William Fox-Pitt Finishes U.S. Teaching Tour
Courtesy of Team EnGaged Clinics | Photos by Valerie Durbon
World and Olympic champion William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain finished his 2016 American teaching tour at the Great Meadow Foundation for Team EnGaged Clinics.
The three-day clinic, sponsored by Albion Saddlemakers, took place Nov. 3-5 and featured 28 diverse riders from the United States and Canada.
“I was thrilled to have William back teaching,” stated Kelly Gage, owner of Team EnGaged Clinics. “He is one of most gifted coaches I’ve seen in the last decade and in my book, is a professional’s professional. He has a lovely ability to put people at ease while bringing out the best and [getting] to the heart of the matter.
“The training is thorough, sympathetic and correct. It’s easy to see how he’s been consistently at the top of the sport.”
“We were honored to host a world-class clinician like William Fox-Pitt. Our goal is to deliver high performance sport in every discipline. Our community deserves no less. Kelly Gage is like-minded, and we look forward to her return with more clinicians like Fox-Pitt.”
— Robert Banner, president of the Great Meadow Foundation
No stranger to The Plains, Fox-Pitt was first hosted by Team EnGaged in 2013 in his first North American clinic. Nearly three years later, the 2016 edition was placed against the backdrop of the Great Meadow Foundation, host of the Nations Cup.
“The GMF, Robert Banner and Teresa Condon have been such an integral part of this event and to my team,” stated Gage. “It’s a beautiful venue with unlimited possibilities for horse sport. To be a part of the group is a long-term goal fulfilled.
“I was just happy that they approached me at the start and offered the facility back in 2014. It’s been nothing short of a roller coaster.
Rachel Wood above the “box.” This particular exercise was not about the size of the box but how accurate a rider/horse team would be above it.“There were a lot of firsts at this clinic,” she continued. “It was the first time William was teaching since 2016, first time Team EnGaged expanded to three days, first time there were privates and first time that we had this amount of diversity with the riders. It was incredible to see people who traveled 20-plus hours to come ride with him.”
Over the three days, riders were treated to private and semi-private lessons with Fox-Pitt, who emphasized acceptance of a supple connection both on the flat and over fences while making the horses sharper through clear and direct riding.
“Each day that the riders came back there was marked improvement,” Gage said. “I think everyone took away something from each lesson to work on over the winter. I know I have fun things to work on with my horses as well. I look forward to seeing everyone again at the next one.”
Fox-Pitt will return in 2017 to teach again for Team EnGaged. Dates will be announced via their Facebook page and mailing list. ML
Team EnGaged Clinics is a professional event service based out of Lexington, Kentucky, that was established in 2008 with the idea of bringing highly available, premium education to the Southeast region. It quickly progressed to an encompassing thought of rider-centric education that incorporates community participation. The goal of the group is to bring equestrian education through world-class clinicians and premium facilities. Team EnGaged believes that education is the foundation of all progression and continually strives to provide educational opportunities for all who wish to learn. For more info: facebook.com/teamengagedclinics