Jessica lives in the Northeast, so she was lucky enough to be able to attend the ISSO Annual Meeting & Clinic which was held on March 28 and 29, 2009 in North East, MD. The clinic was held at Fairwinds Farm in Cecil County and Jessica was nice enough to share not only her first time riding experience with us, but also some pictures!
She rode her own horse, Queaka, who is affectionately known as Squeaky. Squeaky is a 19 yr old Thoroughbred and although Jessica did bring her own sidesaddle, it was determined that something needed to be fixed so that it was a better fit for her. In these photos, she is using one of the instructors saddles.
This all day event was not only a riders clinic taught by Jeanie Whithed & Heidi Opdyke but also an instructors clinic.
"It was very cold and rainy all day, but I had so much fun! I did all 3 gaites. We learned so much, especially from Linda Flemmer, who gave a presentation about the sidesaddles." Being nosey, I had to ask what the cost was....only $40.00! Jessica also commented on how many saddles they had there for sale, "15 or 20!"
What are the 2 things that she sent me? Well, one is a girth extender that she used to use with her horse, given to me I am sure because I could not find a girth quite long enough and the other gift is a rare and unique antique sidesaddle stirrup! This Victorian era stirrup is hand made entirely of leather over a metal frame. It is classically tiny. I thought about taking a picture of my foot next to it...but did not want to embarrass myself! Pam, you were right when you said it would start a new collection for me! I will cherish it forever!!!
"It was very cold and rainy all day, but I had so much fun! I did all 3 gaites. We learned so much, especially from Linda Flemmer, who gave a presentation about the sidesaddles." Being nosey, I had to ask what the cost was....only $40.00! Jessica also commented on how many saddles they had there for sale, "15 or 20!"
The following information was given to me by another sidesaddle fan and one of my blog followers sunvalleysally:
These were just a couple of the nice nice horses at the Oklahoma Centennial Horse show I covered last week.
I also bought a black dressage saddle pad...hoping it will also help everything blend in. My saddle is dark brown and my riding habits will likely all be dark.
