Simply Side Saddles- An Introduction

I’m very excited to be writing my first blog for my new business and new website.

I thought for a long time about what to call my new business and brainstormed many ideas from the humorous, to the bizarre to the plain boring , but in essence what I kept saying to myself was that I wanted it to be about one thing only, simply the art of riding side saddle and the beautiful saddles that all carry a piece of history with them, inspiring and evoking memories of a bye-gone era. So the name Simply Side Saddles seemed appropriate and my business ideas started to evolve too, which I’ll come on to tell you a bit more about once I’ve introduced myself.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m going to start off by letting you know a little about me and how I became involved in the world of side saddle riding in the first instance. I was horse and pony mad from my earliest days and learned to ride at a young age and progressed through The Pony Club and then on to affiliated jumping, showing and eventing, loving taking part in multiple equestrian disciplines. Then in my teens, I remember seeing some ladies riding side saddle at local shows and on the hunting field and I was captivated and enthralled by how majestic they looked. My livery yard owner who was also my instructor at that time, then took up riding side saddle and this added to my desire to learn to ride aside too. I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me have some side saddle lessons but was told resolutely that “when I started earning my own income, I could pay for myself to learn!” So, aged 18, armed with my first pay cheque, I took myself off for my first side saddle lesson and then I was properly hooked! I had weekly lessons all that winter and by the next spring I managed to secure the ride on Arabella, owned by Fred and Sylvia Wavell and along with a hired side saddle, set off on the beginning of my side saddle journey. By the following year, I had managed to fund the purchase of my first side saddle, a beautiful Owen, and by this point, on my own horse, Sophie’s Choice, we started actively competing in Side Saddle Association (SSA) classes and Ladies Hack classes. I was also hugely supported in this era by my showing mentor, Jean Walsh- Wright who would let me ride some of her top show horses in the Ladies Show Horse classes. A firm favourite of mine was the wonderful show cob, Becconsall Geronimo- in that era it was quite unusual to see a show cob being ridden aside!

Having gained my British Horse Society Assistant Instructor Certificate at the age of 21, it seemed only natural that I’d take my Side Saddle exams and soon became a SSA instructor- the passion for teaching that remains with me to this day.

Since this time, which is now many years ago, I have been very fortunate to have had some wonderful horses to ride and compete on, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of my side saddle exploits with you in future blogs, but here’s an abridged version for now. I made a point in my younger days of doing everything side saddle that I’d do astride, so was regularly to be seen taking part in dressage competitions, working hunter, showjumping, hunting and even a few team chases. Over the years, my competitive focus turned more and more to straight showing, the Ladies Show Horse/ Hunter classes and the SSA classes ranging from equitation to Concours d’Elegance have all been real favourites. Winning at the SSA Nationals on a number of different horses, along with winning on more than one occasion The Ladies Show Horse National Final at The British Show Horse Association Championships are particularly wonderful memories that I have.

As time has progressed. I have become actively more and more involved in teaching, coaching and judging within the side saddle world. I now run clinics all over the Uk and Ireland and take great pleasure from seeing new riders of all ages learn to ride and enjoy side saddle, whether that’s with aspirations of competing or just for the fun of learning a new skill. To see some of these riders progress up to winning classes at the National Championships is something I find very rewarding.

The idea for Simply Side Saddles was sparked initially by all the requests I was getting from clients for help in finding a saddle to buy or hire, combined with people approaching me wanting me to help them sell a side saddle on their behalf. So I thought, I’d set up this site so that I could more actively be involved in helping people to buy, sell or hire out saddles and other side saddle related items.

The concept of Simply Side Saddles has continued to evolve though and what I’m particularly looking forward to doing is some interactive features- I’ve introduced already “Saddle of the Week” which you can check out on our Instagram or Facebook page and I’m lining up guests to take part in a series of podcasts, along with tutorials on our Simply Side Saddles You Tube channel.

Penny