Edward Gal about Totilas: a horse with a special character

Recently there was a big interview with Dutch top dressage rider Edward Gal in a Dutch newspaper about the sell of his top horse Totilas.

About the farewell Edward tells: ‘The day Totilas left my barn, I was not present, I was not able to be there. I already had said goodbye to Totilas. How do you do that? I talked to him, I cuddled. Of course I have cried.’

Edward has seen the black stallion once again after he has left his stable in Harskamp, The Netherlands. ‘I think he recognized me. Of maybe I would like to believe that. He walked straight towards me and snort. You don’t know it with a horse. Totilas’ look was intense, intelligent, curious. A horse with character, you could see right away.’

Edward started horse riding when he was 14. A friend of him didn’t do his last few riding lessons so Edward took over and started at a riding school. Later on he bought his first pony Mona Lisa from money he earned by working in a machine factory from his uncle.

At shows Edward always ride with an orange boxer shorts, an orange belt around his waist and an orange watch on his wrist. Just pure superstition.

HorsUs/Algemeen Dagblad