Saturday evening the group of riders, clinic auditors and guests were treated to hotdogs and hamburgers, with all the trimmings, around the campfire. Ed then went beyond the call of duty by sharing some of his collection of Cowboy Poetry. He also told some great and humorous tales of his horse packing/hunting trips in Wyoming. He had the group in stitches as he told the story of the elk chasing his horse down the mountain.

On Sunday the horses and riders started by reviewing the Six Keys exercises. Before mounting, Ed then gets the riders ready by doing some &uot;riders yoga.&uot; Ed&squo;s philosophy is that you have to have your body, as well as your mind, in the right frame to ride. Once mounted the riders worked on the Six Keys in their saddles. By using the same cues from horseback as from the ground, the horses responded in very calm and consistent ways.

The Riding Skills clinic was held on Monday with some folks from this clinic and some from the clinic that was held in June. The one day session was built on the Six Keys

but took things a bit further. After a day in the saddle, riders and horses where doing exercises such as yielding the hind quarters, yielding the front, picking up a canter, and even some shoulder-in and half passes. Ed may dress as a cowboy but he is a student of the classical equitation seat.

Ed will return regularly to Sun-catcher. The next clinic will be January 18-20, 2008. If you are interested in attending a Six Keys clinic please visit www.re-ride.com for more info or call 828-863-2770. To find out more about Ed please visit www.eddabney.com.

‐Article by Paula Mierop