Where did the last month go?

I've just realised that its been over a month since I last posted. I've got my nose stuck in a work project that is sucking quite a bit of time at the moment, so everything else seems to be sliding by.

I haven't been up to much, but I do need to take some photos of some little horsey jobs I've ticked off, so will get on to that this coming weekend.

But I do have to say that today in the mail I got a beautifully wrapped package from Karen Trevor (insert squeal of delight!). It's so pretty and I can't believe how comfortable it is. I've got a couple of spiral steel waist trainers but Karen's beauty is far more comfortable. So piks of that will most definately follow soon :)

I'm in lust...

 I should really stop looking for sidesaddles for sale. Today I spotted this new listing at The Sidesaddlery:  Owen sidesaddle

*  It's a O.N.E.

* 22" so long enough for me.

* Outside billets which I just LOVE.

* And a tree wide enough to fit Molly.

My only complaint would be it doesn't have wide pommels, which I really prefer.

But at that price I would have to sell a child, or maybe a child's kidney... its ok to sell a child for spare parts on eBay to pay for a sidesaddle right...? ;)

Last report for a wee while...

We had our last show for awhile on sunday. Hubby is off to London this week for work, and with a number of other things going on, we won't get out again until Xmas.

Anyway the wee pony was a star, and we rode our best tests yet. We came second in both, scoring 58% and 60%. Not earth shattering I know, but she was calm and consistent and I was rapt to see on the video how she is softly swinging her tail at the trot - that is such a huge breakthrough for us! We finished our second test and got a standing ovation from the peanut gallery, which was really special :)

Hubby videoed both tests and watching it we have heaps to work on - Molly needs a much steadier connection to work into, and I need to really work on my position. I have a tendancy to "water ski" and I need to sit straighter and more up over my right thigh. I would love to load the video onto youtude for comments/critiques from you guys, but we don't have broadband and it was going to take 4 hours to upload a 5 minute test. If I manage to talk someone with broadband into doing it for me I'll post a link.

Here's my favourite shot from the day:

We *almost* had dressage today...

We were entered in two level 1 tests aside today. Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, cleaned all my gear and loaded up the trailer. Then a southerly change came through and it did look a bit miserable.

I was up extra early - not only did I have an early start time, but daylight savings started here, so clocks all went forward an hour this morning. There had been minimal rain overnight but I will admit it was bitterly cold when I headed out. The metservice said 4 degrees but 0 with windchill. I finished loading up, brought in Molly and plaited her forelock and washed her wee sock.

At 8am I headed back inside and checked both the website and Facebook account of the dressage group, who said any decision about postponement would be made by 7.30am. There was nothing, and while we had a small amount of rain while I was getting ready you could see that it would clear up so I assumed "yip, all go".

So back outside, loaded up Molly and headed off. It is nearly an hour drive for me to where the dressage is held, I turn into their road and think "this is weird, no one is here". Then I saw the big sign on their gate "DRESSAGE POSTPONED". I was not happy! By this stage it wasn't even raining, and in fact the sun came out. I had to turn around and drive nearly an hour home again. 

When I checked online they had sent out an email at 8.15am saying it was postponed. Hmmmm...

1-  I didn't think to check my email, since they said they would put it on FB and their website. And

2-  Given classes started at 9.30am it was a bit late postponing it just over an hour before it was due to start!

I'm a bit miffed, I was actually looking forward to it, and with Rob away soon to the UK and some other things going on, this was my last chance to get out before Xmas :(

Learning how much you don't know

We are very lucky in that a UK qualified sidesaddle instructor recently returned to New Zealand. Sally was taught to ride by Betty Skelton, and she has shown and hunted aside for decades. Unfortunately she is based over 5 hours away from me, but she intends to come to Canterbury on a semi-regular basis to teach.

She was here this last weekend, so sunday morning me and my two mad sidesaddle mates met at the local arena for a full on lesson.  We had hoped to get some jumping in, but we spent over an hour on saddle fit alone. And HORROR my custom made, recently repacked sidesaddle doesn't fit Molly *wail*

Sally was instantly aware of my problem when I whipped off Molly's travel rug, and the first words out of her mouth were "goodness what a rolly-polly!" I also had to point out that this was Molly at her most svelte. lol

We can do things to make my sidesaddle fit, Sally said that part of the problem was that the bottom is a really soft serge, so the flock just doesn't stay in place and keeps flattening out. We discussed all sorts of options, even perhaps stripping the entire bottom of my sidesaddle and putting it on a wyckham pad, although given the tree is too wide already, I am concerned that would make it impossibly wide. Plus the work can't be done in NZ, as there is no one experienced enough to do it, so it would be incredibly expensive to send it overseas to be done.

Sally had us doing all sorts of exercises at a walk, including no stirrup work, and was constantly correcting our positions, and defiantely showed us where we were going wrong and how to feel that right thigh. She was always telling me to sit up over my right thigh in trot, as I tend to lean back (defensive riding on Molly when she tanks off), although she did say that I had a lovely position at the canter :)

At the end of the lesson Sally showed us two gorgeous old name saddles she had brought back with her from the UK. One was an Owen on a wyckham pad which we put on Molly so I could have a wee ride to feel the difference. OMG... what an epiphany... I could instantly feel my weight dropping into my right hip and I was centred in a way I have never felt before. I almost felt tipped to the right, I'm so used to fighting a left hand pull. I actually wish I had never ridden in it, my sidesaddle just doesn't compare now, and I don't know what to do.

Financially it is far too expensive to strip mine and put it on a wyckham pad, plus I think that will make it too wide. We can kind of "make do" for now, the fit is not too bad with the pad I made, and next time Sally is done she will spend some time tweaking it. I feel it might be better to save up my money over the next couple of years, and buy a decent sidesaddle for my youngster, who will probably only be a medium to medium-wide. But it doesn't stop that longing for a well-made, perfectly balanced O.N.E.S. with that"sweet spot" honed by decades of riding... *sigh*

The morning with Sally definately highlighted how much I don't know with regard to saddle fit and position and we are planning to get together for lessons whenever Sally can make the drive down to us. She is also going to show me how to drive Molly, as she has some ideas for helping to improve her trot through long-reining & driving. It's so fanastic to finally find someone who can help us and who has such an amazing depth of knowledge that she is happy to share.

I jumped... the world's smallest fence :)

I have a fellow sidesaddler who is also an eventer and show jumper (show jumps well over 1 metre YIKES!), who talked me into hiring the local show jump arena to have a play at jumping sidesaddle. Two things you need to know here:

1. I don't jump. I occassionally play over a cavaletti and that's it.

2. I have NEVER attempted jumping sidesaddle!

For a few days now the weather forecasters have been predicting "the worse snow storm in living memory" so part of me was hoping sunday morning I would wake to a winter wonderland... no such luck, it was mild and sunny. So I loaded up Molly and off we went.

I got to the arena first, so I made two teeny tiny fences for Molly and me to play with. My friend is a natural and once she got the hang of it she was off jumping all the *real* fences in the arena LOL

But here we are at our first attempt at sidesaddle jumping over the world's smallest fence :)

A bit much sky showing under my bottom!

I really like this last photo, it shows her change in attitude once we start playing with fences - ears pricked, forward moving, she is keen but at the same time careful to "look after mum"  :)

I have promised to get braver and see if we can get off the ground next time. Unfortunately we don't have access to any instructors here for sidesaddle jumping, so we are trying to teach ourselves. So please post any jumping tips!

Should I add to the collection...?

Rob announced today that he probably has to go to the UK for work in October.

I replied, "well if you are over there, why don't you bring me back a sidesaddle?"

Him, "ok, if that's what you want".

So... should I start looking for a medium wide gullet 21" or 22" O.N.E.S. that he could bring home with him? Do I *really* need to ask that question...? lol

I'm having a good week, I have heavy machinery in my backyard...

Molly isn't too sure what is going on, but she is highly suspicious (does this mean more work for her?) and she spends alot of her time just hanging out at the gate watching the digger, roller and bulldozer.

Watch this space for more updates. We are due heavy snow again this weekend, so all progress has halted until we see what the weather does, plus the ground will need to dry out before we do anything more. Roll on spring! :)

We have snow!

We have had a massive snow storm overnight with over 30cm of snow falling, and its still going off and on today.

The kids were so excited, its been a couple of years since we last had snow on the ground, so they immediately wanted to go out and have a snowball fight :)

I think they lasted about 5 minutes before they were both frozen. They didn't think to put gloves on... Apparently its the biggest snow dump we have had in 15 years. It sure is pretty out there.

Of the four horses, three are in wool lined canvas and were warm and dry. Poor Molly is wearing a brand new synthetic rug and they just don't seem to hold up to heavy snow, she was quite damp and chilled this morning. I brought her and my filly into the stables and let Molly dry out and re-rugged her before putting them back. 

The more I handle my filly the more I get excited about her, she has never seen snow before, her eyes were out on stalks and she just sticks with me and does whatever I ask of her, even though she wasn't sure about all the white stuff everywhere - she has a real "I trust you mum" attitude :)

We did have another very unimpressed member of the household...

The only problem now is once all that snow melts my paddocks are going to turn into mud :(

Dressage today = epic FAIL!

Well things did not bode well for dressage today right from the start. I have a massive head cold and feel like complete crap and seriously toyed with scratching early this morning. But we had a fantastic ride yesterday, plus the show was only 20 minutes down the road - so I dosed up on cold & flu tablets and headed off.

When Molly came off the float I knew things just weren't right. She was very tense and didn't tuck into her hay net like she normally does (she's a bit of a labrador and very food motivated) but stood pawing at the ground. 

"uh oh..." I thought....

So we tacked up and had attracted quite an audience of specators by the time I walked over to the mounting block. And boy was she tense! We walked and walked and walked and she just got more and more tense. I did the first test and simply laughed at her the whole way through. Her trot work was hideous - tense, choppy, above the bit and resistant the whole way. There's nothing like a row of spectators when your horse is pitching a fit and going god damn awful. Although her canter work was certainly active.

I went to the office and scratched from our second test - I said I didn't want to demonstrate how secure sidesaddle was when your horse has a full on tantrum! And I was glad that I did, by the time I got her back to the float she was shaking, her adrenaline was so high.

When I unloaded her at home, after another short 20 minute trip, she was dripping sweat, and I had to wash her down again. Then putting her away she reared at the gate, pulled the lead rope through my hand and crashed past the fence to take off. That is NOT normal behaviour for Molly.

I am wondering if something happened in the float on the way down, as at one point I thought I heard her calling out, which is really unusual. We also had a bee fly into her face when we were warming up and I thought she was going to start rearing trying to get rid of it, but I'm pretty sure it didn't sting her. 

Definately not a good day, but her behaviour is so out of character (even when she is a complete chestnut mare and nutty to ride, she is always a gem to handle) so I'm going to keep an eye on her for the next day or two.

In the meantime we'll keep working on relaxation at home - our next outing is a month away.

To hog or not?

I'm seriously considering hogging Molly's mane, does anyone have pros/cons of doing it? I've been told it takes absolutely ages to grow back if I do and goes through a spikey, stick straight up in the air phase also.

BUT - her winter cover has rubbed out the bottom of her mane again and there is only something like 4 strands of hair left, which is impossible to plait anyway. Plus with the arthritis in my hands I get quite stressed about plaiting, as they just aren't as neat & tight as I used to be able to do. So it would save me quite a bit of time and save me worrying about whether they look good enough or not.

But I haven't seen any dressage horses with hogged manes, so I'm not sure if its the done thing or not? And we don't really show, and if I do I tend to put Molly in the cob classes anyway (where it's acceptable to hog).

So I think I'm leaning towards hogging it, but just can't bring myself to pick up the clippers!

Quick update

Well I haven't posted for a wee while and thought I would give a bit of an update. It's the middle of winter here, we've just passed the shortest day and I have planted my garlic. It's been really dry, which is unusual, and the temperature is dropping. We have had a few mornings with hard frosts and the mercury below zero. I wasn't too happy to pull out my winter wool riding apron to discover the mice have been snacking on it all summer long! grrr... they have even chewed all the wool off the covered buttons. It's a lovely wool/cashmere blend that I bought off eBay and it is so warm on the frosty mornings. I'm going to have to cover it in patches and I will look like I am schooling with a patch work quilt as a knee blanket...

I managed to talk a local saddle fitter into repacking my sidesaddle. He is originally from the UK and has done a fair bit of work on sidesaddles but hasn't touched them for years, mainly because of the crap that people find here and then expect him to make it work. So I traded outrageously on my neighbour's good standing in the local equestrian community and he said he would look at it, as a favour to her. It also helped that it is a new saddle and only needed a repack. Although he did tell me that I was responsible if he developed night terrors from having to look at a sidesaddle again! lol

So that is done and it has made a huge difference BUT it is still twisting to the left at the front. I suspect Molly is like Leila's Hattie and her shape just isn't compatible with the billet placement, so there's probably nothing I can do about it. I also suspect I am unconsciously putting too much weight into the stirrup and pulling the saddle over myself. I need to have an experiment and ride without a stirrup to see if it still happens, but I do think Molly's round shape is the larger portion of the problem.

I am seriously thinking about starting to put some money aside for a decent sidesaddle for my youngster. Honey will be 3 this Christmas and I will send her away to be broken in. I figure I will start her under sidesaddle when she is about 6, so that gives me 3 years to save my pennies. I *really* want a Laura Dempsey sidesaddle, they look devine. But by the time I factor in the exchange rate, shipping, insurance and the local taxes I will get hit with here (another 25%) it could cost me nearly $10,000 NZD. That's a serious amount of money just for a sidesaddle :(

I am going to wait and see what Honey is like undersaddle and also decide how serious I want to be about this dressage thing. If I really want to have a crack at the NZ para-dressage squad with Honey then I definately need to spend the money and get her a custom sidesaddle, as I will need to be competitive at about level 4/5 to have a chance. Anyway those are the long term goals that I toss around in my head at night.

I have decided to carry on pottering around with Molly. So many people have told me to sell her, that she's a dog and not worth my time (because she is tense, highly reactive and anxious) and there have been many tearful days here contemplating her sale. I did advertise her and pulled her ad after just 10 minutes, I couldn't do it. She is my sidesaddle pony, she's fantastic to handle and very respectful of my damaged joints, and so darn smart aside that she keeps me on my toes. Riding is my physical therapy (which most people don't realise) and she keeps me moving and active. That is worth far more to me than a few ribbons.

So that is all that is happening. The next dressage competition is 16 July and I need to decide in the next week whether I am going to enter or not :)

More earthquakes

We had a magnitude 5.5 at lunch time and then a magnitude 6.0 at 2.20pm. There is more damage in town and buildings down, 50,000 houses have lost power and liquifaction is back again. The kids' school closed early, they were all out on the playing field when I got there at 2.30pm. So many of the wee kids were in tears, they were so scared, its so heart breaking. The cracks in the house get wider with each quake, but at least the stables are fine!

And to top it off Rob can't even come home, as we have the ash cloud from the South American volcano over us as well and all flights are grounded. When will Mother Nature leave us alone?  :(

Big Bertha

I can't believe I actually forgot to mention that I *cough* acquired another sidesaddle! I now have two, I guess that is how collections start? lol

It is incredibly hard to find sidesaddles in New Zealand, there just isn't the number of saddles down here. I had toyed with buying myself a western sidesaddle for trail riding, but then I spotted this one for sale up in the North Island. It has been recently refurbished (so didn't require any work) which was a bit of a deciding factor.

It has been christened Big Bertha as it is just enormous, I feel like a child in it, but she is ohhhh so comfy :) Its not a sidesaddle that I would do dressage in, I can't "feel" Molly like I can in my Tidbold sidesaddle, but its a great second sidesaddle (and did I mention how comfortable it is?), and I like that I now have a sidesaddle I can lend out to interested people who want to have a go, since nobody else down here will do that.

The girth is too short unfortunately, it was a struggle to get it in the last hole on each side. I have a saddle fitter coming shortly and hopefully he will be able to extend it on one side, to give us some extra length to play with.

I would be interested in any opinions as to age. It has a cut back head and a fairly level seat. It has an ordinary roller stirrup bar, but a two position leaping head, which I thought was a fairly "modern" invention? And I've not seen it on an old sidesaddle that wasn't a O.N.E.S before. The leaping head also collapses, and has an intriguing square ring on the end. What was the purpose of the collapsible head and what could the wee ring be for?

Collapsible leaping head and a small square ring on the end

The saddle is quite long, 22" from in front of the upright pommel. And the pommels themselves are huge, I can only imagine what sort of imposing figure it was made for!

Of chickens and vegetables...

Winter is nearly upon us, and my sidesaddle desperately needs a repack - and I'm still trying to talk somebody into doing it for me! So I'm going to digress today, as I have been putting the veggie patch to bed. Plus I lust after the set-up over at Too Many Tomatoes :)

I have 6 beds that are 1 metre by 5 meters. 4 are laid out radiating off the central statue (making a big X) and then 2 on each side. I also have two large beds either side of the shed. One is my asparagus bed (to the right of the shed) and the other (to the left of the shed) is going to have globe artichokes.

On the other side of the hedge is the chicken run, the pond and it will also be the orchard and has the larger veggie beds and my berry house. I decided to let the chickens free range as their run gets so muddy in winter. This is how they repaid me... this USED to be the winter veggies - silverbeet, cauliflower, kale, cabbages, broccoli and pumpkin...

The culprits!

We will eventually put a chicken proof fence around the outside of the bed to stop them getting in. Since they have trashed it anyway I am letting them scratch everything up, as they do a fantastic job of turning the soil over. They are like little rotary hoes.

Hubby built me a berry house last summer, so at least they can't get in there. 

The fruit trees are coming in July and I am planning on planting them into large 4WD tyres. It gets quite wet out here because of the pond, and I want to raise the trees up a bit. Plus we can run the irrigation on top of the tyres, and hopefully hubby won't run it over when he mows... :)

Show Report

Well I will admit to my reservations at 6.30am, wandering out to the paddock in the dark (and freezing cold!) trying to distinguish Molly from Jasmine with no torch when they are both the same size with the same blaze. I ended up counting white socks in the muted moonlight to make sure I had the right horse! lol

And dispite the apprehension I had, that there might be a bit of a fuss, the show organisers, judges and competitors were lovely. I had heaps of hands to hold Molly while I got my apron organised and people were just so supportive and interested. Not at all what I expected from the serious DQs and the registered judges (who can be terribly harsh in their judging).

I didn't warm in for long, my saddle is seriously sliding to the left now, the panel looks quite deflated, and I didn't want to risk going too far over. So we did about 15 mins w/t/c and then chilled out waiting our turn. 

Molly put in an average performance, probably much the same as how we go at home. However she was obedient and is actually starting to listen to me now, so I was thrilled with both tests and finished up with a big smile on my face. It just "feels" so much better sidesaddle!

We came away middle of the field in both classes (6th & 7th out of 15) and scored 60% and 62%.

Her trot is still tense & rushy and our canter departs were muddled and need to be a lot snappier. So we have heaps to work on at home through winter and there is scope for us to make some big improvements.

Can I call myself a SSDQ now? :)

I did it.

I stuck my entry into the mailbox :)

We will be doing level 1, tests 2 and 5.

The good news is that neither test has that horrid 20m stretchy posting trot circle. The bad news is the weather has completely packed up here, it is wet and miserable, and I can't ride. So I'm not sure how we will go with no work! I can't use my neighbour's arena when it is wet and the grass in the paddock is too slippery. I'm going to have a go at lunging Molly in the driveway...

Do I or don't I...?

Coming up at the end of the month is a local dressage day. I have spoken to the organiser and she is happy for me to ride sidesaddle based on my para-classification. So IF I enter it would be our "official" level 1 sidesaddle debut.

But I don't know if I want to do it now... I have a major case of cold feet. I know people will stare at us and I just don't feel good enough. On the other hand winter is fast approaching and this could be our last show of the season. Plus numbers at this time of the year are much lower, so it would be a much quieter/less pressure debut than if I wait until Spring.

Hmmm.... I have to send off my entry this week if I am going... so do I or don't I...?

2 days of classical dressage aside :)

Well I have had two days of classical dressage aside and I am exhausted but happy :)

We have a trainer that comes down here every 6 to 8 weeks and she does 3 days of lessons. I had emailed beforehand and asked if I could ride sidesaddle and she was willing to give it a go. This trainer had spent some years in Europe with Egon von Neindorff  (now deceased) and also clinics with Philippe Karl when he is in Australia. I had devoured PK's book "Twisted Truths" but lack the practical knowledge to apply it. I had also struggled to find a local trainer who used classical principles, let alone knew who PK was... *sigh* then I found this trainer by chance  :) There is also a good dose of Baucher flexions thrown in, with work in hand to mobilise the jaw before we even move off.

Day 1 we spent mostly in walk, using flexion and counter-flexion to work on straightness (our nemesis at the moment) and also really trying to get Molly to relax, do little walk/trot and getting her to extend her neck. I was so conscious of trying to keep my weight to the right that I think I overdid it and started hitching my left hip. By the time I got home I had quite a nagging tightness/pain in the small of my back on the left side.

Day 2 started off with a bang, literally unfortunately. Just as I was walking Molly to the mounting block a child on a small motor cross bike appeared and proceeded to zoom in and out of the trees alongside the arena. If there is one thing in this world that Molly is terrified of, it is kids on small motorbikes! She leapt into the air and was a quivering mess, with diarrohea... :(

It took for 15 minutes to calm her down enough to get on. I explained to the trainer and said we would just have to see how it went, as I suspected I would have to bail before Molly hit the eject button. Fortunately the kid didn't last long and zoomed off 10 minutes into my lesson, but it took at least another 20 to get her adrenaline down. I was disappointed, but these things happen. We did get some nice trot work at times, and just at the end she had a brief look at our canter, so it wasn't a total waste of time. We obviously have HEAPS to learn and improve upon. I really like this approach, although it is slower it just feels right for us. It is quiet but insistent and doesn't compromise my joints by expecting me to enter into a tug of war with Molly.

One other thing I really like about this trainer is at the end of the clinic she gave me a homework sheet, with notes she wrote up for us to work on and gave us both short and long term goals to work on until we see her again.

So I will certainly be back when she is next down, and she said that she is looking forward to seeing us again. I guess a mad sidesaddle DQ livens things up a bit! lol

Who stole Autumn?

Autumn is normally our best growing period. Sure the mornings are cool and it gets darker quicker, but we usually have good daytime temperatures and enough occassional rain to get all the paddocks to leap into action. Given we have droughts over summer we really need our autumn growth to see us through winter. 

So who stole autumn? We seem to have gone from summer straight into winter. We have had quite a bit of rain and low, low temperatures. We had a southerly this week right off the Antarctic and it started snowing further south already!

The sun is out today but it is suppose to turn southerly again next week. There is a tiny bit of new growth in the paddocks, about 1 inch or so, in the 2 paddocks I reseeded. Fingers crossed May picks up a wee bit. On the plus side I turned our lucerne (alfalfa) paddock into baleage this year, so that will see the girls through the worse of winter, it is smelling divine already.

On the horsey front I have a new mare here for awhile. She belongs to a friend and is wintering here, and I can ride her too. She has been a pasture ornament for a some time, so I need to get her going. I am thinking of selling Molly, so need to decide what I am doing there :(

And I may have *accidentally* acquired another sidesaddle. I don't get that for a few more weeks, so hopefully my next post will be a horsey/sidesaddle update :)

"Loose lips sink ships"

Keeps those lips zipped ladies... we don't want any sidesaddle wisdom slipping out inadvertently.

Has a friend of acquaintance expressed an interest in trying sidesaddle? Then shake your head, say sorry you can't help.

Is a fellow sidesaddle rider searching for a piece of equipment or dress? Do you know an internet site or source where she may purchase what she is missing? Shhhuushhhh... keep that information under your hat.

See that beginner over there, the one struggling with her position? Let's just walk away, we couldn't possibly offer some useful pointers that will help her become a more secure rider.

Knowledge must be suppressed, we cannot allow the free exchange of information that may lead to more proficient riders or *horror* our numbers may increase. Let's remain silent and let sidesaddle keep its dignity as it slips beneth the waves to join the Titanic...

___________________________________________________________

This blog post has been dedicated to the "NEA".

I had never heard of the "NEA" until a couple of days ago, when I received an email on their behalf. This email accused me of theft of their images and implicity threathened a lawsuit. 

Apparently one of the images I have used originated from their website. Given the image is not watermarked, copyrighted, nor does it have any identifying features, I'm not sure how I was suppose to know that? I found it on a forum that was discussing how to make a linen habit and numerous photos of Edwardian habits were shown. I thought I was discussing a dress pattern but apparently I am undermining the very fabric of society...

I was then further lambasted as being one of a group of sidesaddle bloggers stealing information and the "Tips of the Month" from their website and using my blog to disemminate that information and (here's the kicker) assisting and offering hints to other sidesaddle riders! 

As I have already stated, I only heard about the NEA a couple of days ago. I have also reviewed their website and then flicked through my old posts, and I fail to see where I have been stealing information and tips wholesale from them. I always thought you needed a strong factual foundation for any lawsuit, perhaps this is not the case in the American legal system? 

I also fail to see the harm or damage caused - what pecuniary loss have they suffered at my hands?

I must truly be some evil mastermind, plotting to spread the sidesaddle word without the authorisation of the NEA...

Time to wake up and smell the coffee?

I have just sent off my FOURTH request to have my sidesaddle accepted as my compensating aid for dressage, as detailed on my para-classification and as allowed under the FEI Compensating Aids regulations. This request has gone to someone different, the previous three were all to one person who has ignored them all. What really p%$# me off is in January this person circulated forms she wanted completed by all the para-riders in order for our compensating aids to be endorsed. I filled in the forms (my third request) and returned them by 20 January as she requested, and... nothing... she is still sitting on them!

This time I have written to the Chairperson of Dressage NZ, but I am thinking "why am I bothering?"

I went to a local dressage competition on sunday (I doped myself up on codeine before hand so I could get through it astride) and we had a disappointing time. I was warned that the judge for our afternoon test was tough. Well she wasn't just tough on us - I thought she was unnecessarily cruel. The judge made it pretty clear from her comments that she thought I was wasting her time, there wasn't a single positive comment or positive critque :(

On top of that, I have now been told by 3 different people that Molly & I are not "show quality" and that we won't get looked at if we show aside.

So I think it might be time to face reality and shelve our dreams of competing aside. I will still ride sidesaddle at home, fortunately no one can stop me in my own backyard! My rheumatologist has told me that given how severe the arthritis is, I shouldn't be as mobile as I am and she puts it down to the exercise I get from riding. So I will definately continue riding as my physical therapy.

 

I just feel defeated and there is no point in having a goal, that is just setting us up for failure or as the butt of jokes :(

A wee bit of shopping

Saddle woes are doing my head in, but I *think* I may have found something to help. Leila has posted in the past about using a fleece girth sleeve at the front of her sidesaddle. This made me think of the saddle blankets you can get with the big, fat, fleece rolled edge. I wondered if something like that might help pad the gullet of my sidesaddle. So off I went to browse my favourite NZ online saddlery, the Tackshop. 

Where I found this:

It is described as "a unique system that involves the combination of closed cell foam and felted shim pads to raise and lower the front and rear of the saddle. Gives greater versatility and improves saddle fit." I'm thinking it might work with my sidesaddle, and allow me to raise the left rear and pad the right front. Unfortunately its not cheap, but I just sold my little GP saddle, so I am putting the money from that to good use! So I have ordered it and will let you know how it works out. Has anyone tried anything similar?

Horse of the Year 2011

Its a mixed bag on the home front at the moment. Hubby's work is off limits until possibly the end of the year (no one knows how long body recovery will take, and then the CBD has to be made safe again and there are so many buildings to be torn down, its just mind boggling) so he is commuting up to Wellington for his job. Fingers crossed he will be home at the weekends, but we are trying to get all the autumn jobs done before he heads off this weekend. Autumn seems to have arrived overnight and we have just reseeded 5 acres in a horse mix (cocksfoot, timothy, broome and prairie grass) so we need a bit of rain & warmth to get a flush before the temperatures drop too low.

Molly is being a right little troll at the moment, and I am so frustrated I have parked her in the paddock while I mentally "regroup". She gets anxious, curls behind the vertical, and does the horrible pony trot, and I'm at a loss as to how to push her out of it. The title photo is a good example of how she curls behind and  you can see the tension in her neck and tail. If I let the contact go she races off on the forehand, if I try to half-halt she throws her head and will even go backwards, or sideways, in the ditch.... My lesson that got cancelled is rescheduled for the end of next week, so I will be looking forward to what the new trainer has to say about the issue!

This week is a major week on the horsey calendar - it is the Horse of the Year show. It covers every discipline you can think of (eventing, showjumping, dressage, showing, endurance etc) and competitors have been working all season towards qualifying. The sidesaddle classes will be held on Wednesday and this year there are 8 riders in the classes, which is a great turnout. I'll be waiting for the results and photos to come in :)

Historical costumes

I've been thinking a bit about historical costumes lately. Not that I have seen any costume classes offered here (apart from once a year at our annual fun day) but I do like the idea of getting dressed up occassionally! I am torn as to what era to opt for and I found somewhere I could buy a pith helmet...

But there is something about the Regency era habits that I really like. I found photos of this one, that was made for the 1999 movie of Mansfield Park. I love the way it drapes.

I am tempted to get something like this made, but with a more "military" feel to the jacket. It just needs a bit of "Sharpe" to it...

The last great Victorian courtesan

My dressage clinic this weekend has been postponed, so nothing to report on that front. Had a rather "exciting" ride on Molly this morning, who has spent the last week sitting in the paddock and comfort eating. I threw the sidesaddle on her and off we went at a canter, except she wouldn't stop....! I pulled her left (which I now know NOT to do) and she kept cantering but was changing at the back constantly, now I also know why Robin says flying changes are a bit unsettling LOL. I had a moment when I thought I was going to hit the sand but we eventually came to a stop. My neighbour observed wrly that I was very brave, that all the horses have gone a bit nutty since the earthquake and everyone else has been chucking them on the lunge first...

Anyway... some time ago I read a book about some of the great courtesans and I came across Catherine Walters (1839-1920), known as "Skittles" to her friends. She was famous for her riding skill and she was equally renowned for the perfect fit of her habits, into which she had to be sewn. Whenever she appeared in Hyde Park, aristocratic women would rush to copy her dress, whilst their husbands would speculate as to whether she could possibly be wearing undergarments beneath her skin tight clothing...

Catherine "Skittles" Walters

 There is a book about her life and I am keeping an eye on Alibris to see if one surfaces, she sounds like a  fascinating character and I would love to find more photos of her riding out.