The wee sidesaddle!

I finally have a sidesaddle small enough to fit my lesson kids. I figured why not? They are definitely VERY hard to find. Let me tell you, this little saddle is just adorable! When I opened the box and pulled it out it was definitely an "Awww!" moment. I believe the seat measures 18" from the front of the leaping horn to the back of the seat and I thought to myself "Well it can't be *that* small, it's only 4" shorter than my saddle".
Yes, yes it can be! It's almost a miniature version of my saddle.

And of course the first thing I had to do was strap it to a horse and test it out... Well I gues *I* didn't get to test it out but one of my little lesson girls did. And surprisingly, to fit this big guy, it only took a 56" girth, with an extender and a stirrup leather to make the overgirth reach around his belly.

She was an absolute natural! They were both motoring around the arena in no time at all, trotting, leg yielding, weaving around some pylons. I have to say, for a little tiny saddle, it rides very nicely and stayed put quite well.

I said to her at the end of her lesson "So next week, you can decide if you'd like to ride in your regular sidesaddle or the little one." and she shouted "SIDESADDLE!!!". I'd say I've got another one hooked.... LOL

Exciting Christmas Present!

For Christmas my wonderful SO and my parents got together to pay for a trip to Maryland at the end of March for the ISSO Awards Banquet & Clinic. I couldn't have been more excited!!! I've been looking through the AAA Travel Book since Christmas and having so much fun looking at all of the neat things to do & see down there. I've really always wanted to travel to that part of the country. I'll also get to meet a LOT of people that I've only every talked with on the phone or via email. And I've even been invited to go foxhunting! I'm aiming to be there for just over a week and planning to cram as much in as possible!!!

I know a few of my blog followers are from that area, so hopefully we'll get to meet!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

We were away visiting family over the holidays and I didn't get a chance to do any posting. We had a great visit with lots of family that I haven't seen in a long time. We did a LOT of driving and a LOT of eating but I suppose that's what the holidays are all about! Hopefully you all had a wonderful Christmas & New Years as well!

Prior to leaving, I went to a dressage show and we tried out the 1st level tests. As you might recall I was having a lot of problems with a few pretty important parts of the test so I was nervous that we would completely tank. Well to my surprise, it all went very well! We nailed the canter to trot transitions, we got some nice lengthening, our canter loops were lovely, the stretchy trot circles were relaxed and very stretchy and we even managed the leg yeilds.... without a whip.
I decided not to ride with the whip because it was just creating too much tension, so I had schooled the leg yields a few times with the whip and then went without. I used that "phantom limb" theory and some bum movement on my part and there was the leg yield! I got a 6 for the leg yield to the left and a 6 to the right, so I figure I must have done it equally well both ways (or equally poorly haha).
And my scores? 60% on the first test (which was the easier one) and 62.5% on the second ! (even though we got lost in the test at one point... ooops!) We did much better than I thought we would, so maybe there is hope for 1st level next year.... Hmm....

I think I figured out what the problem was at home too. I couldn't believe how much we had struggled with some of the movements at home and then at the show, they were easy. I think the size of the arena is key! The show arena was HUGE compared to ours and allowed a lot more time between movements and it didn't feel so rushed. So I think if we decide to persue this further, we're going to need to school regularly at another bigger arena.

The Magical Stick.... First level here we come??

So since the Championships I was thinking to myself, would I continue to do some dressage next year? Or was this just a fun thing to do for this year? I really enjoyed the dressage shows, everyone was incredibly friendly and I just had a lot of fun.
The one thing that kept sticking in my mind was that we'd absolutely have to move up a level if we continued next year because... that's how it works. So I began reading through the 1st level tests and realized that the main difference between training and 1st is the addition of lengthened gaits and leg yielding. The lengthening didn't seem to be too much of an issue, we could do that and a leg yield to the right we could do, but what about the leg yield to the left.... Nah we'd never be able to do 1st level. I had tried it a few times with a dressage whip but it just didn't work, it wasn't stiff enough to actually ask her to move over.

There's a schooling show coming up this weekend that was I planning to take some of my lesson kids to and I was mulling over the idea of trying a 1st level test to see if we could somewhat get ourselves through it.

Now I must have the most supportive family when it comes to showing and this whole sidesaddle business because my mom gave me an early Christmas present the other day. She gave me an absolutely gorgeous sidesaddle whip. It's MUCH longer than than the hunt whips I've got and perfect for dressage.
I tried it out last night and I swear, this stick is magical!! I played around at the walk and trot to start with, so I could get used to riding with it and so Brigit could get used to it being there and then we tried a leg yield to the left and I swear, that horse has never leg yielded so well in all the time I've had her!! Down the quarter line we came, opened the left rein a bit and laid the stick against her belly and we had this amazing lateral feeling. Normally her hind end lags a little bit but with this whip in just the right spot you could feel everything engage and almost swing over underneath you. What a neat, lightbulb moment!

Now don't get me wrong, I know I'm in for a lot more work if we want to do 1st level and do it well but this is definitely a promising start!! I think the biggest challenge is going to be getting Brigit to relax when I'm riding with a whip.... she really doesn't like them and is so sensitive that if she even sees it move out of the corner of her eye she thinks it's time to move....Which could make that stretchy trot circle even more tricky to get.. I found the most difficult part was keeping it still at the canter; normally I'd rest it on my leg if I was astride but aside, it's really got nowhere to go. It'll probably just take a bunch of riding to get both of us used to it and desensitized a bit.

Not only is it magical.... but it's awfully pretty too!

One of these days I'll get a video of the infamous leg yielding to share too!

And I guess if I didn't officially have a collection of antique whips before.... I sure do now! I guess if I'm down to *only* 2 sidesaddles then it's ok to collect something else... hehe

He is DEFINITELY a keeper!

My significant other recently started a new job (ok not so recently, almost a month ago) and he's on shift work a few hours away. On one of his trips home, he stopped in a litttle town that is very well known for their antique shops. There's this one store that is just HUGE, 3 stories full of antiques of all sorts. And every once in awhile a little gem will pop up. He stopped in there, looked around for awhile and then asked the clerk if they happened to have anything related to sidesaddle riding.

And what do you know! The clerk says "Why yes actually! We just got this in the other day!" and pulls out this absolutely gorgeous ladies hunt whip.

Bamboo shaft, antler handle and an absolutely gorgeous engraved silver collar. What a find!

And being the good man he is, he brought it home for me!

Here's a close up of the handle & collar.

The other end was missing the waxed cord that's usually wound around to help secure the "snapper" (I can't think of the actual name for that little bit of leather on the end right now... duh!) and I was worried that it might come off if I ever tried to use it, even just for demo purposes. So I figured I'd stop by the local leather repair place and see what they could suggest. Turns out they had just what the doctor ordered. Though I'm wondering if I should have used a darker color?
Here's the end all fixed up.

Photos from the summer

I look at these photos and recall how HOT that wool habit was to wear that day. And then I look outside today.... and I'd be glad to have it on! It's snowing and about -8, roads aren't great and it's an overall good day to be inside!
Anyways, my mother ordered some photos from a local photographer that came down to see our sidesaddle demonstration at the Bar U clinic. She is just AMAZING and seemed to catch the horses at exactly the right moments.

Doesn't Brigit just look amazing? (I'm still not sure how well I like the look of a bowler on me... lol)

Crossing the creek makes for some great photos.

And this is my friend Cait & her little gelding Eddie. He's technically a pony but don't tell him that! His ego is more than big enough to keep up with Brigit's size! They really do make the ultimate pleasure pairs couple.

Our hunter-jumper re-debut!

I say re-debut because we used to show hunter-jumpers but now we're trying it in a sidesaddle!

I have to say I was SO pleased with Brigit. I warmed her up astride because I thought she might get a bit looky at some of the decorations (it was full blown Christmas in the ring!) and I thought it would be better to get her settled with a leg on each side first. She was SO quiet and SO good I could hardly believe it. No spooks, no speedy-ness, no rushing or pulling on me. Just a nice soft easy going pony.

Went back and changed tack and I changed into my sidesaddle attire (which I was up till 11:30 pm finishing!) and back into the ring we went! Boy were a lot of people VERY surprised to see me riding sidesaddle and I got a lot of "You're not going to JUMP like that are you?!?!"... You betcha!!
Warming up in our fancy Christmas outfit...

Let me tell you I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. We went in and did a few warmup jumps and everything went really smoothly so my nerves settled down a bit. My next fear.... forgetting the course! But thank goodness for the hunter world.... Love their easy to remember, flowing courses. Quarterline, diagonal, outside line, diagonal, outside line and DONE.

Our first division was the 2'0" classes. The course rode really nicely and I thought we nailed every jump except one. Boy was this TIRING though! My leg was aching already after one round! 3 more to go and 2 flat classes!

We made it around the courses and had a really fun time. I was pretty proud of myself that we'd survived and actually made it look not too bad! And we'd placed in every class! We ended up with two 3rd's, a 4th, two 6th's and an 8th. Definitely not too shabby at all! The classes were fairly big and the riders were very good. You could tell most of them are pretty serious hunter riders, so I think we did well considering we were really just kind of winging it.

This is a video of one of our 2'3" rounds... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u8BCBy1RwU

The owner of the barn we were at (who's on the Canadian Equestrian Team) was helping to hand out ribbons on the last division and was so impressed that we had jumped sidesaddle! He asked if we'd be showing in any other classes as he'd really like to see it (didn't get to see our previous rounds). I said I wasn't too sure, I was getting pretty tired and Brigit was too. Plus we hadn't jumped 2'6" sidesaddle. I figured I'd try a few warmup jumps and they went well... So I figured what the heck, why not. Well.... we probably shouldn't have... it was not a good round. I think my right leg was just too tired and for the life of me I couldn't find a nice distance to any of the fences, nor could I stay with the motion. There was a few times I thought I was going to get ejected! We made it around the course but let me tell you... it wasn't pretty. The barn owner was still pretty impressed though and offered to let us do another round but I declined, I was just too tired.

From looking at some of the photos, I can see that I definitely need to fix my position. It appears that I'm tipping over to the left over the fences, so no wonder I was feeling like I was nearly getting chucked out of the saddle on the landing. Hopefully with more practice and awareness that I'm doing it, I can fix it. At this point... I sure can't imagine going any higher (though I'd LOVE to!). There has to be something I'm doing or not doing quite right that's holding me back.... hmm..... A new challenge to conquer!
This is the photo that shows me tipping to the left badly!

Into orbit we go! Well...hopefully not anyways!

So tomorrow is the big day. It's our first official "hunter-jumper" over fences show....sidesaddle.

I think I'm prepared.... at least I hope I am! I jumped again last night and things seemed to be going really well, so hopefully when we get to the show we can pull off a few nice rounds (or at the very least, not make a gigantic idiot out of ourselves lol).

I even tried out my new apron last night.... Yes that's what I've been making with all that fancy fabric. A Christmas sidesaddle outfit. Apron, vest & stock tie. I was really impressed by how well the apron fit & it hangs just about perfectly level, pretty good for my second try at making one!

The stock tie took me awhile to figure out how to tie the darned thing (probably longer than it took me to make it), I've only ever had the fake, pre-tied ones. I sat in the bathroom, in front of the mirror with my laptop on the counter, trying to follow along with the a youtube video. It was a bit funny but I think I've got it down pat now! (btw, these are extremely easy to make).
Here's the video if anyone wants to learn how to tie a proper stock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9-ypyBARQU

Tonight will be a busy one with all of the prep... Ride, bath Brigit, clean tack, swap bits to different bridles, clean boots, iron clothes, make sure everything is in the trailer and hopefully get some sleep!

Oh and I've got to finish my vest... Turns out the sizing on the package of the pattern and the sizing on the actual pattern itself... were different. i.e. the vest is MUCH too big for me and needs some major alterations. Just hoping I can get it done tonight!!

The jumping condundrum....

This whole jumping business makes me go "hmm.....". I've been practising it a fair bit and it is getting better but I still don't feel like I'm that good at it. X-rails, we can do all day long and they are feeling really good. However, once it goes up to a vertical.... things seem to fall apart a bit.
Part of the issue is maintaining a good rhythm (on the accordian mare as I like to refer to her as...) and thus, finding a nice distance. It seems that our tendancy is to come up to the fence with a good rhythm and at the last minute, suck back and pop a nasty chip in. Let me tell you, it doesn't feel nice on the back. However, neither does taking off from a really long spot and launching over the fence...

I'm definitely feeling a little bit intimidated by the fact that I entered in a show this friday and it's mainly jumping.... It's bizarre to be a bit wigged out by a 2'0" and 2'3" division... That's just small potatoes... but not so much in a sidesaddle. I figure as long as my right leg doesn't give out and I can cling on, we should at least make it around even if it isn't totally pretty... lol

Issue #2 is jumping a fence on the right lead vs. the left lead. I seem to have a heck of a time keeping my right shoulder back over the fence and on landing. My whole body really wants to twist to the left over the fence, again, doesn't feel so nice especially combined with a not so nice distance....

Hopefully we can get this down pat in the next few days and don't make a complete arse out of ourselves!! LOL

I dunno about this....

Hmmm.... So I'm supposed to go to a show this weekend, dressage on Saturday (eeek more new tests to remember!) and some hunter stuff on Sunday. They have some smaller classes (X-rails, 2' and 2'3") that I was thinking I might attempt sidesaddle. I'm excited but nervous at the same time! I think we've got this jumping business down pat and we had a really nice ride tonight, including some jumps and such but I can definitely feel a crick in my back after riding! Lets hope I don't feel like I've been hit by a bus after this weekend! lol

Few more days to practice, so hopefully we can wing it and have some fun!

Feeling art-sy!

I bought some prints awhile ago and finally in September, got around to getting them framed. I had WAY too much fun at the framing place picking out frames and mattes. They were finally done on the weekend so we picked them up, they turned out SO well! Now the main issue.... where do I find room to hang them?!?!

Sorry about the reflection on some of them, without the flash, the true colors weren't really showing through and they looked really washed out.

This one is my absolute favorite hands down.

Pics from Provincials!

Here are some more pictures of us in action at the Championships! Thanks again for all the congrats & nice comments everyone! I love sharing this stuff with you guys!

(The squarest halt we've ever had.... All thanks to a "dip" right at X! LOL)

Looks like I've started yet another collection

How does that song go? Something about being excited about whips?? Well you bet I am! But I only get excited about antique whips, especially hunt whips!

On our holiday to British Columbia we did a fairly obscene amount of antique shopping. Whenever I'm parusing the piles of interesting old stuff, I've always got that "holy grail" in mind. You guys know what I mean... Anything sidesaddle related, an actual sidesaddle itself is especially exciting, photos, boots, hats etc. It seems up here hunt whips are few and far between but every once in awhile you can strike it rich and come across one. Most are in pretty terrible shape, likely because a lot of people have no idea what they are and just toss them aside.

A few years ago while antique shopping with some friends, I found this lovely little whip at a shop that specializes in military antiques. It's fairly large so I'm assuming it's a man's hunt whip.

On our holidays we came across a shop that had a GORGEOUS ladies whip, lash & all still intact. I gasped when I saw it and knew it HAD to come home with me. (think little girly squeals on the way out of the store with it in hand! lol) The little silver collar has the initials "E.A." on it. I wonder who E.A. was? I believe the shaft is covered in braided/woven linen. The leather was really dry and I feared that the lash might break right off so I carefully oiled it and I think it will hold a bit better now.

We stopped by another antique shop that specializes in movie props and all kinds of interesting stuff and you guessed it! I found ANOTHER one! This one with braided leather on the shaft and in almost perfect condition! It is MUCH more stout, so it's definitely a man's whip. The guys at the store had no idea what it was (to my advantage) so I got it for a song! On the collar are tiny letters "ZK", maybe it's a whip made by Zair? I'm not sure!

And all three together to show the size & color differences!

I think I can safely say, I've got a collection of whips now too! I want to build a little "whip rack" to put in the living room to show them off. Maybe that'll be a winter project though!

Back from holidays! On to the saddle search!!

We had a good time, did WAY too much running around trying to visit as many people as possible but that's ok! I'm actually quite happy to be at work today and "relax" at my desk and not be in a car!
We had a great visit with a lot of our relatives and ended off our trip with a wedding on Saturday. We had a GREAT time and I got to wear a fun new dress I ordered online.

This week I'm going to focus my attention on a search for a new sidesaddle. Brigit has put on some weight through her back and my sidesaddle is not fitting well anymore. Likely this has been a bit of an issue all along but now that she's a bit chubbier, I'm thinking it has gotten worse. The point on the nearside of the saddle is too curved and is digging into her side. I noticed a sore spot on her side after our last show and ran my hand down under the saddle and what do you know.... Ouch! I always think to check how the top portion of the saddle is fitting but I suppose I didn't think of that. I will know now!

So now I'm on the hunt to find something different. Going to do multiple wither tracings tonight and send them off to various people and see what we can dig up! I've seen some lovely saddles around! Unfortunately it will mean that I have to begrudingly give up one of my sidesaddles to pay for it. I would love to keep them all and just hoard them! But they might as well be enjoyed by someone else. The Great West saddle I will NEVER sell but my Champion & Wilton I probably will. I'm torn on selling my Aulton & Butler, I love that saddle and it was my very first one.... So I'm humming & hawing about it! I guess I'll cross that bridge when I find one that's suitable!

Another successful show aside! Updated with a video link!

We went to another show today and did the Training level tests 2 & 3. Brigit was really settled & calm and behaved really well.

We only had one hiccup in the first test (test 2) - in our poor attempt at a stretchy circle, we broke into a canter accidently, the judge gave us a "4".... Ooops! I think that's the worst mark I've gotten on a movement thus far. We still managed to score 69% and get 2nd place out of 14 people though! Just imagine if we would have been more successful on that movement!

Test 3 we nailed that stretchy circle and got an "8" on it (Boo yah! lol) and I felt like the test overall went WAY better than the first one, it was smooth, consistent and I thought our transitions were pretty bang on. However I guess it didn't look like it to the judge! We got 3rd place and a 68%. Still really good considering there was 16 people in the class. She commented a bunch of times that Brigit's poll was too low, which she does tend to do a lot, mostly when she's upset. But I really didn't think she looked or felt that bad. Ah well! I'm still really happy with our ride!

Here's the video from our 2nd test today, what do you think? (Also, Robin if you're reading this, any thoughts on the poll too low thing? How can I fix/improve that?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMJA_mo8rHg

We got lots of nice compliments on our turnout, I'm so glad the weather was a decent temperature, not too warm & with a nice breeze. I was still pretty hot in the wool habit with the wool vest underneat but hey, the price of lookin good!

Exciting news & pro pictures!

I've really had nothing too interesting to post about lately (I'm sure you're sick of hearing about my gigantic tomato plants haha) hence my slight break in posts.

We ordered some pictures from the photographer at the dressage show we went to and they finally came! Her pictures are SO much better than the ones my camera took. Wish I hadn't had such goofy faces in so many though! LOL

This is my favorite.

Our attempt at a stretchy trot, doesn't look all too bad but we can do sooooo much better! (Think western pleasure pony with nose almost to the ground)

There must have been something scary in the distance, it's really hard to get a pic with B's ears forward!

I wish I didn't look so grouchy!

This one is really cool & very artsy! Just love how all the colors are so rich.

Now onto the exciting news!! My scores were good enough from that show, to qualify me for the Alberta Provicial Dressage Championships ANNNND the Western Canadian Regional Dressage Championships!! I'm really excited, this is really further than I've ever made it in terms of riding, it's a big accomplishment for me. When I did the hunter & jumper thing, I did so/so but didn't put this much effort into it and it's really paying off. So of course, this is an opportunity not to be passed up! I'll be saving my pennies and practicing my tests! I hope we can do just as well as we have thus far! The championships are on September 15-18.

Navy Side Saddle Habit for Sale!

I have listed my navy side-saddle habit for sale on Ebay. There was no need for me to keep it since I've recently gotten a new navy wool one made to fit me.

Here is the link to it but I'll also post the details below.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220818082193&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Great starter habit for someone just getting into sidesaddle and not wanting to order a custom habit just yet or for someone looking for a lighter weight habit for the summer. This was my first habit but I've since upgraded, otherwise I'd be keeping it! Has been to many shows and demonstrations and always gets lots of compliments! This is a proper sidesaddle habit, not just a jacket made to match an existing apron. Please note with the photos, the habit does not have any funny spots on it or stains/discoloration. There are a few that show up in the photos but these are simply dust in the air reflecting light. The habit may look slightly "shiny" in the photos, however, it is not actually shiny material at all. Just a nice navy blue habit.

Material is a polyester blend, thus lighter weight than wool and a bit cooler in the summertime. Fully lined jacket & apron. The apron is weighted to keep it lying down and straight. Apron closes with a button at the top and velcro the rest of the way down for safety. The jacket has 2 buttons and elegantly tapers down at the bottom. Made by Jaffera's Tailoring in Old Forge, PA. I am 5'6" and the habit fits me well in terms of height. Usually I wear a "Medium" size shirt (I believe that equates to size 36 or 8-10 depending on where you are and what system of measurement you use) and size 30 (9-10) jeans.

Someone slightly taller or shorter could easily wear this habit too. There is some wear & tear on the bottom of the apron where it tucks under your right foot but it is not noticeable when you are riding.

Measurements are as follows:

Jacket:

Waist - 31.5" (measured from the outside of the jacket. I measure a 30" and it fits me well.

Sleeve Length - 23" (measured from point of shoulder to cuff)

Length of jacket - 26" (measured from bottom of collar to bottom of jacket)

Bust - 36"

Shoulder - 17 1/4" (measured from point of shoulder to point of shoulder)

Apron:

Waistline to back of apron (short part) - 11 3/4"

Length of Apron - 30"

****A note on measurements - there is room with this habit to take it in further or let it out. There is also room to drop the hem of the apron for a slightly taller rider. It shouldn't be hard to have it tailored to fit you perfectly****

The Calgary Stampede!

Well we survived and had a great time!

The day started out by POURING rain, I was glad I had the wool habits now! On my way to the Stampede grounds I got cut off on the freeway and missed the turn-off I was supposed to take. I got turned around and managed to get back to where I needed to be on time. By the time I got into Calgary the rain had stopped and it was nice out.

It was really neat going in the back entrance and getting to see all the behind the scenes stuff. I got a pass with my picture on it (that gets me into anywhere!) and I drove past hundreds of trailers, motor homes and the barns full of the chuckwagon horses. Twice I got directed into the wrong area and had to back the trailer up (eeek!) but I managed it with no issues! Good thing I've gotten some practice! I ended up parking right next to the area where all the singers have their giant, fancy motorhomes.

I got tacked up & dressed and we headed over to the arena. I have to say, I think my tweed habit is my new favorite! I got a new green tie & shirt with a collar, I think it looks a lot better than a stock tie and from reading one of the other blogs, it also wasn't correct! Brigit was a tad lookie at things to start with but soon she was taking it all in stride. There was a LOT going on. We were right next to a bunch of draft horses with wagons and the military tanks plus lots of people, kids & strollers. Not to mention the donkeys & mules with their carts & wagons were in behind me.

We had a great demo and showed off our stuff while the announcer read a script I wrote. Brigit was fantastic! They set up a little jump for us and boy did that open some eyes! I think we've finally got this jumping aside business figured out! We went over it a bunch of times (carefully because the footing was really deep & wet) and the crowd really enjoyed it. Afterwards we had some fun answering questions. Brigit even let a whole bunch of kids climb up on the fence and pet her (normally she's not too sure what to think of wee people). I was really pleased with her.

The cutest comment came from a little girl who was quite concerned when she saw me ride in, she asked her mom "Did that lady break her leg?". Too funny!

People of all ages came over and were just fascinated. It was really fun! We even had some people there for the cutting competition from Texas come over and ask to take photos. I have to say, riding sidesaddle seems to be the ultimate ice-breaker!

Calgary Stampede tomorrow!

I'm getting everything ready to head to the Stampede tomorrow. Little bit nervous about taking the truck & trailer into the heart of Calgary but I'm sure I'll manage.

I'm doing a sidesaddle demo at 1pm tomorrow, wish me luck! Bought a new shirt & tie to go with the tweed habit and some more hair nets (not sure where all of mine went?!?!). Think I should be good to go in the morning!

Wish me luck!

The one & only galloping picture

That I have from the race on July 1st. I found a photographer that had taken it and he graciously agreed to let me have a copy to share. All photo credits go to James Tworow.

You can tell we were really flying!