast can you do it. but how little does it take. How does the horse feel about it. For example: Fix it up so they can canter. Allow them to transition in a way that doesn't cause them to pop their heads up.
3. One of the clinicians during the horsemanship class was riding a mule, Ray said, "I gotta tell you boy, you have a nice ass''
4. "Day 1. he costs you money. Day 2. he holds his own. Day 3. he's on the payroll" I've heard this said many times before and I used to disagree. Iwas thinking you shouldn't force things to happen faster than the horse is ready to have them happen. If you need to work cows with him 3 days from now, thecows might just have to wait until the horse is ready..., But now I think I understand this more. Ray was saying first, don't drag the horse down to yourlevel. You should be able to offer things to him fast enough to keep it interesting. Then. once you've prepared him with some of the basics, get out there and do something with it Add purpose The horse is too smart to have him doing all these things for you without having a real reason for doing them. Now Isee the point. I'm not saying that we all have the ability to safely be up and running on day 3, but the concept is important.
Miscellaneous comments:
1. "Tom would be proud of most of you."
2. Ray said he likes Priefert roundpen panels - the grey ones (I think they are taller). He also likes Natural Glo as a supplement. He talked about the importance of proper dental care. Vets are not always qualified to perform dental work. This is an important issue that needs to be handled by a professional equine dentist, sometimes referred to as a "tooth fairy".
3 Ray gave a speech during the Dinner/Auction. The jist of his speech was that a lot of people think he's just a cranky old man. He's just trying to figure out what to do to get people to TRY. As long as you TRY. you're ok with Ray!
4. We all saw a big TRY in Ray when he approached each person in the Horsemanship class and asked "What can I do to be a better teacher." It seemed that, even before Ray asked this of the riders, he was making an effort to explain things more fully - spend more time to answer questions - be more sensitive to how the person was feeling in addition to the horse
5. Ray gave examples of how to read the horse s expression when his own horse was a little impulsive about wanting to leave the arena. (Hope this makes it into the video!) This happened after the 2nd day of the Colt class. As Ray was starting this demonstration, Buck Brannaman had just returned to an empty roundpen to gather his saddle, blanket and flag. As if in a trance, he was drawn to the edge of the pen and stood almost motionless as he watched Ray along with the rest of us.
6. "You horse knows when you know and he knows when you don't know," (When Ray was saying this. I was thinking, "My horse also knows when I'm trying <g>).
7. At the end of the benefit, Ray gave each clinician a dollar as a thank you from him and Tom
8. Ray gave constant reminders that we are here for
his friend. Tom.
BUCK BRANNAMAN
Buck started out in a quiet corner with his colt (well, as quiet as it gets with 40 other people and colts!!). It was pretty clear that he had made his plan ahead of time as to how/where he would work his colt in that chaotic environment. Buck was one of the first to see when his colt was ready to be caught. His approach was slow and thoughtful. At first the colt was unsure about going through the gate to leave the roundpen Ray helped. Buck was a treat to watch, So calm, supportive, and focused. He gave his horse lots of dwell time. Before Buck mounted his horse I noticed how much float was in his rope.
He prepared the colt for mounting from a fence. Then brought it back into one of the roundpens and flagged him and the other colts that were in that pen (on foot). After the herd was relaxed about making transitions and carrying their saddles, the clinicians caught their horses again. Buck would climb up on a fence. Get the colt positioned to mount - rub him all over, start to put a leg over.. rub his foot over the horse's croup, flap the rope on his saddle and the "off side" stirrup. Then he would move to a new fence, and do some of the same things. He wasn't in a hurry to get on. Then he took the colt back into the roundpen, mounted and rode.
The 2nd day Buck ended on a quiet note standing with his horse, unsaddled, in the middle of an empty roundpen. That horse followed him through the gate and into the pen without a worry in the world - confident as could be I thought back to how scared the horse had been the first day when he was led out of the pen - big change! Just before Buck unsaddled his horse, he checked things out a bit. Rubbed the horse. Moved the saddle around. Wiggled the rear cinch. It seemed that the horse had forgotten the rear cinch was there and acted a little surprised to feel that again. (As I watched Buck do this, I was quizzing myself to compare what he was doing to what I might do. I realized I probably would not have checked the rear cinch and I would've been kicked pretty bad.
.
I'm glad I learned this lesson the easy way!) After the colt was relaxed about the rear cinch, he was unsaddled. Every time he unsaddled the horse, he would spend time to rub the horse - the sore spots where the cinch and saddle had been.
Buck took a lot of time to sooth his horse. To allow him to just stand and absorb everything and find comfort in being with his new human friend and in that chaotic environment. That was real nice to see. Buck stood out towards the end of the halter rope and just let the horse be The horse's head was lowered just a foot or two off the ground with a nice expression I remembered back to the first time Buck haltered him with his head was 6 or 7 feet high and his eyes uncertain. What a change. Every so often, Buck would walk up, give the horse a rub, then go off in another direction to stand at the end of the rope again I know there was more going on with that than I was able to pick up. It seemed like maybe it was a "mini-draw" session???? (I wonder why Ray didn't do something like this with his horse when she was so anxious to leave the arena.)
The first day, when Buck was trying to lead his horse out of the roundpen for the first time, somebody sitting behind me was a little critical - "Looks like Buck is having a little trouble - he has a TOUGH horse!" By end of that day his horse was doing so well I heard another person comment - "That's only because he had an EASY horse." Hmmm' I've been admiring Buck from a distance for a couple years. I went to a demo in 2/98, but was too new to horses (had just started taking riding lessons a few months earlier) to really understand and appreciate what I was seeing I only knew that was the first time I'd ever seen a horse look at a person that way. That was the first time I was able to see that the horse REALLY understood and REALLY felt ok about doing what a human was asking him to do. Since that time, I'd only seen Buck in videos. Seeing him this weekend was wonderful He has an aura of comfort and caring and inner-peace, I don't know why that surprised me so much. Maybe it's because I've heard that he can be a little harsh with his students (Let's hope he doesn't turn into a "cranky old man", like Ray! LOL), He taught me about "feel" not only by watching him with his colt, but also by watching the way he held Tom's reata during the auction ... the way he put his arm around Carolyn during the colt starting class... the way he shook people's hands... just the feel he gave off when he walked past me. There was a lot of feel in everything he did, He is very genuine. I found myself always having a consciousness about where he was, even if he wasn't out on the floor during class. I was a little disappointed that he didn't ride in the horsemanship class. Instead of riding, he watched most of it. I would love to have known what he was thinking about. I would love to know what he learned (Maybe he'll write a clinic report too! LOL!)
All of us shared a wide range of different emotions over the weekend. There was only one situation (Sunday afternoon) where I thought I saw some sort of inner conflict in him (I hope I am wrong). Even then he was a perfect gentleman.
A group picture of all clinicians was taken at the Stockyards (between Colt Starting and Horsemanship). I believe they're going to make and sell a poster of that. The camera was set up on the back of Buck's truck, which meant he couldn't get his lunch until the photographer finished packing up his equipment. Didn't anybody ever tell him nice guys finish last (or in this case,, eat last!)
It was good to see him laugh and spend time with his family and friends. When dinner was starting, I saw him settle in his family at a table and walk away to go pick the number for the table he would be assigned to sit at. It was a reminder of how much these clinicians, and their families, give to all of us by spending most of the year out traveling and being away from their loved ones,
I never did get up the nerve to introduce myself. I hope some of Buck's "feel" rubbed off on me. SinceI've been home from the benefit. I find myself approaching my horse with more thoughtfulness than before. Rubbing him more often. Reassuring him more often.
PAT PARELLI
Colt Starting
I saw some of the people in Pat s roundpen working together to help each other with their horses The teamwork was evident throughout a lot of the process,from the beginning when they were catching their colts, to giving each other a leg up to prepare the colts to be mounted bareback, to the first ride when Pat rode his colt and flagged the other colts while their humans were passengers. At one point. somebody's saddle ended up on the ground The colt stepped his foot through the stirrup. A couple of people left their colts in order to come and help out. The colt handled it so well, I wondered how many other people even noticed it happened'
After preparing his horse, Pat climbed around/on his horse without the saddle first. He used a rope around the horse's cinch area to prepare it for saddling. Then he saddled and rode in the roundpen. Then he unsaddled, got on bareback outside of the roundpen. and just walked his horse along 1 side of the arena. He moved the hindquarter and frontquarter in each direction Then got off. It was great to see the progression Pat and his colt made on the second day. Pat spent some time doing things from the ground first. Did lots of mounting.unmounting, saddling, re-mounting, unsaddling, etc.. Rubbed the colt from head to tail with the saddle blanket. Played an extreme version of the friendly
game" by laying on the horse's back. Pat was on his stomach with his feet on the horse s croup, his head on the withers, arms wrapped around the horse s neck, gently rubbing him. He was definitely not "sneaking" up onto his horse like I had seen some other people do. It was clear that any fear the colt may have started out with had, by this time, turned to curiosity. As Pat stood and rubbed the colt. he allowed the colt to inspecting the saddle & blanket. Then he re-saddled and drove the horse forward by bumping the stirrup on his side.
Then he picked up each foot. The colt was a little unsure about allowing his back feet to be picked up. Pat used his rope to help the colt get more comfortable and. at the same time, keep himself out of kicking distance. That went smoothly.
Horsemanship
Pat rode Casper in the horsemanship class. It was clear that Pat was pleased to be participating in this event and enjoying the whole experience. Pat seemed to take the advice of "whistle, grin and ride" to heart. As Ray says, if you're happy, your horse is more apt to be happy.
Ray was giving instructions such as "walk as fast as you can ..... Now walk as slow as you can.... Now trot as fast as you can...... Now trot as slow as you can. When he asked people to trot as slow as they could Pat and Casper did the piaffe. The crowd got a chuckle out of that.
At one point, Ray asked everybody to turn the hind quarter V^ turn to the outside, then move the front quarter Vi turn to the inside. Pat turned the wrong way! Ray playfully corrected him
Miscellaneous comments
Sunday evening, after the benefit was over. Pat. Linda. & Co went to the Stockyards to visit, eat pizza, and let their horses out to play in an empty outdoor arena. This is the first time I've been to Texas. Having a riding arena outside the bar. and another one INSIDE the bar, is something I've never
seen before" It is strange to see some cowboy coming out of the bar with his horse"
Pat was very humble and shared with us some private moments he and Tom spent together He told us about some of the "inner self type of feel that Tom is helping Pat with in order to progress his horsemanship. He also shared his feelings about how much Ray has helped him. I spend a few weeks with Pat last summer and he talked about Ray just about every day. He even scolded those of us who had not yet been to one of Ray's clinics. He thinks very highly of both Tom and Ray. Along with being a talented teacher, Pat is also a very astute student I believe he knows where is shortcomings are and he is focusing on improving himself, as we all are.
We had the opportunity to ask questions and talk about the special moments we all shared that weekend. We got to laugh together about when Pat turned the wrong way in the arena during the horsemanship class Pat said he was starting to assume what the next movement would be (shame shame) and Ray was possibly seeing that and setting it up for Pat to learn not to assume.
Pat was a good sport when we elbowed him about notfollowing one of the 8 principles (i.e. make no. and teach no, assumptions...) We told him how it was fun for us to see our "teacher" play the role of the "student".He was a little puzzled by our comment because he has always considered himself a student.
Pat talked about the difference between teaching styles between himself and Ray My understanding is that Ray is trying to ride the horse through the person. Pat is trying to provide the basics to the person so they can understand how to ask the horse. They're both getting at the same thing, just approaching it a little differently. It sounds like Ray Hunt and Ronnie Willis are going to help Pat teach one of his colt starting classes. What a treat that would be to participate in!!!
This weekend is the second time I've met Pat. He's a very warm, caring, approachable person. His confident. reassuring nature has helped give me confidence in myself and that is mirrored in my horse. His guidance and patience has given me time to think and search and learn (and discover what works for my horse and me) for myself. His ability to communicate philosophies, concepts, and theories in a way that makes sense to a beginner, or more advanced person, is truly a gift.
Pat knows that in order to help the horse, you have to help the human. Some of the other well-known clinicians are better with horses than people. I think they can sometimes knock the "try" out of the person without really realizing it. I know they put the horse before their student, but don't they understand that in order to help the horse, you need to help the human? With Pat, if you don't understand something, he will fix up another situation and allow you to "discover" the answer by yourself. He is always there of offer encouragement and gentle guidance ("That's ok, just start over. You'll be fine", or "Just keep trying, you'll get it", or "You got it. That was perfect! How does it feel?" Then there's always the million-dollar question, "How do you think your horse feels about this?") Pat never made me feel stupid for asking a question If you ask a question and he feels you should be able to figure it out yourself, he'll say something like, "That's a good question. Why don't you take your horse over there and play around with it for a while. Then we'llget together and talk about what you learned."
I laugh at myself when I think back to my first impressions of Pat. I only saw a conceited guy with a cowboy hat (I rode English) and big spurs. Boy was I
wrong! How could I have been so narrow-minded? I'm glad I had the opportunity to get to know him... my horse is too. He is a good person and a talented teacher.
MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS
We've always heard that your horse is your mirror. This is the first time I've had the opportunity to see that so clearly demonstrated on fresh, unstarted colts. Buck's horse was calm, confident, relaxed. feeling good on the inside and it definitely showed on the outside. Pat's horse was curious; playful and truly seemed to be having a good time. Buck's horse enjoyed their quiet time together. Just standing content. Pat's colt didn't seem to be asking for as much dwell time, it seemed that the colt was saying "That was fun. what can we do next'" He was definitely in a learning frame of mind and I think Pat was very in tune with what that colt needed/wanted/was ready for at that moment.
A new Tom Dorrance video is now available You can order it through the internet at www.tomdorrancevideo.com. All proceeds from the sale of this video will help go to pay for Tom's medical expenses. This is NOT a video of the benefit - that one will be coming out later.
During the entire benefit, Carolyn was wandering around interviewing clinicians and reading their bios. Buck had asked not to be included in that. but she cornered him anyway. When Carolyn handed Buck the microphone to introduce himself he said something to the effect of "I'm from Wyoming and I drive a potato chip truck." Then, of course, he had nice words to say about Tom and Ray and gave Carolyn credit for putting the whole event together.
At one point. Carolyn reminded the clinicians that these colts are only 2 years old and they shouldn't be doing too much riding yet. (Yes, Dr Deb Bennett was
there!'! LOL)
Carolyn said that most clinicians were moving along too fast with their colts. Pat Parelli and Ronnie Willis were the last to mount their colts on the second day. Even though most others were moving too fast, Ray thought Pat was moving too slow and said something like "Enough of that - get on and ride!" Pat was Just walking up to get his saddle when Ray said that to him. Pat said he didn't mind having that said to him - either way he knew Ray was right.
When a horse would start bucking, the audience cheered and laughed. That surprised me to see them laugh at a troubled horse. Have YOU ever been that scared when you thought you were going to die. Would you want somebody laughing and taking pictures of you at a timelike that? Sure there were times when they were cheering the ability of the handler, but there were other times when they were just treating it like a dime store rodeo. I've been told I'm too sensitive about those things, I just don't think that was good horsemanship on the part of the audience.
One of the clinicians' horses kept lying down I didn't see the whole progression, but from what I could tell, it appeared that he had a rope around the colt's front foot and had been been trying to get him comfortable with picking up that foot. The timing of his releases was such that the horse thought he was being asked to lay down. After that, whenever something would touch his foot, he started to lay down! Again - I'm not sure I saw this correctly (I was too busy watching Buck at Pat), but from what I could see, it appears that's what may have happened.
DINNER/AUCTION
Tom had phoned in and a tape recording was made of his call. The recording was played part way through theauction. It was a very emotional experience. Tom recited/sang a poem. I think it is called "Down Memory's Lane With You"
Curt Pate was the auctioneer. I've seen him at clinics before and I knew he was a talker, but boy oh boy, can that guy talk' I never realized he used to be a professional auctioneer. He's a very funny guy. At one point he made fun of Buck's pants (pleated docker type pants). Curt said he had 4 months to think about what he was going to wear and could have come up with something ''more manly!" LOL!
Ray bought Tom's spurs. A couple people were bidding and not realizing who they were bidding against. Ray was standing up on the stage with Curt Pate and being very subtle about it. As soon as everybody realized who they were bidding against - they backed off' I think the price was just over $7000
One saddle went for (I think) $20.500.00! Tom'sreata went for just under $7000.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Many of us who attended made new friends, and had reunions with old friends. For some. it was an opportunity to allow old wounds to heal and take a fresh start. Tom caused everybody to dig down and look deep inside themselves. There were as many changes in all the people who attended as there were in those colts! Although Tom was not there, his presence was overwhelming.
Once again, feel free to share this report and distribute to others as you wish however, PLEASE do not take things out of context. I wrote it with the thought that Tom was sitting on my shoulder. I hope you pass it along with that same thought.
