I've been doing just a little bit of winter riding lately. Mostly trail riding, with a slight bit of conditioning thrown in. It's almost impossible to get too carried away with going very fast right now, as the fields are frozen and very slick - so slow trotting is about as fast of a speed as we can do. Today there was a schooling show in town, but I didn't go to it. Tommy has the winter off, and is basking in the sheer glory of laziness. But Nettie is coming back from a year off and is enjoying being ridden once again...
On Wednesday we went out for a slow hack with the sidesaddle. I dusted off the old antique victorian and we had a good ride. Nettie and I tested out some ditches and small piles of brush along the way. She's a very cute little jumper, incredibly honest and trustworthy. (She'll take whatever she's pointed at). But we were conservative on this ride and only tried little stuff - because the ground is still frozen and trecherous.
When I got back home I started looking online at sidesaddle jumpers. There are some really great photos out there!
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| Cross country course aside. With a safety vest and steeplechase helmet. |
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| At a field hunt in England. Country style tweed riding habit with a bowler. |
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| A stadium demonstration in England. Formal habit, hunt whip, and tophat. |
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| Little girl jumping her pony sidesaddle. |
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| Over the hedge! This really looks similar to steeplechase, but she has a formal hunt habit on. So it must've been a foxhunt or other exhibition. |
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| Havng fun at a hunt in England. The rider to the left has unfortunately snapped her balance strap, which can happen when you go over jumps and hedges. It looks like they're really having a blast! |
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| This is an exhibition at Quenby Hall. Sometimes the riders start out with a full champagne glass before they jump, while other times they have to grab it while in mid-jump from a server standing next to the table. Very classy and entertaining. |
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| A european lady jumping a horse that is laid down while riding aside. Looks like a historical war re-enactment. |
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