Since my last report, a busy few weeks followed towards the end of 2024. The London International Horse Show (LIHS) returned for the second year to the Excel Centre and once again provided a great end of season finale for the showing community, with the Ladies Show Horse final seeing 22 side-saddle combinations coming through for judging, including a number of my clients that I was thrilled to see taking part with success in the class. The British Show Horse Society (BSHA) run Rising Star Series has proved to be extremely popular with a series of qualifiers run across the UK. It is aimed at amateur riders and they all relished the chance to ride in the buzzy arena at this iconic pre-Christmas Show. The class was won by Laura Jones from Wales, with her lovely horse, Fury.
No sooner was Christmas over, than I made the trip northwards to run clinics in Carlisle, East Lothian and Edinburgh between Christmas and New Year, attended by a whopping 29 riders over the 3 days. This got me to wondering how many side-saddle lessons I had taught in 2024, so I decided to tot them up. I was quite surprised to realise that I taught 481 lessons and run 41 clinics in 2024 which shows just how popular riding aside still is.
January for me is generally a quieter month as everyone recovers and resets following the festive period. My first clinic of the year though kicked off this last weekend at Hall Lane Stables, Church Fenton, Tadcaster. I’ve now done a few lessons in the Tadcaster area, so it was lovely to welcome back some regular clients, who have now had a handful of lessons and are starting to really get the hang of riding aside and are setting themselves goals for the coming year. I also had three new pupils, who all took to riding side-saddle incredibly well on their first lesson and were very pleasantly surprised by how much they achieved.
I often get asked what people should expect in a first lesson side-saddle and whilst it can vary for individual clients based on their previous riding experience and capabilities of the horse, I always like to start by explaining a little about the saddle and how the correct seat of the rider not only makes them elegant but contributes to their overall safety. Riders are generally amazed by how well their horse takes to being ridden side-saddle. Most horses seem to take to it with ease and this weekend was no exception. There was a really wide variety of different types of horses and ponies and all took to it with aplomb. It is something that I am always really keen to promote, that all horses and ponies should be able to carry a side-saddle. The only ones that I wouldn’t put a side-saddle on are those that are known to rear.
So, with January New Year resolutions still in mind, mine is to share more of what I get up to on my side-saddle travels. Do let me know if you have burning questions that you’d like answering about anything side-saddle related.
Penny
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