My Mayhew

Well, the old girl has been dated. My side saddle was built in 1912, on Sept the 9th to be exact. It will be a hundred years old this fall. It is currently with Lillian Chaudhary being restored. She sent me this pic of the manufacturing label.

Everything inside the saddle is good, no real structural damage. The moths just had a good go at the wool flocking. Om Nom Nom...

Unsafe and Unridable Abomination

Click the pic to go to Lelia's sidesaddle blog where she has a truly Tacky side saddle (I use this term loosely) posted with commentary. It is a prime example of what NOT to buy. Craptackistani make, completely WRONG, unridable, uncomfortable, and unsafe. NEVER NEVER NEVER buy a side saddle from Craptackistan folks. EVER. With the exception of the Elan sold by Hundred Oaks, which is a good saddle, they are all CRAP.

SUCCESS!

Well, I have succeeded in finding a horse show association that welcomes aside riders! The Association of Northwest Arkansas Riding Clubs have been very welcoming and nice. They already have one aside rider and are excited to have another! THANK YOU ANWARC! Also the MidState Horse Show Association, part of the same parent organization as the CAHSA group has welcomed my inquiry regarding riding in their Ladies Gaited class aside. I have written and submitted an article to a local horse magazine the Horseman's Roundup concerning riding aside and how to get started. Hopefully it will get published within the next couple of issues. So things are looking up!

Show!

The SRF and I at the local horse show. After this we ran barrels (astride), she had NEVER seen a barrel pattern in her life, knew exactly what to do. The Gift Horse's genes are strong in this one.

Elan Side Saddle

Got it! It fits well and after a few adjustments as far as saddle pads goes it is quite stable now. It is a smidgen too small for me, but it works. I have had to add a queen to the upright head as well as my thigh was not comfortable against it. I have ridden it trail riding twice now with not much drama. I did have to use a breastplate the second time as it slid back considerably going uphill. I also have since removed the overgirth that holds the flaps down, with it on I could not tighten my girth from the saddle. I simply cut the stitching holding it on so it could be reattached later if need be. Sorry for the bad pics, they were taken with my phone. The Cashel pad pictured is for sale, it didn't work for us. I will take $55 for it plus $15 shipping.

Oh, and she is NOT tied by her reins, they are simply draped over one of the bars on the trailer.

My Addiction

Some of you may know of my strange addiction. It is one that affects many women worldwide. Some of them have blogs dedicated to it like Side Saddle Girl and Riding Aside. It is the side saddle obsession. How it came about, I do not know. I saw some photos maybe, or found a blog that was interesting, or perhaps I have grown bored and unchallenged by astride riding. Who knows. At any rate, after purchasing an inexpensive western side saddle and riding it (or attempting to) and discovering that it did not and would not ever fit my horse, it was sold and the search began for a new one. I have finally cornered my quarry and am working at paying it off. It is an Elan, and while there are many who do not like them, there are just as many who do. It was in the budget and at least is a proper side saddle, not an astride on with a couple of horns tacked on.

In my unending search for all things side saddle, I have stumbled upon many a beautiful piece and many an elegant habit. Today, though, I found something so drool-worthy I felt I had to post it here. It is by one of my favorite custom western saddlers, Sky Horse Saddlery. Many of you may say, "But Tacky, you don't like silver encrusted stuff." That is not true, I do like tastefully done silver, as well as art pieces, which is what these are, art.

Get a load of THIS...

I don't normally go for western stuff, but dang. That is just gorgeous, as is this one...