From Friday, October 7th until October 10th, Buck Brannaman will be offering clinics at the West Virginia State Fairgrounds! His clinic is called “Foundation/Horsemanship 1”

Dan M. “Buck” Brannaman is a horse trainer and a leading practitioner within the field of natural horsemanship, which is a philosophy of working with horses based on the idea of working with the horse’s nature, using an understanding of how horses think and communicate to train the horse to accept humans and work confidently and responsively with them. One of Brannaman’s stated goals is to make the animal feel safe and secure around humans so that the horse and rider can achieve a true union.

Brannaman was one of the primary individuals who inspired the character of “Tom Booker” in the Nicholas Evans novel The Horse Whisperer, and was the lead equine consultant for the film of the same name.

The publicity from the book and movie, along with Brannaman’s approach to treating troubled horses and troubled humans with equal doses of compassion, has helped promote other fields such as therapeutic horseback riding. In that context, Brannaman has noted, “Horses are incredibly forgiving. They fill in places we’re not capable of filling ourselves. They’ve given people a new hope, a new lease on life. A horse really wants to please you, to get along.” Brannaman lives with his wife, Mary, in Sheridan, Wyoming. He has three daughters. (source: wikepedia.org)

The auditor/spectator fee is $30/day and children under 12 are free! For more information, call 1-828-899-2051.

– HashtagWV, September 2016.