Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Randy Rieman Horsemanship Clinic El Paso 2019

What do dressage horses, barrel horses, team roping, pleasure and ranch horses all have in common? It was that they and their riders were much better after participating in a Randy Rieman Clinic I hosted on 4-5 May 2019. Randy, who rode with Tom and Bill Dorrance and Ray Hunt, and roped with Bill Dorrance including learning how to braid rawhide from him, came in from cold Northern Montana to 90 degree West Texas heat to work with everyone on their specific problems. Thirteen total riders over 2 days gave everyone plenty of individual attention.

For some riders it was how to give the horse the freedom to find what you are asking for. For others it was a subtle way to ask for lead departures. And for everyone it was asking for a bend, and using more of your legs and being less reliant on your hands for that bend.

While all of the clinic participants said they came away with much more than they expected and thought the time and money they spent was a bargain for what they received,.... two of the clinic participants told me they were hesitant to come and pre-disposed to think it wasn't going to be worth it as they came from very specific uses for their horses - dressage and team roping, but Randy proved to them and everyone else for that matter that no matter what discipline you ride, no matter what breed of horse you are sitting, you can get better performance by putting together willingness and balance.

As good as Horseman Randy Rieman is, I suspect he is an even better man having to get to know him over the span of two clinic in two years. He stayed with me and had but to walk out the back door less than 100 yards to his classroom - my arena. Before and after the sessions gave me plenty of time to pick his brain across a wide range of topics. His insight into what Tom and Bill Dorrance were trying to impart, with understanding and communicating to the horse, was insightful to say the least.

Randy is close friends with Bryan Neubert and Joe Wolter and said more than once that there are no better horsemen then these two. I'll just bet that if you asked either of these two who the two best were, either one of them would put Randy on that list.   And if you haven't heard of Bryan Neubert, Joe Wolter or Randy Rieman it's likely because they are as least commercialized as they come. They do not benefit from the movies, television and magazines highlighting the already well known clinicians on a weekly and monthly basis, nor do any of them market a long line of logoed products. You also won't likely see the flash, smoke and music of a DownUnder style event either. Randy fit his El Paso visit in between his foaling season and his annual clinic tours in Germany and Switzerland where there is a large following of the Californio style horsemanship (that's the term I think of - Randy may think of it as something else), but in any account Randy is carrying on what Tom and Bill Dorrance brought to the public.

Randy Rieman is easier to book and cheaper to host for a clinic than some of the more common names everyone is going to, or watching tapes on. I can't imagine anyone not getting their money worth having Randy sort out their issues with their horses. He will simply make everyone better, and make you want to get better - learning to learn as he said. Give him a call. Put him on your calendar and host a clinic, you won't regret it, and I'll just bet you will come away with at least a yearning to learn more.

Randy Rieman
472 25th Rd NW
Choteau, MT 59422