Early one morning on Sept. 17, my mother and I headed south towards Georgetown, Ky., for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Kelly Gage and Vicky Esquivel of Team Engaged Clinics invited us to attend a rare clinic opportunity with Edward Gal, the No. 1 ranked dressage rider in the world. The clinic was held at the beautiful facilities of the Gayla Driving Center, and as soon as we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the farm manager Dana Banfield.

That afternoon, Vicky Esquivel invited us to a meeting in the indoor to bring us up to date on the schedule. After the meeting, I brought my young gelding out to introduce him to the facilities. He was quite distracted at first, but thanks to the wonderful and patient staff, we were able to take the time to make him comfortable. After my ride, we bathed him and got him settled into his fluffy stall for night.

I could barely sleep that night knowing what tomorrow held. That morning, we left early for the barn. When we arrived, we hand walked him around the indoor and fed breakfast.

All of the riders were busy preparing their horses that morning, but we all took a break as Edward walked through the barn meeting our horses and us. It was great meeting him for the first time. He was warm and friendly, and we all couldn’t wait for the day to begin.

The morning started with Elena Sokolovskaia on her beautiful Holsteiner stallion Adesco C. Next to go was Rebecca Blikslager aboard her elegant KWPN gelding Mojo.

A delicious lunch was served to the riders and auditors at noon, followed by a wonderful presentation given by Team EnGaged title sponsor SUCCEED. They informed everyone of the importance of your horse’s feed and feeding schedule. I think everyone left with a better understanding of the way a horse’s digestive system should function.

My ride was after the lunch break. I rode my 7-year-old Hanoverian gelding Guilliani. He was very relaxed right from the beginning, which I was not prepared for.

My typically sensitive young horse was quite slow to my leg aids, so we worked on making him sensitive to the leg by doing many forward and back transitions within each gait. Each time I sent him forward, Edward wanted him to cover more ground and to reach more for the bit. We also alternated between bending and riding the neck straight, stretching and riding the neck up.

Guilliani has a very soft jaw and neck, so instead of warming him up in a deeper, rounder neck, Edward wanted me to ride his neck closer to a competition frame right from the beginning.

This particular horse tends to become concentrated on one thing easily, so Edward recommended that I keep mixing things up with him constantly changing what we ask for.

The last two rides were Laurie Bauchman on her talented KWPN gelding William E and Elena Sokolovskaia on Barbara Grove’s charming Trakehner gelding Tokaimo OOO. Each horse-and-rider team worked on the same basic principles: forward with a quick response to the driving aids and keeping a soft inside bend during lateral work and collection.

Edward required each horse to respond to their fullest during the forward transitions, which should make all of the exercises easier to accomplish. Each rider seemed to truly enjoy riding with him, and all of the horses looked great!

Later that evening, we were all treated to a delicious dinner with Edward and Nicole. It was an absolutely fabulous weekend, and I am so happy I was able to be a part of it. Team Engaged Clinics put on a top-notch event, and the fact that they are bringing clinicians of this caliber to the U.S., in my opinion, is priceless.