The Master Of The Method

Clinton Anderson is an Australian horse clinician. He was a successful clinician in Australia, thanks to his mentors, Gordon McKinlay and Ian Francis. When he was twenty-one, he came to the U.S. and was mentored by Sam Smith and Al Dunning. He moved back to Australia, although his ultimate goal was to live and work in the U.S.

When he did move to the U.S., the reputation he had established in his home country didn't follow him. He had to start all over. Among his early accomplishments were getting his TV show, Downunder Horsemanship, on RFD-TV and winning the colt-starting championship now known as Road To The Horse in 2003 and in 2005. Another of his dreams came true on February 21, 2006 when he became a U.S. citizen. His Downunder Horsemanship Ranch is now located in Stephenville, TX.

He used to do horse shows, but now only makes appearances at his WalkAbout Tours. He visits cities throughout the United States and has a two-day show. He works with local problem horses to demonstrate how his Method can work for any horse. It's two days jam-packed with useful information that any horse owner - or even potential horse owner - will find useful.

The Method has three levels - Fundamental, Intermediate and Advanced. The kits come with DVDs showing how to do all the exercises and Arena Mates that can be taken to the barn and used there. Clinton urges horse owners - and he says this over and over again - to start with groundwork before you even think  about saddling up and riding. If a horse doesn't respect you on the ground, he's not going to respect you under saddle. He also stresses safety over and over - don't take risks that could cause serious injury or, in the extreme, death. He emphasizes that the safety of the owner is more important than the horse. He has also has advanced kits for dealing with newborn foals and colt starting.

He writes columns for three magazines: Horse & Rider; Horse Illustrated and Young Rider. I haven't read Young Rider, but I have subscriptions to Horse & Rider and Horse Illustrated.

Clinton came to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for a WalkAbout Tour in June, 2011. The tickets were more than I could afford, but one day in the mail I received two free tickets for it. I can only guess that was because of my subscription to Horse & Rider. He was actually wandering around outside the Coliseum on Saturday morning before the event started and so I had the opportunity to have him autograph the WalkAbout Tour 2011 Program. I was amazed watching him, especially his demonstrations with his horse Diez.

After riding Diez, the horse laid down on the Coliseum floor and Clinton laid down on top of him. Clinton got up and told Diez to get up. Diez raised his head, but he didn't get up, no many how times Clinton asked him to. Finally Clinton asked Diez if he could at least sit up. Diez sat up the way a dog would. Amazing!

Clinton had a special deal on memberships in his No Worries Club that weekend - a $50 discount on annual memberships. Even though I wasn't a horse owner (and am not a horse owner), the benefits were too good to pass up. I was able to receive a retroactive member's discount on the merchandise I had bought earlier in the day and I was able to attend a members' only Q&A session with Clinton on Sunday morning. I still use my No Worries Club mousepad. I'm not a current member, but hope to be one again in the future.

Saturday evening, Clinton and Diez posed for photos - and they stayed for photos as long as there were people in line.

As with the photos, when it was time for autographs, he stayed until everyone who wanted an autograph had one. He didn't push people through the line; he took time to answer any questions and pose for photos. I had him autograph my copy of his book "Lessons Well Learned: Why My Method Work For Any Horse." I had him autograph a photo of him with one of his reining horses, Sparkles.

Sunday, Clinton did a demonstration with a horse who had problems being loaded in a trailer. It took a long time, but by the end of the demonstration, the horse didn't want to get out of the trailer!

He offers Method clinics at the Downunder Horsemanship Ranch in Stephenville, TX on a regular basis. The clinics offer the chance to learn directly from Clinton and his certified clinicians. If the day ever comes - even though it seems unlikely - that I own a horse, I'd definitely find a way to attend one of his clinics.

Because there are more people who want to learn his Method than he can handle alone, he's started training clinicians who are able to teach the Method the way he would - minus the Aussie accent! He's so confident in his Clinician Academy graduates that he offers a money-back guarantee on their services.

I have enormous respect for Clinton Anderson and am glad I had the chance to be part of his No Worries Club, even if it was only for a year.