Sidesaddle Suits Influence on Fashion...

..more specifically - wedding gowns!

Water Colors & Some Big News!

Thought you would enjoy looking at these beautiful water color paintings..

...since I do not have any photos to display of me..CANTERING!!! Yes for the first time, I cantered on Oliver!! We cantered in both directions several times around the arena. The take off was perfect, the speed was perfect, the collection was perfect and we did not break gait until I asked him to. Yeah!!!

Sidesaddle...Not Just For Big Girls Anymore!

..or big horses either for that matter!

More Sidesaddle Themed Jewels!

Look what I found!


..and this...

...and this too!

I had to add in this button - just because it is so beautiful it might as well be a piece of jewelry!

...and well - we all know that a great strand of pearls go with EVERYTHING!

I Am Going to Try Something Different...

This is without a doubt one of my favorite sidesaddle suits...at least (since it is not mine) a favorite photo of a sidesaddle suit!Well, my sewing skills allow me to create a smart looking riding skirt, but I am not so confident about making the jacket.

Then I saw this on e-bay. It is made from that uber expensive thin suit wool, is lined with 100% silk and I bought it for a song! The photo is dark, but I believe it to be a cream colored blazer with a navy pin stripe. The jacket is not as fitted as I would like it, but the length, collar and style are just close enough. With some moderate tweaking, and a coordinating skirt, I hope I can create a riding suit.What do you think?

If not - I will just have a nice new blazer!

Princess Wilhelmina

Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the Great Crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial empire. Outside the Netherlands she is primarily remembered for her role in the Second World War, in which she proved to be a great inspiration to the Dutch resistance..Thank you Anke for this corrected information! No wonder I could not find anything on it... The photo I found had Wilhelmina spelled wrong!

Sidesaddle Chemesettes

I found a wonderful new web sight called Wild Horse Fashion, where a woman named Cindy sells her hand made creations...mainly being hand sewn historic clothing items. She has made several sidesaddle suits as well as accessories to go with them and her prices are VERY reasonable! I purchased 2 Chemesettes, one in white and one in cream. It gets so hot down here - sometimes even in the Fall that reducing part of the sidesaddle undergarments without sacrificing quality of the costume meant a lot to me. This is a Sidesaddle Chemesette.
It is more than what us old timers know as 'dickeys', but much less than a full blouse and are you ready for the best part? They were each only $25.00!

If you would like to visit Cindy's web store and see some of the garments she has made, go to:
www.wildhorsefashion.com

I also added a list of some favorite web sights and stores to my sidebar - all having to do with riding aside!

For an Update on Chrissy..

..please go to my other blog:
www.equusvilla.blogspot.com

Please Pray for Chrissy..Again

I found her in our bathroom breathing hard and salivating more than normal. I noticed she was having a difficult time walking..but no matter what, she would not leave my side. I called the vet and made an appointment. Moments later she was in a full blown seizure. I called the vet again to tell them I was on my way in and why. Don scooped her up and put her into the truck. I drove 90 MPH with my emergency lights on. Chrissy again had a seizure on the 20 minute drive in. I started to cry, trying to hold her on the seat and keep control over our truck.

When I arrived at the vets office, once again Chrissy seized. They gave her an injection, took her vitals, put an IV line in and ran an oxygen tube up her nose. The whole time they were doing this they were asking me questions about what Chrissy had done & eaten that day. I recalled NOTHING out of the ordinary..until I remembered that I had treated her with Advantage Flea and tick treatment.

"Where did you get it?" the vet asked me.
"At our local feed store."
Without hesitation, they grabbed my Chrissy and submerged her into a soaking tank. They scrubbed her with soap and water, especially in the spots where I had applied the Advantage. The vet told me that Advantage was only suppose to be sold by vets and that a different product, under the same name and manufacture was now being sold in other establishments that was much more toxic - especially to cats.

My poor Chrissy girl suffered 4 terrible seizures yesterday because of this chemical...a chemical that I applied on her. She is doing better. She is off her oxygen and thankfully has not had anymore seizures, but we do not know what damage she may have because of the ones she did have. I am just heartbroken about this. Please send up a prayer for my sweet Chrissy.

Before & After Riding Whip & Cane

I had a blast creating these beautiful 'partially' historic riding whips. This one is the whip. It is topped off with an antique parasol handle that is sterling!
Before ..

..and after!



This is my bamboo riding cane...before..

..and after topped with a stunning gold over brass cane handle!

As beautiful as these are, they are also functional...judged by the amount of times I dropped this cane since it did not have a topper on it!I did not take a picture of it, but this cane handle has a ladies name and address engraved on it.

Toys - Toys - and More Toys!

A Victorian Doll House...



..antique lead toys..



..and a beauty in plastic!

Lets Try it Again!

I bought this Sidesaddle cane and LOVE it. It is made of bamboo and tipped with brass fittings. It is not too heavy, but quite strong and firm. Both horses respond well to it's pressure in place of my leg. The only bad thing is that it does not have a topper and sometimes I drop it.

Sooo - I went on E-bay and looked up all kinds of entries until I found this sterling beauty under Parasol Handle! It is really elegant and would have worked - except for the fact that the bottom is much smaller in diameter than the bamboo cane is. It was not a total loss though. You see, I just cut off the generic top of my saddleseat whip and replaced it with this. Now I have a stunning formal whip for when I ride astride.

..but still my problem with the cane was not solved. Back to E-bay I went and found this. This is an antique cane handle and according to the seller, is wider at the base. I will not receive it until next week since I just purchased it yesterday, but can't wait! Even better, most of the sidesaddle equipment is polished brass and this handle is gold plated!

Sidesaddle...NOT Just For Horses Anymore..

snicker snicker..

Another Stunning Sidesaddle Suit!

Look at this elegant one!!

Oh Boy - Do I Have My Work Cut Out For Me!

Sooo - lets talk about Saddlebreds for a moment. With American Saddlebreds, it is all about motion. Motion in every gait is wonderful, but most especially at the trot! Saddlebreds, either 3 or 5 gaited MUST have a good strong animated trot. Here is a mare with extremely good motion being shown here at the rack!

Here is another one showing at the trot!

I am just now learning how to ride aside and had my first lesson on Oliver this weekend. We finally resolved the issue of why my saddle was slipping and got that behind us ..so I was able to trot for longer stretches and start my posting work. Holy Crap - that was exhausting! Posting aside is totally and completely different than posting astride!! This is Oilver for those of you who don't know him yet.Oliver was such a good boy for me. I think he understood that I was trying to learn something new and instead of giving me the all out action trot, he just jogged around the round pen while I got my wits about me so Kelli (my instructor) could take the lunge line off of us. After about 15 minutes more, I was ready to go into the big outdoor arena. Again - Oliver was such a gentleman!! We trotted around the arena, ALL the way around without stopping while I practiced my posting. I would post a few strides and bounce a few, post a few more, notice I was on the wrong diagonal and bounce again. My legs would clench the saddle horns for dear life and as I posted, I did notice I was inching up toward the front of the saddle a bit. When I changed gaits, I settled back into the saddle again. We changed direction and worked the other way. It is AMAZING how much different it is when your saddle just stays in place!! It is NOT easy, but at least you can work to improve your skills, muscle tone and balance.

I worked so hard not to push into the stirrup that it actually went in the opposite direction with my stirrup slipping a bit. Whenever I was trying to reposition my foot in the stirrup, I would forget about my hands and they would raise up. I guess I have a One Lane brain and cannot do 2 things at once when I ride...at least not yet! All and all, I am thrilled with my progress though and can't wait to get more hours aside under my belt. Maybe next week we will try the canter!

...and from what I am told..cantering is WAY EASIER than trotting aside......ESPECIALLY on a Saddlebred!

Friday Fun!

Ha ha!

Well I am going to try and take 2 lessons this weekend ...one on each horse. Will let you know how that goes next week.

The cane topper I purchased on line came in and although it is beautiful, it was too small to use on my bamboo cane. I was however able to use is on my saddleseat whip. Will take a picture later this week.

Have a great weekend!

Sidesaddle in Historical Advertising

A horse feed label...

a riding corset ad...

and a fashionable riding derby advertisement!

Toby Levy

While doing untold hours researching the art of riding aside, I, more than once have come across bits of information on a lady named Toby Levy.Sadly Toby passed away in 2007 after a bout with cancer. She was an extremely accomplished sidesaddle rider and had great success with her Anglo Arabian horses. I would like to know more about her. If you happen to have any information you could share, I would love to publish it here. It seems fitting, from what I have read, that she should be a part of this learning blog.

Toby riding a horse I believe is named 24 Karat.