EQUI PARTNER
CLAY MAIER
Clay spends half the year in Kentucky and half in California. He works for the Kentucky Horse Park as an in-house trainer, consultant, and performer. Clay and his horses, Aron, Saber & Paris call the horse park home when in KY.. Recently Clay and the Horse Park performed a rendition of War Horse to over 1,000 grade school children in Altech Arena. He also assists at the park with the daily Parade of Breeds and oversees the carriage driving horses.
Clay travels to take his Friesian Spectacular show on the road along with his long-reining and driving clinics. Before he moved to bluegrass country, Clay lived near the small central Oregon town of Sisters, where he was the full-time trainer of the Knapp Friesians. He trained those horses for equine entertainment performances using the techniques and philosophy he shares in his DVDs and clinics known as Rein Dance. You can read Clay's work with horses since childhood on his website.
Clay was instrumental in the planning for WEG 2010 at the Kentucky Horse Park. He brought me on his team to work WEG for the Opening Ceremonies and Equine Village. It was the experience of a lifetime. Clay's equine performance and entertainment background coupled with his horsemanship made for a successful opening night in Rolex Stadium. We all got nervous but laughed when day before full dress rehearsal, Clay said calmly,"Well, the "Chiefs" from the Lakota and Dakota nations missed their plane. Should be here by mid-morning".
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| Chiefs & Clay~ WEG 2010 |
Clay also consults with HPower, an English organization that produces horse events around the world. They are handling the "Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant". The Pageant is the horse presentation which is part of the overall Jubilee.There will be 900 people in the show and 600 horses from all around the world on May 11-14, 2012 in England. The Queen will attend the Pageant on the 14th of May. Check over at kathleencox.com as the event draws closer for blog posts.
Most of all, Clay enjoys teaching his Rein Dance methods. He offers Long Reining and Driving clinics across the country. Clay's fundamentals of long reining learned from the ground transfer naturally to the saddle or carriage and reward both the horse and handler with clear results in a relaxed environment.
Did you know that Long Reining is a technique that dates back to Roman times? It is relevant to all disciplines and breeds and allows the horse and trainer to collaborate from the safety of the ground without interfering with the horse's natural balance. Clay has developed a series of simple steps and transitions that he calls Rein Dance to reflect a fun, easy and proven approach to improving communication and developing confidence while dancing with your equine partner.
Here's some feedback on Rein Dance Clinics
Thank You Clay Maier for the most incredible weekend of long reining fun. Over the last ten years my husband and I have participated in numerous clinics of all types and this clinic was by far the best ever!! Clay has a gift of being able to read both horse/human pairs and give them the instruction that best suits each one. His instruction was easy to follow and the results were amazing, taking horses that had no relaxation or bend and watching them transform right before your eyes into these beautiful relaxed horses with nice long stretching necks. Thank You again and we look forward to you coming to Idaho again in 2012" Treasure Valley Driving Club-Jan McEnroe
Clay Maier recently held a clinic for the Treasure Valley Whips Carriage Driving Club in Nampa, Idaho; one word can summarize the clinic "Outstanding".
Mr Maier would quickly analyze the human/horse pair and then proceed to give communication to the horse and human to help them improve their communication and performance. He worked tirelessly for two days assisting participants and auditors giving excellent instruction to them. While working with individual horse/human pairs Mr. Maier continued a good dialog that both informed and engaged everyone. Several members of the Whips Club commented following the clinic that it was "the best clinic they had ever participated in". All members and non members benefited greatly from the clinic and also had a great time. ~Bill and Donna Knipe
"I audited Clays 2-day clinic in Nampa, Idaho and was very impressed. I am a rider and new to driving but Clay has a way to explain and show everything so everybody understands. It was amazing how every horse that he took over changed into a totally different horse when he had the long reins in his hands. I love his soft feel and patience with the horses. I took a lot of notes during this weekend and would go to his clinic again." ~Christine
If you'd like to learn more about hosting a clinic, please contact Clay's business associate, Meredith Russo Meredith@claymaier.com
or toll free at 1888-562-9959 Press 3 for Meredith.
