LHH 2010 was over the top!! Best one yet and this is only our 4th. I can't even remember all the big names who were there, but there were a bunch. Of course, we have the foundation group of clinicians: Dr. Bob Miller, Eitan, Lester Buckley and Jon Ensign. Our guest clinicians this year were Monty Roberts, Jack Brainard and Richard Winters.

A real treat was when our wonderful MC Rick Lamb gave a PowerPoint presentation and talked of horsemanship from centuries ago until now. It was fascinating to see that many natural horsemanship methods have been used for hundreds of years.

Eitan was the comedian of the bunch and while the audience cheered him on Debbie was caught by complete surprise as Eitan had not told her of his comedy presentation. He did a kind of parody of natural horsemanship trainers. One of his bits was the stick, aha but no; the shtick. He had a dozen or so shticks in a bag and pulled them out and described their magical qualities. He used his lovely palomino, Indy as his clinic horse and showed how he warms Indy up in the round pen, long lining,etc. The next segment with Eitan he rode Indy and did some piaffe and passage and talked about how he taught it.

Dr. Bob talked about his imprint training and handling the horse from birth to training age. Richard started a youngster who had been handled, but not started with round pen work or under saddle. Jon showed how he works with a horse [he brought one with him] after it has been started. You know we often see clinicians who show how to round pen a youngster, how to saddle and the first ride. After that the next thing you see is the horse all trained.This all important step was filled in my Jon. He had the trust of the horse and used that and his remarkable skill to navigate a bridge and the obstacle that Craig Cameron uses with the strips of plastic hanging down like a curtain. I think it is called a “car wash.” I was so impressed that Jon got that colt through there in just a few minutes. Lester gave his best presentation ever. He is a former working cowboy and cutter and has worked on some of the biggest cattle ranches in the world, the King Ranch and the Parker Ranch. He is now a top notch dressage rider and trainer. He rode WH Zimbabwe and really wowed the crowd. Lester and Zimbabwe  had just met, but when you put an incredibly talented trainer on a well trained Morgan, you get an exciting performance. He explained everything that he was asking Zimbabwe and how Zimbabwe was responding. His best clinic ever!!Jack Brainard gave a lesson to up and coming trainer Jewels Adams on her Azteca stallion. What a great thing for me to see that even a trainer whom I admire greatly learned some new things. I don't feel so incompetent, now.Jack is the master of the flying lead change and really put Jewels on task with learning about footfalls and where each foot is in order to set the horse up for any maneuver. He also talked about cadence and how it must be understood to help your horse perform at his best.Following that, Jewels demonstrated a performance of two tests of the new American Cowboy Dressage Association. This new division is official and promises to be an exciting addition to the horse show scene.

Our meals were catered by Los Olivos Market. My first ever Kobi beef hamburger! OMG! It rivals anything I have raised on my own ranch!  Yum yum.They had BBQ for lunch and dinner with all the trimmings. Pork, chicken,beef, vegetables, fruit, potato salad. Oh I am gaining weight just talking about it.

Our campfire evening was changed to a panel discussion due to the ferocious winds. Dr. Robert Miller, Jack Brainard, Lester Buckley, Shelia Varian, Monty Roberts and Ernie Morris talked about great horses of their pasts and old cowboy movies and the horses who were featured in them. So many stories were shared I can't begin to remember any of them. I laughed so hard I cried.

Our entertainment [like we needed more!!?] was Ron Miller, an accomplished musician who can play guitar and sing like nobody's business. I could listen to him for hours.

I have babbled on quite a bit here and haven't even touched on everything.It was truly a one of a kind experience. There are more highlights on the website: www.lighthandshorsemanship.com

If you want to learn from some of the top trainers in the country, be treated like a guest, not just an attendee, meet some exciting people fromall over the world and eat like there's no tomorrow, you'd better plan to attend next year. I work and I work hard there [lost 5 pounds in 7 days],and love every minute of it. I would be remiss if I failed to mention our gracious host Art Perry and his exquisite rose adorned estate. Unfortunately Art fell and broke his wrist a few days before the clinic, so was not up to his usual vivacious self, but ever the consummate host he seemed to be  everywhere all at once.

Also to be mentioned is our generous sponsor Tom Spaulding of Spaulding Labs and Fly Predators. Without Tom's financial assistance this event would not be the spectacular and quality affair that is has become.

OK, I'm done. Sorry it's so long, it's just that this is something I thoroughly enjoy and totally believe in. I don't get excited about too many things, but this is sure one of them.

Oh, did I mention the Vendors….I wanted something from all of them!

Teri Personeni Terob Morgans Nevada City, CA www.terobmorgans.com