Lessons Learned by Ian Francis, a.k.a. Mr. Versatility

Clinton Anderson from Downunder Horsemanship has developed a way to train horses, regardless of their past problems or traumas. It all begins with training the owners so they can gain their horse’s respect and understand how to properly control them. Join Clinton on his weekly endeavors of tackling some of the most challenging situations with problem horses, and problem owners. This week, we watch as Clinton tells us about a few lessons learned from Ian Francis, a.k.a., Mr. Versatility.

Clinton begins this episode by telling his listeners about Ian Francis. Ian received the “Mr. Versatility” nickname as throughout his many years of training horses, he competed in a wide variety of disciplines and did well at all of them. He trained trail horses, western pleasure horses, reining horses, cutters, halter horses … Mr. Versatility really did it all. That’s where the nickname came from as he won and dominated in multiple different events with different horses.

Here in America, the horse industry is a lot more specialized. You have your reining horses or your cutters, cow horse guys or pleasure guys, but not a lot of people train or compete in multiple events anymore. Clinton explains that because of this competitions have gotten a lot tougher in areas and a much higher skill set is expected from both horses and riders.

Clinton has always admired Ian for being able to train at an extremely high level for multiple events and points to his mentor for why he likes to include variety in his training as well. He likes to train reining horses, cow horses, and is currently learning how to train cutters. Clinton is trying to emulate what Ian did and learn how to train multiple horses for different events. In doing so, he’s noticed some techniques that can be applied across different disciplines. Training maneuvers Clinton is doing in cutting can add to some of the training he’s doing with his reining horses and vice versa.

Clinton tells us that being a well-rounded horseman all comes down to advancing yourself in other areas, so you grow. Then, you can start to pick up little tips and bring them back to each discipline. This gives you a bit of an advantage because other people probably aren’t doing that. He doesn’t know if versatility will ever come back to American culture as far as showing horses is concerned. But Clinton does think the world was better off when you had great all-around horsemen that knew how to train and compete in different disciplines. The individual sports have definitely gotten better as far as the skill set needed to compete and the quality of horses for the events, but the all-around horseman is a dying breed.

Clinton Anderson has spent the past 20 years of his life devoting his time to creating the best training tools and videos available to horsemen all over the world. Unfortunately, you can’t bring your TV into the arena to watch videos. That’s why Clinton and his team have been hard at work developing a new platform to deliver the training in a whole new way, a way that brings 20 years of horsemanship and puts it in the palm of your hand. Now, you can access the mobile method and get everything at the touch of a finger.

Always have access to the Downunder method, even when you’re on the go or at the barn. The Downunder Horsemanship app gives you access to your digital training kits and allows you to download videos and training content directly to your mobile device or view them on your computer. The Downunder Horsemanship app also offers over 100 hours of free in-depth training content. No Worries Club members will have full access to Clinton’s ever-growing training library and a massive number of members only features and information. And the best part is that you can view and interact with each lesson on your mobile device or computer, giving you ultimate access to the Method anytime and anyplace.

To learn more about the Downunder Horsemanship training method, become a member of the No Worries Club, or to get information on any of the products seen on our show, head over to our homepage and download the Downunder Horsemanship app today!