....and this is why it is all worth it!

A couple of days ago I received the nicest letter from a young lady who is now competing aside...so instead of me trying to interpret what she said... here is her letter to me:

Hello Julie! I've been following your blog for ages. You were one of my inspirations for actually going out and trying sidesaddle, instead of just mooning over it on facebook and blogs. THANK YOU for that! I absolutely love it, and am an active participant in the community. 

I'm an eventer in Lexington, KY, with a little AQHA mare named Pixie. This fall, with our very supportive trainer, we made our showing debut. I did a horse trial (Starter), my first show, all aside! We placed fourth out of 8 (33.4%, and two double clears) and best of all, everyone was super supportive, even though they'd never seen an aside rider anywhere but tv.

I'm so grateful that you put your own adventure on the web for me to find. I hope it inspires others! Good luck in your own adventures.

Thank you,
Samantha Peterson 

Here are a few pictures Samantha sent me of she and Pixie:

Wow Wow WOW!!!!  Look at them go!!  I cannot tell you how you made my day Samantha by taking the time to share this with me.  I am so impressed with your accomplishments and can't wait to hear more from you.  God Bless you and your adorable Pixie!!

Meet Rayna Matthews!

I wrote to Rayna to get a personal interview with her, but never made contact.. kept running into dead ends. Her story .. and her influence on sidesaddle riding is just too rich not to share with you.. so all I will do is make a few of my own comments and tell her story in her own words as it is publicly published on her web site.

Reyna Matthews is an exceptional sidesaddle equestrian!

She has a collection of prestigious awards and honors under her belt..

..she is without a doubt one of the finest Costume riders I have ever seen and have run across her photos numerous times without identification of who she was or where the photo was taken.




..well there is more to Rayna's story than this.... a LOT more!


About Me (as written on Reyna's web site)

As a young girl, I was a keen and competitive horse rider. However, in my thirties I suffered a polio like illness and was unable to continue. Despite this difficulty, I never lost my interest or love of horses, and it was at the 1993 Horse of the Year Show that I came into contact with the Riding for the Disabled Association.



In 1995, they found me a place with a North London Group, but sadly I found it impossible to ride astride. At the trot, my legs went into painful spasms and I lost all control over the horse. At this point utterly frustrated I had given up the idea of ever riding again, but a chance introduction to 76-year-old Mrs. Cecily Fryer (a founder member of the Side Saddle Association) changed my life. I instantly found that this elegant method of riding suited me admirably and I did not experience any of the problems that I had while trying to ride astride.

Time passed and I progressed from horse to horse and instructor to instructor in pursuit of ever higher goals. However financial constraints prohibited the purchase of trained dressage horses, so I had to train my horses myself, bringing them on from almost complete ignorance to Medium Level in dressage. This is no mean feat for an able bodied rider, let alone a disabled side saddle rider as I am sure many of you will know!

Being a skilled musician I also devoted a great deal of effort to the Kur (dressage to music).

It was at the 1996 Side Saddle National Competition held at Malvern, that I became particularly excited by the Historical Costume Class. Having achieved a City & Guilds diploma in fashion design and tailoring, and with experience restoring costumes for Sotheby’s and Vestments at Westminster Abbey, I felt well qualified to take on this very lovely Side Saddle Class. My great attention to detail and research of the subject has placed me first in many national competitions including the International Championships in France in 1999.

I have also been invited to many high profile venues, such as National Polo Week at Cowdray Park, the Celebration of the Horse at Highclere Castle, Sotheby’s Open Day at Billinghurst and the Weald Historical Museum in Sussex, to give displays riding and also demonstrating Dressage to Music in my costumes.


Please go and visit Rayna's web site and read about her new adventure of helping other disabled equestrians get back into the sidesaddle! I hope one day to get to meet (albeit via the Internet) Rayna Matthews!

http://www.raynadisabledrider.co.uk/gallery.htm

Charlotta Ågårdh Orsmark

Here is yet another wonderful Sidesaddle Riders Biography! Meet Charlotta from Sweden! She wrote such a wonderful piece about herself and her country, that I thought I would just quote her as she sent it to me.



















"I am a horsecrazy girl living in southern Sweden, near the city of Helsingborg. I live on a farm with horses, dogs and chickens. We have a large forest with many wild animals, including elk, deer, rabbits, foxes, badgers, raccoon and many beautiful birds. Besides my interest in horses, I'm very interested in hunting and hunt as often as I can with my English springer spaniels.
We are close to the Danish border, and here is many horses and riders. Unfortunately, not many of the riders who ride in side saddle. Approximately 0.00005% of riders ride in side saddle. We don't have any contests and side saddleriding is limited to shows and pausenumber of large events. On a landarea of ​​16 500 km2, we are only three riders who rides shows in side saddle

I am always been fascinated by women who have been riding in side saddle but in Sweden is difficult if not impossible to find a good side saddle. If you do not know what is a good side saddle is even more difficult. It was not until we had a performance in school as my dream came true. I borrowed a very old and beautiful saddle of a friend's friend, however, it was in bad shape but we survived and I was totally saved!
After that I began my quest for a own side saddle. I tested almost all saddles that were for sale in Sweden. There were long, short, wide and narrow saddles, some in better condition than others. Finally I found the three treasures I have now:
* One side saddle have belonged to the Swedish Baron Oscar Dickson, and has been used during the 1700's on his pink hunting lodge in central Sweden. This saddle is constructed around 1820 and have no leaping head.
* One side saddle is made in early 1700's in Malmö (a city close to me). It is a parade saddle who are incredibly beautifully decorated. It lacks both leaping head and balancestrap and is in original condition since manufacture. This saddle is a museum piece, and nothing I ride in on a daily basis, it is used only for occasional photo shoots.
* My new side saddle is manufactured by Alphonse Camille Jeune in Paris in the late 1700's. It is a modern twist with leaping head. Right now it is under renovation, but soon I will be able to ride in it.

I have four different horses as I can ride in side saddle, some wilder than others. The horse that I ride at the shows is Sörby O'boy RNF 133. He is 140 cm high, 17-year approved New Forest stallion that I have had in 8 ½ years. Before we began with side saddleriding, we have competed in show jumping in the highest classes (120 cm) at the international level. We have also competed in the Swedish Championships in pony racing, dressage in the second-highest rating, and some low eventing classes.
I have two Swedish warmblood (mother Any Magic and daughter Magic Moon). The daughter Magic Moon is only four years old and has a foals in the spring but I think she become a super side saddlehorse when she gets a little older and more ridden. I have ridden her once with a side saddle (when we took the pictures) and she behaved perfectly! Her mother Any Magic has a bit more temper and surplus energy, which makes it a bit risky. Any Magic has an amazing jumpingcapacity and I will compete her in the show jumping instead of riding her in side saddle. However, I sometimes ride her in side saddle at photo shoots.
My "new" side saddlepony is an Irish cross pony who I have competed before but she has been on loan for 4 years. Three Tone is as high as O'boy and I have raced her in the same classes. She is an excellent jumper and my goal is to jump and ride hunting in side saddle with her.

I'm very interested in history and beautiful antics things so I have also tested the Academic Art of Riding. I've been training for Bent Branderup (Grandmaster of the Academic Art of Riding) both in side saddle (with O'boy) and astride (with Any Magic). Together with Any Magic, I have become Squire of the Academic Art of Riding.
I think it's great fun to ride side saddle and I read everything I come over to learn more. Unfortunately, there are very few books in Swedish, so I read mostly English and German literature. There are also short on equipment and clothing so I do most things myself. I hope that the interest for side saddleriding in Sweden is increasing. I believe that Sweden needs to better saddles, more knowledge and more good publicity for the public to be interested. Sweden has always been a bit "uncivilized" compared to Europe which has done that we do not have any established side saddletradtition but I will try to change it ;)"

To see some AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL pictures - go to Charlotta's web page:
http://charlotta-ridkonst.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=11462874

Lillian Chaudhary

Meet Lillian Chaudhary! Lillian is not only an accomplished sidesaddle rider, certified sidesaddle instructor, but one of only a handful of certified sidesaddle restorers. She even builds saddles from the tree up! Lillian restored my Champion and Wilton saddle and will be restoring my Knoud very soon!





















Lillian has been restoring sidesaddles since she was 15 years old. She found an old Western one from a second hand junk store for $5.00 in 1963. None of the cowboy saddlers would touch it. They told her to throw it in the dumpster. Lillian's Mother however, told her to take it apart and see how it was made originally. Then copy the bad pieces in new leather and put it back together. So she did and she rode in it. That began her education in Sidesaddles. She did that for a hobby until she ended up alone with 4 children and no job. Instead of giving up, she used this knowledge to support her family. 23 years later she is still doing it! She just restored an 1875 sidesaddle out of England that had no panels and only pieces of the billets left. She rebuilt it and it is good to go.

"Nice old Gal" Lillian reflected.

"I am only held back by the lack of trees so I have been buying old dried out junkers for the trees. Currently I have about 5 English trees to rebuild.
I still do repairs and restorations and I do ranch calls and I am going to a stable this weekend to reflock and re-billet some Dressage saddles. The sidesaddles have slowed down some so I am doing the astride saddles now."

The following saddles are all handmade from the tree up. She is searching for a new treemaker since the fellow she had making them is now retired and 83 years old!.
She did all the tooling and designed them as she made them.

Sorry ladies, but all these beauties are sold!





















Lillian conducts Sidesaddle Clinic's for amateurs. This photo is from one she taught in Sacramento, California in 2008.




















Lillian received the Member of the Year and International Sidesaddle Hall of Fame Award in 2006. She is pictured here with Linda Bowlby, another sidesaddle expert!



















Lillian has a web sight www.snowcrest.net/sadlmakr but it has not been updated in a while. Still very worth a visit! If you are interested in contacting Lillian about doing a clinic or help with your sidesaddle, her e-mail address is:
sadlmakr@yahoo.com

A Closer Look...

.. at the type of Spanish Sidesaddle Esther uses.






















Esther rides in both the traditional Spanish sidesaddle as well as more modern versions as seen in the pictures in the previous post.

Here is yet another video of Esther Riding Aside and Hawking as a part of the Equus Noster Show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn4vq_396x0&feature=player_embedded#at=36


..and here she is with a group of sidesaddle riders on the beech! Just AMAZING!!!
Thank you Esther so very much for sharing all of this with us!

Esther Otero

Yesterday I received the nicest E-mail from Esther. She told me that she enjoyed reading my blog and I wrote her back telling her what a great honor it was for me to meet her! As I always do.. I seized the opportunity to ask her a few questions so that I could share the experience with you.

Esther started riding when she was 16 years old. She rode in a fair in Seville and was hooked. From there she rode in exhibitions and shows. Now she compeats and teaches others how to ride. Here are a few pictures of Esther.




















She rides in a show entitled Equus Noster. Equus Noster means "Our Horse" in Latin.
It told the history of Spain on horseback. (http://www.equusnoster.com/inicio.html)

The show link video is:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dg6OyWWgCPMo%26feature%3Drelated&h=c287a

The Spanish Association she is affiliated with is called Monta Amazona. This is the web address. Only a small part of it is written in English.. but the pictures alone were more than worth taking a peek! Look closely and you will again see Ms. Otero!
www.monta-amazona.com This is their logo:




















Edited to add:
Quote from Esther:
The horses are Spanish (PRE) Anglo-Arab, English (PSI), anglohispanoarabe, Lusitanian (PRL) Hanoverian .... All trot, gallop, canter, and have good walk.
All are tame and do dressage.
Other Spanish dressage horses have (DOMA VAQUERA Y ALTA ESCUELA).
I do not know how to explain in English.
The horse in the picture is HISPANOARABE






















Here is another video of Esther you might enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/user/LaCabanaNG#p/u/23/7EuReGZDw64

May I Present Babette Cole and The Legover Ladies!

Meet Babette Cole!


















She is a Children’s author and Illustrator. Here are 2 of her adorable books!


















She is also the promoter and partial sponsor for the Legover Ladies riding team and she was kind enough to allow me to publish the following information it. Please visit Babette on her web sight :
http://www.babette-cole.com

















"World first for Babette's Team"
Horse and Hound article
Patey Hay’s Legover Ladies are Jenny Torrance – (Jen on Paddy), Babette Cole – (Babble on Scrappit), Emma Brown – (HotlipsEm on Pip) and Francis Elson – (Skin on Bruno)..
















We are the only side saddle team on the Team Chase circuit.

Ten years ago Babette Cole founded Red Fox Letsgo Ladies. They were Babette Cole, Emma Brown and Hannah Pickering. The only three ladies in the world brave enough to do it!

Since then Emma found us sponsorship from Patey Hats and the team has got a lot faster and more daring! In fact we are usually too fast. Novice classes often have a bogie time (a good hunting pace) and the winning team is the closest clear round to the time, first three horses count.



















We are usually much too fast for these. "All comers" or novice speed classes are our best competitions and we have been in the ribbons many times. BUT on Oct 1st 2006 we made history by WINNING the Belvoir Team Chase, All Comers speed class. 2 miles of up to height (about 3ft 6in) timber and five foot hedges! No other all side saddle team has ever one a national event before!

We are very lucky to have such good horses. They are very brave. They have to balance us we can’t balance them.

All of us represent our individual hunts Jen – the South Notts, Babble – the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale, Skin – the Fernie, Hotlips Em – the Quorne.

Babette and Scrappit hunt side saddle regularly with the B.S.V. infamous for it’s mud and meaty hedges. Scrappit is only 15 hands but has learnt to surf over the mud so that he can fly the wide hedges down here in Dorset. He now thinks team chasing in the Midlands is a piece of cake!

....And Finally....
At the Belvoir team chase a fortnight ago, the Patey Hats Legover Ladies team (right) became the first all side-saddle team to win an affiliated chase.

Emma Brown, Jenny Torrance, Frances Elson and Babette Cole won the novice speed class, run over a substantial, up–to–height hedge and timber track on Garthorpe racecourse.















All four are accomplished all–round side–saddle competitors – and also hunt side–saddle regularly in Leicestershire and with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale.

"It’s so exciting," said founder member Emma, an HGV lorry driver by profession. "We’ve been team chasing for several seasons and have been in the ribbons many times, but it is hard to win a class. You need well–balanced horses that are good jumpers to do this side–saddle."

Excerpt from Horse and Hound

And Another...

Reader sent me this:

Hi there,
My name is Caroline Mosley, I live in Scotland with my hubby John and I am the proud owner of 2 horses. Ellie is a 5yo TB mare and is due her first foal in July next year, by an Irish Draught. My other horse Jack is an Irish Sport Horse who I event (pic attached). As well as eventing I have just taken up side saddle with him. I bought myself a brand new saddle last week (pic attached) and can't wait for the winter to be over so I can get going with him. I hope to compete at the Royal Highland Show next year. the only thing I have to show me doing side saddle is the first time I sat on my friends horse (my second ever go at SS) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoGVwosaQug

Ps - also FYI, there has been a programme on the BBC in the UK called Downton Abbey featuring a hunting party with the ladies riding side saddle,


















I asked Caroline about her beautiful saddle and this is what she told me:

I bought my side saddle from a master saddler in Wales, he made it on a new side saddle wide tree and for a competition a few years ago. Since then it sat in his workshop on display until he decided that he should sell it.

Anyway it was on ebay and I bought it probably for half what it is worth! It fits my horse really well (bit of flocking movement required) and the only thing I need is a stirrup leather making up (it has an owen stirrup fitting). I am very excited about it as I only thought about trying side saddle when I watched the class at the royal highland show last year and i remembered that I'd always wanted to try it - so I bought a lesson for my birthday and since then I've just caught the bug!
* * * * * * * * * *

Yeah Caroline!!! I am so excited for you!! .. but sad that you have to wait until next Spring to really get started riding aside.

NOTHING Thrills Me More..

..Then getting a message like this one, where someone who read my goofy blog was inspired to also try riding aside!!! I am so excited for you Laura!! I started this blog as nothing more than a catalog of information to assist me in learning how to ride. As it grew, I started to delve into some of the history and culture of it all. I am so glad others have enjoyed it too.

Laura, you have no idea how much your little "I did it!!" message means to me. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you one of the newest sidesaddle riders, Laura! Go and read more about her adventure at http://twospookymaynards.blogspot.com/

Marcel & Me ~ Chapter 8

Marcel's papers demonstrate a rather sad fact of the life of a show horse. Pam is number 10 on his list of owners. July 2006 they had a special private celebration together. Pam had officially owned Marcel twice as long as any other person in his life! This goes a long way in explaining why he wasn't friendly the first time they met.

In this span of time they were involved in a few public sidesaddle performances. As usual, sometimes they did very well and sometimes they did not.

"Marcel is of the mindset that he should retire but I won't let him. We still have more to do!" Pam said "I think Marcel is a goodwill ambassador for former performance Saddlebreds and he is one fine representative of his breed! We may not show saddleseat anymore. but he's still and always will be an "A" class horse!"

Now one of the more senior horses at the barn, Marcel appointed himself "Barn Administrator, Equine Division". He took it upon himself to know which horse was suppose to be in which pasture and which human belonged to which horse. A friend of Pam's said, "If you aren't the right person taking a horse out of his pasture, you need a hall pass to get by Marcel."

But Pam adds,"Marcel will herd the correct horse to the gate when an owner comes out."

At 6:30 on the morning of November 12, 2008 Pam received a frantic phone call from the stable. "Marcel is down! You have to come now!"

Two vets worked on Marcel through the day, but by late afternoon they knew it was time. Marcel was put down up the hill from his barn.

"My beautiful boy was gone." Pam grieved.

Without being asked, the barn owner said he could be buried on the farm where he had lived the longest. He now rests on the highest point of the farm. Pam said to her sister Lisa he didn't really have a connection to the spot.

Lisa told her, "It's the perfect place for him. He can see the whole farm from here and always watch over the other horses."
Rest in Peace sweet Clownface!

edited to add:
Here is a link to another write up about Marcel.
http://themanepoint.blogspot.com/2008/11/farewell-to-friend.html

Marcel & Me ~ Chapter 7

Marcel AKA Clownface is not a cuddly type of horse. He doesn't go for all that mushy stuff. He does, however, present his muzzle for a kiss on the nose every time Pam sees him. When Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer and started her treatment, she often retreated to his stall to cry. When things were particularly bad Marcel could sense it and would even make exceptions to his no neck hugging rule. As the days turned into weeks and Pam lost most of her hair, he would lick the top of her head. In 'horse-speak' this is the highest form of acceptance and a demonstration of herd loyalty. During Pam's treatment her barn time was limited and Marcel spent much of his time in the pasture with a few other geldings. When Pam was able to visit, she would walk into the pasture and she would watch as Clownface would not only run to see her, but he would protect her from the other geldings aggressive antics.

"Marcel has good Horse sense and if he perceives danger, he will take action! Many years back we showed at a Summerfun show. It was actually the first time I showed him driving." Pam recalled. "We did very well and were up against some really big gun Saddlebreds! We placed well enough in the first class to be qualified to show back in the Championship. The first way of the ring was pretty smooth. The reverse was called and we changed direction. The extended trot was called for and we went off at a good speed. After rounding the first corner Marcel suddenly lost all of his momentum. He slowed to a jog and no amount of whip tapping, rein slapping or clucking would get him to step up again. We obviously did not place. Oh well. I thought.

A few hours later we were back at home and unpacking. As we lifted the cart out of the bed of the truck, one of the wheels almost came off! Once we had it on the ground, we could see one of the nuts was missing. Had the wheel come off in the arena, it could have been a huge disaster. Later that evening we watched the video of that class. I could see Marcel's ears go back in that corner, right before he lost his impulsion. He knew something was wrong and did not ignore it. Good Boy!"

Pam was not able to ride much when she was fighting cancer. She just did not have the strength. The new medications available helped to fight the nausea associated with chemo and they worked quite well. Unfortunately, combining that with the pain and fatigue, Pam's activity level dropped dramatically. She not only lost her hair, but she also gained quite a bit of weigh. Marcel was getting fat too. the only difference was that he did not care!"We developed RPO body types" Pam laughed. "Rolley-Polley- Olley!"

to be continued...

Marcel & Me ~ Chapter 6

Pam and Marcel were getting the hang of riding aside pretty quickly and the thought of showing him at a local Saddlebred show sent chills up Pam's spine (probably Marcel's too!) She decided to enter in a combination class. It started with driving, then half way through the horse is unharnessed and saddled. The class then competed under saddle. Pam knew she would really Wow the crowd riding the under saddle portion aside! The started practicing. They practiced driving, riding aside and having the ground crew unharness and retack Marcel in under two minutes!

Right before the show, Pam literally stepped into a hole and broke her foot. Her sister, who was at least 20 feet away from her could hear the snap! Pam had torn her tendon.

"I was so disappointed" Pam explained. "Even when the doctor told me I could not ride for at least 6 weeks, I tried it anyway. I had a big show coming up after all! It was so painful. I could not push off the mounting block to get on and even when I did manage to mount, my ankle was in such bad shape, I was in agony with it dangling off on the sidesaddle horn. I knew at that moment there was no way I could compete."

Not only could Pam not ride, but she could not even drive! She went from working Marcel almost daily preparing for the show, to only getting to see him when someone else could take her back and forth to the barn. Marcel became pensive with this schedule change and several people noticed it. The next time Pam went to the barn, she entered Marcel's stall. She lifted her pant leg and showed Marcel her injured foot. Pam was wearing one of Marcel's Polo wraps over her splint. Marcel dropped his head to sniff it. He snorted and blew at it for a moment. After further inspection, both visually and with his lips, he stepped forward and chewed on the top of Pam's head. She knew he understood.

In time they were able to show. It had been beautiful September weather - low to mid 70's and light breezes..until the day of the show. The temperatures slowly rose to 100! Pam did not handle the heat well but, the sidesaddle attire must be perfect! On went the black tights, the black knee boots and stocktie about her neck. Next it was the wool sidesaddle apron, the wool jacket, all finished off with leather gloved and an antique beaver felt hat with a veil. Enough clothing to face a snow storm! As she mounted Marcel, Pam's sister Lisa coined it as "The Suit of Death!" Pam was heating up quickly and there was no escape. Marcel was acting up. She was losing her patience and the gate was open for their class. They trotted in and within 10 strides she knew she was in trouble. For a split second everything went black. Pam was succumbing to heat exhaustion. Marcel was going high, just as he should, but from that brief blackout her legs went limp. She bumped to the right and couldn't regain her purchase. She was going off all the while thinking, "I am going to Wow the crowd one way or the other!"

Pam spun Marcel to the center and told the judge her girth needed tightening. The poor ring master took one look at the sidesaddle and tried his best to turn invisible. It didn't work. He came over and Pam talked him through tightening an already tight girth. Marcel grunted. This maneuver gave Pam just enough time to catch her breath and regain her clarity. Back to the rail they both knew their jobs. It was up to Marcel to show and it was up to Pam to just stay on! Marcel knew something was wrong. He stopped being a Saddlebred show horse and did his best Quarter Horse impression instead - slow and steady. Marcel was even taking his cues from the announcer instead of Pam. They placed third out of four and Pam was thrilled.

"The worst part about that whole story is that there were so many people interested in learning more about sidesaddle and I was too ill to talk to them. It was the perfect time to promote the discipline of riding and I just could not do it." She reflected.

Pam dismounted with Lisa's help and immediately started to remove her habit as she was shuffled back to the tack room to cool off. It took quite a while before she felt normal, but she realized that once again Marcel had taken care of her. Good Boy!

Shortly after that show Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer...

to be continued..

Marcel & Me ~ Chapter 5

Variety did not stop with games, trail riding and being exposed to other horses. Pam started to ride Marcel bareback and loved to drive him as well..but there was just one more thing Pam had always wanted to do. Something she saw a woman do when she was a child and had cherished the dream of one day being able to do herself as well...ride Sidesaddle!

The first time Marcel saw the new contraption called a sidesaddle he snorted and tried to slink out from under it as Pam raised it onto his back. His concern turned to resignation as she spent way too much time figuring out where all those straps went.

"I often smile to myself with a warm heart and think, "Wow! What did I do to deserve him?" Marcel on the other hand must have rolled his eyes, slowly shaken his head and said, "Wow.. what did I do to deserve her??" " Pam said with a chuckle.

The headed to the outdoor arena. Pam read Mrs. Houblon's checklist one more time and got on. She mounted as if she was getting on an astride saddle and then tried to swing her right leg back over. That would have been fine, but Marcel thought she was done and started to walk off. Her body twisted and while she was trying to recapture her balance she hit one of the horns and ended up with a huge bruise. Once settled, she took a deep breath and asked for a walk. Marcel would occasionally circle to the left. Too much leg. With Pam poorly balanced and squeezing the horns with all of her might, they labored around at a walk and trot for half an hour or so. When Marcel had had enough, he made a direct line out of the arena and straight to the mounting block and parked out...his way of saying, "Your quarters up. Get off my back!" She dismounted and they walked back to the barn. The whole time she untacked him she wondered why she had spent so much money on a saddle she was miserable on...and the worst was yet to come. The following day her whole body ached but especially her hip and her already bad knee.

As the pain faded, the old dream started to resurrect and a few days later she brought the sidesaddle out again. Marcel sighed heavily when he saw it coming. Again, they headed to the outdoor arena. This time they actually did a lot better. Pam was a bit more relaxed, but still gripping the horns too tightly. They walked and jogged around for longer distances. The first thing Pam noticed was that Marcel did not keep his ears back for the entire ride as he had on their first time out. She slowed him back down to a walk and then asked him for the canter. Off they went!
"Now that was fun!" Pam expressed with excitement. "I was concentrating so hard on not turning sideways in the saddle when we jogged that I was the one making myself miserable. At the canter though, I relaxed and loosened the death grip I had with my legs and was actually comfortable. Marcel had his ears forward and seemed to be enjoying himself! Things were really looking up. Riding my sidesaddle with a willing horse was awesome!"

Marcel & Me ~ Chapter 4

Marcel thrived on variety, in fact it seemed to be simple ground games that slowly broke down the barriers between them. They played chase and hide and seek in the arenas. Since her boarding barn closed and they moved to a new one that was mostly a Hunter/Jumper facility, there were plenty of jumps for Marcel to hide behind.

"I seriously think that when he ducked behind one of those jumps and lowered his head, he really thought we could not see him!"

They played for hours and when they were done, Pam would take a book into his stall, sit in the shavings and read while Marcel munched on hay.

The variety Pam offered Marcel did not stop with ground games. With the new Hunter/Jumper boarders coming in, Marcel was exposed to so many new things including jumps, horses moving in different directions and at different speeds and the worst of all, that a horse would actually jump the jump while he was in the arena!


"Marcel is of the opinion that you go 'around' an obstacle, never 'over' it! Which brings me to our trail riding adventures."

Always having worked in enclosed arenas and being a bit rail bound, the concept of trail riding and tons of open space sent him into a dither. Dealing with brush touching his underbelly or a duck landing on a lake were very frightening to Marcel at first and yet once when a deer ran out in front of him, something that would cause a trail horse to jump, Marcel instead took off after the deer!

"He seemed totally intrigued by it. I know we followed it for no less than a quarter mile, only stopping because the deer jumped a fallen tree! That is where Marcel put his 'hoof' down. No Jumping! I gave up fighting with him when I lost the battle trying to get him to step over a 4" branch one day! I try to pick my battles more wisely...well most of the time." Pam said as she glanced up and grinned.


After owning Marcel for almost 2 years they were headed into the show ring for the first time. She rode him saddleseat. This was old hat to Marcel and if he felt like it, he could really put on a show. In their very first show, in their very first class together they won! Pam was so unprepared for the outcome, she had to ask the ring steward where to go to get her ribbon!

to be continued..