Why dressage aside?

Back in the late 1980s I used to show. At the same time there was a lady who used to ride in the hack classes aside and it absolutely fascinated me. She looked so elegant and it seemed so effortless to her. As an aside, if you ever watch the movie “The Piano” (which was filmed in New Zealand) at the very beginning, during the opening credits, a lady rides sidesaddle across the screen. It is the same lady I used to watch in the hack classes, riding a friend’s horse!

And so sidesaddle sat at the back of my mind, one of those things I always wanted to try or have a go at. Time moved on and in 1996 I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and in 2002, after the birth of my oldest son, it became incredibly aggressive and went on the rampage through my body. Most of my joints are compromised but particularly my hands, wrists, elbows, hips and ankles. I never thought of giving up riding, I always knew I would continue, it just became more a question of “how”. Sidesaddle has been the answer.

Unfortunately in New Zealand sidesaddles and their riders are quite rare, our NZSS Association only has about 40 members for the entire country (population of about 4 million) And of those 40 only a handful are active riders.  Those riders all tend to “show” which doesn’t particularly interest me, as my mare is not really show quality, and I find dressage far more technically challenging. However, no one rides dressage aside here. A couple have done demonstration rides but nobody actually competes in dressage sidesaddle. I was up against a brick wall. Dressage NZ is a bit resistant to anything “different” or “unusual” and I knew I had to find an angle and then it hit me!

In March 2009 I was classified for para-dressage as a Grade IV rider and sidesaddle was listed as my main “compensating aid”. Thus began the battle against bureaucracy to be allowed to compete in dressage aside. In September 2010 I formally wrote to Equestrian Sport New Zealand (which is the governing body for dressage in NZ) requesting to be allowed to use my compensating aid in “able-bodied” dressage. I quoted FEI rules and my para-rider classification and now I am playing a waiting game. I was told I would hear back by Christmas, which hasn’t happened. Now I should expect to hear something back in January.

They can’t ignore me forever, I’m quite stubborn and the more they tell me I can’t, the more I dig my toes in and demand I will. Fortunately I have the NZ Para-classifier on my side. If we have to, the next time the Australian classifier is here I will be seen by her, as I need 2 classifications for my international/FEI competition ticket. Once I have an FEI passport then ESNZ *has* to allow me to ride sidesaddle although it seems like a lot of hoops to jump just to ride training level aside!