05/18/2016
WHY THE CHANGE? (Please read fully)
It is sad when the negative attitude and actions of a small group of people can create damage to a group. It is even worse when others believe those actions to be based in any sort of truth. Yet, here we are, the victim of such actions and attitudes.
Laurie and I were introduced to Downunder Horsemanship and the Method in 2009 and soon became No Worries Club Members in 2010. We founded the Downunder Brumbies back in 2011. The reason we took on such a task and formed the Brumbies was that a group (Downunder Dittoheads) formed by Kelly Nickerson Walton, Cindy Nakata and a few others imploded from a lack of effective leadership. We met this group (Downunder Dittoheads) in 2010 and did our best (upon request mind you) to help them codify their goals and direction, helping to run a practice session, hosting an organizational meeting at our home and even writing a rough draft of a mission statement and charter. Sadly the attitudes of the group leaders was not conducive to growth or even organization on a rudimentary level. So we made the choice to form the Brumbies. It should be noted that the founders of the failed group decided to join the Brumbies! Sadly, in short order the negative attitudes and actions of these individuals began to create drama within our newly founded club.
Still, we worked hard and grew the group. In 2012 we were contacted (they called us unsolicited) by Downunder Horsemanship (D.U.H) who wanted to create a No Worries Club DVD and television episode featuring our group! Sadly soon after that video was shot, the actions of Kelly and her friends became too disruptive and after repeated requests to stop such behavior we, as Founders, removed them from the group. It seems they “stuck around” to get their faces on camera.
The video sparked the growth of many study groups like the Brumbies across the nation. We were active in helping these groups get organized and rolling. We shared our experiences, our organizational structure and documents and acted as a sounding board offering advice when requested. All this was done for FREE. Why? Because we believed in the Method and D.U.H.
As the Brumbies continued to grow, the “mean mares” attempted and failed several times to form a group of their own. Their current attempt (and there have been several) is known as the West Coast Downunder Horsemen. We advise everyone to avoid this group. Their leader starts off being “sunshine” and then can turn on folks quickly and often for no reason, tossing them out of the group if any suggestions are offered up.
At each “success” point the Brumbies experienced as it grew, these crazy, mean mares would send complaints to D.U.H. and attempt to degrade our group on all sorts of public forums. Not cool and it caused more internal and external drama. In the meantime D.U.H contacted us about an event we were organizing (Equestrian Symposium) back in 2014, as one of the volunteer professionals who offered to lead a couple of workshops who had parted company with D.U.H. on, according to them, less than positive terms. We agreed that in order to maintain positive relations with the company we would decline the offer from their past employee. A short time later D.U.H. offered to send out one of their newer employees to lead the workshops at the event. Not long after this was announced, the group of former Brumbies began to make all sorts of complaints about the Brumbies. In the subsequent conversation we apparently cleared up all the concerns D.U.H had and we all moved forward.
Fast forward to 2016. The Brumbies welcomed their fourth chapter and was work working on a fifth. Other groups were attempting to form up using names VERY much like ours (we reached out to said group leaders to chat about this. Some were cool. Others were super defensive and rude.) We move on because at the end of the day because imitation is the highest form of flattery. Last week get an email from D.U.H. employee Shana Terry berating us quite rudely (we will provide copies of the communications upon request and if you are so inclined to respond to D.U.H’s actions we will provide contact information as well.) saying that the complaints are creating too much stress for them and other NWC members (no proof of said “stress” was offered up by the way) and that we are being removed from the No Worries Club of which we had been members since 2010. We were also told to “disassociate” our group from D.U.H and that we are no longer their customer. This came as quite a shock! As a group we have always tied to be positive and supportive so we were at a loss. Clearly the same “complaints” were lodged back in 2014 and were addressed to everyone’s satisfaction (or so we thought). We were not allowed to work out any of the supposed issues nor allowed to state our case. So much for loyalty to long standing members and customers who have brought many sales and many new members to their customer base. At the end of the day it is too hard to work with the “little guy” who is trying to do positive things and easier to listen to the loud “complaints” of a group of resentful “mean mares” who simply can’t leave other alone.
So we have come to a crossroads. What should we do? After some long conversations with members and friends of the group we have decided to move forward with a broader focus. Our culture will ALWAYS remain one of fellowship, friendship, support, inspiration and one where anyone can pursue their horsemanship goals without fear of judgment or being yelled at from across the arena that “you are doing it wrong!” (yes, this happened and it was Kelly who did it.) We have the infrastructure, we have the insurance and we have the loyal members so as we end the chapter on the Downunder Brumbies we open a new one on the Golden State Horsemanship Club! We will be exploring and experiencing approaches in “natural” and “classical” horsemanship, have monthly sessions and activities and host multi-day events just like we always have. We will continue to maintain our relationships with local and regional equestrian professionals from a variety of sources. We will continue to help group across the country grow and organize too! It is all about generating the POSITIVE energy! While we will always respect the Method and use it with our own horses, the simple fact is D.U.H. has lost a positive representative in our group and will most likely lose customers too. We wish them well. As for the “mean mares” and their actions? Well, karma is what it is and what they have done will be revisited on them. We will advise avoidance of that herd whenever possible.
The Golden State Horsemanship Club is here to stay! We hope that you will join us on this next part of the journey and that we get to ride together in the near future. If you live out of the state and need help getting a group of your own organized let us know! We are here to help! If you live in California from the northern border to the Greater Chico area and would like to form a group or chapter let us know!
Thanks for reading this rather long post.
Ride On!
Michael & Laurie
