After serving as one of the judges at this year's Road to the Horse, Ian Francis jumped on a plane headed to Texas to spend a week at the Downunder Horsemanship Ranch. Clinton invites his mentor to the States a couple times a year to take lessons from him. Ian will help Clinton with his three performance horses - Marshall, Lyle and Jackson. Marshall and Lyle are in reining training, while Jackson is being prepped for working cow horse competitions. Ian is well versed in each discipline - he's a five-time Australian NRHA Champion and three-time NCHA Futurity Champion. Clinton often films the training session with Ian so that when his mentor returns to Australia, he can review the tapes as often as he'd like. No matter how many times he rides with Ian or watches his lessons, Clinton says that he always picks up a new nugget of information that improves his horsemanship and his horses' performances.

Learn more about Ian in his biography Living the Legend - The Ian Francis Story available at DownunderHorsemanship.com.

An all-new catalog chocked full of Downunder Horsemanship products and newest releases is en route. Within the catalog's glossy pages, you'll get a sneak peek of the soon-to-be released collector's edition of Clinton Anderson's Philosophy, a hardback book that details the foundation of the Method and comes with a pullout poster. Other new innovations are a mounting block and tack rack featuring the Roo logo and new apparel creations. Besides our tried and true products, the catalog offers a behind-the-scenes look at the ranch and inspiring photographs. To receive a copy of the catalog in your mailbox, request it here.

Hot off the Tampa, Florida tour, Clinton is taking the Walkabout Tour to Redmond, Oregon April 6th and 7th for the third stop of the year. Clinton will take center stage in the Deschutes County Fairgrounds at the Hooker Creek Event Center. Highlights of the weekend include:

• A horse with no respect for humans is invited to the tour for Clinton to work with in the roundpen. He'll demonstrate to the audience how to start the Method and why earning a horse's respect is the crucial first step to an enjoyable, safe partnership.
• In three separate demonstrations, Clinton will work with a local horse that is uncontrollable on the ground and under saddle. The clinician will spend two sessions working with the horse on the ground to build his respect and trust and then ride the horse, explaining how to control the horse's feet and get him to use the thinking side of his brain.
• Often the most entertaining demo of the weekend, Clinton works with a horse that has a severe trailer loading problem. He starts the demo by showing the audience what not to do, or in other words, what each of us has tried to do in the past! Using Approach and Retreat, Clinton has the horse loading himself on the trailer by the end of the demo.
• Professional Clinician Shana Terry puts on an inspiring display of true partnership in a trick demo with Marty. A 4-year-old stud, Marty is full of charisma, and Shana explains the process of starting trick training and the many benefits of doing so. 
• Clinton and his longtime partner Diez demonstrate where the Method can take you in groundwork and riding performances. Set to music, the freestyle performances are an inspirational display of how far the horse/human relationship can go.
• Over $6,000 in prizes and giveaways are up for grabs from Downunder Horsemanship and our family of sponsors!
• Audience members have the opportunity to support a great cause and take part in the Ritchie Charity Ball Toss. Clinton and feature sponsor Ritchie Industries are teaming up to help a local nonprofit raise funds for their cause. Be sure to visit the nonprofit group's booth and purchase a tennis ball or two for your chance to win incredible prizes, including a complete collection of Clinton's DVDs, a mecate set and more!

Tickets to the event may be purchased on the Downunder Horsemanship website www.downunderhorsemanship.com or by calling the office 888-287-7432. Please note that all tickets are now electronic and will be sent to you via email to print off. To gain admittance at the tour, you'll need to present the ticket at the front door. No Worries Club members remember to take advantage of your free tickets by giving us a call!

Clinton's started a blog on the No Worries Club site to share with members the training progress of his performance horses. (To read the blog, click here http://www.noworriesclub.com/blog.php?u=26.) In each installment of the blog, Clinton chronicles the ups and downs of training his 3-year-old horses - Marshall, Lyle and Jackson. While he's prepping Marshall and Lyle for reining competition, he's training Jackson in working cow horse. The blog offers insight into what Clinton expects from his horses and a behind-the-scenes peek at the challenges and successes he experiences with his personal horses. While we can't promise how often he'll get a chance to sit down and share his thoughts as he juggles a busy schedule, we guarantee each post will be filled with Clintonisms and inspiration you can put to use in your own horse life.

Horses are naturally frightened of being approached quickly because they're prey animals. When you run up to your horse or approach him in a quick manner, you're acting very much like a predator. I teach all of my horses the Intermediate exercise Run Up and Rub, so I can run up to the horse from all different angles and have him stand still and relaxed. It teaches the horse to respect you, but not to be frightened of you. Instead of sneaking around the horse and worrying about him overreacting, you're going to be very obvious, and if he wants to have a heart attack, you'll let him. Unlike us, horses don't have hula hoop spaces. You can walk up and rub their bodies anywhere, anytime, and they shouldn't be frightened or defensive. You can enter their space anytime you want, but they can't enter yours unless you invite them to.

What do you get when you give Clinton horses to work with and then put him in front of 2,500 horsemen for two days? Nonstop educational moments and plenty of laughs. From the moment Clinton entered the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center Arena in Tampa, Florida last weekend, he didn't stop sharing his years of horsemanship knowledge. Whether he was working with his longtime partner Diez to demonstrate advanced maneuvers, or explaining how to correct common unwanted behaviors and start the Method with local problem horses, Clinton was adamant about one thing - respect is the foundation of a successful partnership. Without respect, you have no control of your horse, which means he's likely dangerous to be around and it's nearly impossible to accomplish any training goals. The three local horses Clinton used during the demos lent themselves perfectly to that philosophy. Each time a new horse was brought out to the arena, Clinton proved that no matter what sort of problem the horse had, whether it was fear or respect based, all problems are solved the same way - by earning the horse's respect, which means moving his feet forwards, backwards, left and right and always rewarding the slightest try. Once respect is earned, what you can achieve with your horse is limited only by your imagination.

The weekend didn't just feature Clinton though. Ian Francis, Clinton’s mentor from Australia, made a surprise appearance and joined Clinton in the ring for the advanced riding demo. Ian is in the country to judge Road to the Horse, which takes place this week, and shared his lifetime of horsemanship knowledge with the eager Tampa crowd. Professional Clinician Shana Terry also took center stage Sunday morning with a trick demo. Paired with Quarter Horse stallion Marty, Shana had the 3-year-old stud performing bows, the lay down and sitting up and smiling on command for the audience. She explained why teaching tricks to a horse is a fun way to add variety to your training program and detailed how to start the trick training process.

We were excited to see TRAVERSE, the nonprofit organization running the Ritchie Ball Charity toss, raise $4,200. The Walkabout Tour will next be in Redmond, Oregon April 6th and 7th at the Hooker Creek Event Center.

Did you know that water is the most vital nutrient to your horse's wellbeing? Horses need a constant, fresh supply of water daily to maintain their health. That's why Clinton has been a longtime user of Ritchie Industries' automatic waterers. He knows he can trust his horses' wellbeing to Ritchie's carefully designed product. In fact, they're the only waterers he installed on his Downunder Horsemanship Ranch in Stephenville, Texas. In this episode, Clinton goes behind the scenes at Ritchie's headquarters in Iowa and tours its factory where the waterers are made. Not only does Clinton get a firsthand look at how the products are created, but he joins the production line and assembles his own waterer. Filled with great horse care tips and entertaining outtakes, this episode will give you a new appreciation for your horse's water source.

Next month, we'll be releasing Clinton's newest book - a collector's edition that covers his horsemanship philosophy and provides the foundation of the Method. With over 20 years of experience working with horses and helping people safely train them, Clinton has become an expert at bringing out the best in both. In this highly illustrated book, he shares his philosophy, knowledge and wisdom, detailing what he feels every person should know about horses before working with them.

Breaking down the crucial elements of his method of horsemanship, Clinton explains how to become an effective leader that your horses will look to for guidance and how to successfully start a mutually enjoyable partnership. Readers will learn what motivates horses, the basics of respect and why it must be established, and the role pressure and body language play in communicating. Clinton prescribes a tried-and-true formula to train a well broke horse and discusses the three elements that go into becoming an all-around great horseman.

Filled with commonsense explanations and personal anecdotes from Clinton's life, the lessons in Philosophy provide the instruction and inspiration needed to help you achieve your horsemanship dreams. The 152-page hardcover book is presented in a slipcase, includes beautiful color photography and a pullout poster.

At the end of the week, Clinton will be attending Road to the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky. The three-day event begins on Friday with the winner of the "world championship of colt starting" being announced Sunday afternoon. Clinton will be recognized as a past champion of the event. He won the colt starting competition in 2003 and 2005, becoming the first competitor to do so. On Saturday evening, he'll be taking part in the event's 10th Anniversary Celebration Party. During the party, a celebrity auction will be held to raise funds for charities. Personal items from each of the event's past champions will be up for grabs. Clinton donated two autographed shirts he wore in the 2011 competition, a pair of autographed Cinch jeans and a kangaroo hide he used to desensitize his colt in the first competition. The celebrity with the highest selling item will be given the money to donate to the charity of their choice. Clinton's charity is Make-A-Wish North Texas. All other funds earned throughout the auction will go to Road to the Horse's designated charity, Equine Services for Heroes a program that's part of Central Kentucky Riding for Hope. For more information about Road to the Horse and a schedule of events, visit the event's website.

Horses establish dominance by being able to move each other's feet. The most dominant horse in a herd can make all the other horses move their feet forwards, backwards, left and right. Horses use that same principle when they are around us. Anytime you can move your horse's feet forwards, backwards, left and right, you are establishing yourself as the leader and commanding his respect. Anytime the horse moves your feet, in his mind, he's establishing himself as the leader. Remember, whoever moves first, loses. Every single time you walk around your horse to change sides you're actually signaling to him that you are submissive to him. Instead, you should be able to change sides without having to move your feet. This might seem like a simple concept, but believe me, your horse notices every single change. Every single time you can get your horse to move his feet, you're gaining a little bit more respect.