Monday, January 12, 2009

How Would You Handle This in a Sidesaddle??

Pictures from my lesson on Saturday morning!..

..and NOOOOO - this is not the horse I want to learn sidesaddle on!

..but once he gets the hang of working clockwise..I do think he will be one darn good show horse!

Here is our goal!

8 comments:

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Yikes. I'd be scared!

Happy day!
Melissa

Barbara Jacksier said...

Frisky little fille!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness.... you needed a seatbelt my friend! My brother use to bullride...ugh!

Vintage Linen Treasures said...

Yee Haw!! That's one wild ride. So glad you were able to stay on (and so elegantly, too!). He sure is beautiful. I'm sure you'll be able to coax him into being exactly what you're looking for in a show horse.
Patricia :o)

Boss Mare Eventing said...

I'm glad I found your blog, I lived with a girl in Ireland who was learning to ride side saddle so she could hunt that way. I am very envious!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure you know already that a horse prone to rear isn't a very good sidesaddle candidate, so for your sake I hope this was a temporary aberration. How you ride involuntary airs above the ground is use your emergency grip and make sure you keep your right shoulder far far back otherwise you will twist right off your pommels. I had a little Arab show horse in the 80's who was having a "donkey don't" day at Regionals so at lunch we went into the warm up area to have a meeting of the minds. In the western sidesaddle. With schooling chaps. He pulled every snorty bronc trick in the book but if you have a good strong emergency grip and keep your right shoulder back you can ride out nearly everything in a well-fitted sidesaddle. The comment from onlookers went sort of like...I didn't know you could do that in a sidesaddle!!! Of course they didn't know I was scared spitless....

SmartAlex said...

You could do what Belle Beach suggested... pull him over on his right side....just kidding.

sidesaddle rider said...

I have to disagree with Anonymous just a wee bit.
It is said and taught over and over to keep your right shoulder back; unfortunately, this isn't exactly correct. One can keep the right shoulder back AND twist at the waist, thus having the effect one wants to avoid.
It is more correct to concentrate on keeping your left hip forward. While keeping the left hip correct, the right hip will stay correct. That is to say having both hips level across the horse's back. With the hips level the shoulders automatically remain straight.

Once you are comfortable and well schooled in your sidesaddle you will wish you had it on the day these pictures were taken. When you lock on the horns, you go where the saddle goes, and the saddle goes where the horse goes.

You'll get there. You have the tenacity it takes to learn something new.