Up close and in person...

Living in a rural portion of the country doesn't allow for many opportunities to see celebrities. Yesterday, however, E was able to get the autograph of and even talk to one from the horse world - Clinton Anderson!

We dragged ourselves out of bed early in the morning and drove about an hour away to attend his current tour. I've never been to a horse clinic of any kind - except for a couple of 4-H sponsored ones geared towards the kids - so I didn't really know what to expect. I have read some articles that Mr. Anderson has written for Horse and Rider magazine, and he has seemed to be pretty no-nonsense and practical in those, and I knew that he had a tv show that is well liked, so I was anticipating a good day with an overload of information. It also doesn't hurt that he's pretty cute in his cowboy hats and button-down shirts!

I figured that there would be a fair number of people in attendance and was not too surprised when we drove up to an arena with a parking lot full of cars from as far away as Idaho. We climbed the bleachers to some seats near the top and sat down to listen to his philosophy of horse training. And I have to say, he made alot of sense. He then went on to put a saddle on a 2 year old that had never had anything on its back - I was amazed at what he was able to accomplish in just 3 hours! I know that I never want to train a young colt - I'll leave that to the professionals - but I will be able to apply many of the training tips he handed out to our own horse.

At the end of each show, Clinton Anderson has a meet and greet with his audience. Our girls rushed to be at the front of the line (they were fourth), books in hand for his autograph. E was so brave and asked if he would be willing to donate any of his training videos to her 4-H club. He told her to write him a letter telling about the club and bring it back to the clinic the next day. He pulls from these letters each week, sending products to the chosen clubs.


She also asked about Curly's head shaking habit. His first question back to her was, "Is your horse a lazy horse?" I think this guy must really know horses! Anyway, Mr. Anderson gave her a tip or two. I think E will be reading his book cover to cover. :-)

I think I will too....