About Clinics
The Clay Maier Clinics evolved out of demonstrations Clay gives at many of the Horse Shows and Expos he participates in with The Friesian Spectacular.
Clay presents a variety of talks, demonstrations and clinics — from a short What to Look for in a Performance Horse presentation, demonstration lectures with Q&A, 1-3-day participation clinics, to in-depth custom-tailored private long lining or driving clinics.
Clay's lifetime of experience with many breeds includes over two decades of work with Friesian horses. His well-honed skills include not only starting, training and exhibiting some of the country's best-known driven horses, but also developing performance Friesians, of The Friesian Spectacular, who in his hands, effortlessly demonstrate some seemingly impossible lateral maneuvers while driven.
Clay's clinics open new perspective from the ground that will also bring a new understanding in the saddle and cart. Together, you and your horse can benefit from insights that long reining brings to whatever discipline — from dressage, to trail riding, to driving. These clinics offer a superb opportunity to learn techniques directly from a master of long reining and driving horses.
Clay's goal in teaching is to have his students gain confidence in the techniques by hands-on practice during the clinic. He uses clear, easy-to-understand exercises embedded in a solid foundation of the Maier style of building a training relationship with your horse. Kind communication and consistency, matched with his perspective on what the horse is thinking are the keystones.
Clay presents a variety of talks, demonstrations and clinics — from a short What to Look for in a Performance Horse presentation, demonstration lectures with Q&A, 1-3-day participation clinics, to in-depth custom-tailored private long lining or driving clinics.
Clay's lifetime of experience with many breeds includes over two decades of work with Friesian horses. His well-honed skills include not only starting, training and exhibiting some of the country's best-known driven horses, but also developing performance Friesians, of The Friesian Spectacular, who in his hands, effortlessly demonstrate some seemingly impossible lateral maneuvers while driven.
Clay's clinics open new perspective from the ground that will also bring a new understanding in the saddle and cart. Together, you and your horse can benefit from insights that long reining brings to whatever discipline — from dressage, to trail riding, to driving. These clinics offer a superb opportunity to learn techniques directly from a master of long reining and driving horses.
Clay's goal in teaching is to have his students gain confidence in the techniques by hands-on practice during the clinic. He uses clear, easy-to-understand exercises embedded in a solid foundation of the Maier style of building a training relationship with your horse. Kind communication and consistency, matched with his perspective on what the horse is thinking are the keystones.
"I focus on the process of training; I have learned to have confidence in the results that develop. For instance, I remember that one horse, Smoke, took about a year to learn to bow; and Eagle took about five minutes! With every interaction with a horse, I want to improve the relationship, whether or not the horse learns something specific that day."
See the events calendar for the clinic schedule, and click on links inside this Clinic section for details about upcoming clinics. Please contact Clay with questions or to inquire about scheduling a clinic at an expo or for your horse club.
REIN DANCE | www.claymaier.com