Bret and I were fortunate to be able to spend a few days in London after the Society of Master Saddlers’ class.  We’d never been to the UK, so we were grateful for the opportunity to explore.  Here’s a recap:

Sunday, 1 November, 2009

We slept in for a bit and breakfasted at the last possible minute.  Still, we had to bide our time waiting for the 1pm  train as we left the hotel at 11 am.  While we were planning on leaving the rental car’s keys in the mail slot, a car rental employee drove up to do a bit of weekend work and graciousxly allowed us to check out without the worry of leaving the keys unattended.  We still had to wait for the train, however.

Back in London, we made the quick treck back to the Americana Hotel where we were happy to find a new, larger room (although there was still no bath tub to soak in after a long day of walking).  We got ourselves settled and set out for the Churchill Museum.  We were thoroughly fascinated by the unique interactive displays, much improved and innovated since my father visited the museum nearly a decade before.  We walked about by Westminster Abbey, pausing as Big Ben struck five before crossing the bridge and walking past the London Eye.   We came upon an old carousel, and, digging up £2 per person, Bret and I treated ourselves to a lovely ride.

We dined at the Volunteer Pub; it was delicious!  I had gravied roast beef with horseradish sauce – yum!  After dinner we walked around a bit more then went back to the hotel to bed.

Monday, 2 November, 2009

We woke early and breakfasted before venturing to the Criterion Theatre to pick up tickets for the play The 39 Steps, an Alfred Hitchcock-esque comedy that received high ratings.  For some reason, the phone for the theatre number we’d found online wasn’t working, so we arrived bright and early to find the box office closed. We walked around the square for a bit until the surly ticket master finally opened the gate and sold us our tickets.   Having reached goal #1, we took the Tube to a station relatively close to the London Bridge.  I’d wanted to go to the London Dungeon, but Bret’s lack of interest sparked a lively debate and, ultimately we scrapped the Dungeon and decided to cross the bridge to the Tower of London instead.

We paid the steep entrance fee and sidled up to a tour already in progress.  The history was palpable.  Unfortunately the site was utterly congested with tourists, so we weren’t able to really see what truly fascinated us without feeling claustrophobic.  Still, it was an interesting tour, even though we weren’t allowed to take any photographs indoors.

After the Tower we found our way to Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, one of the oldest pubs in London, dating back to the early-to-mid 1500’s, and having been rebuilt in the latter half of the 1600’s after consumed the city.  (Doesn’t every city seem to have a fire story?)  Bret ordered the steak and ale pie and I had the chicken and mushroom pie.  The ale was awesome – and still hand-drawn – the way they’ve served it for centuries.

Full of meat pies and ale, we strolled around Harrod’s for a bit, marveling at the enormity of the famed department store while recoiling at the prices.  And their “tack shop” is little more than some riding apparel arranged around a giant faux horse.  Harrod’s has nothing on Olson’s!

Tired from trekking about for hours, we made our way back to the hotel and lounged around for a while before going to the theatre.  The 39 Steps was over-the-top but funny nonetheless.   The Criterion Theatre (the venue) was unusual in that it’s entirely underground – we had to go down several flights of steps to get to our balcony seats.  The theatre was built during the Victorian Era, and was modeled after 18th century theatres.  Because of its undergraound location, it was used during World War II Blitz Attack air raids as the center for BBC broadcasting.

After the play we had a quick bite at the Aberdeen Steak House, just a block from the theatre itself.  The food was quite good considering the shabbiness of the decor.

Tuesday, 3 November, 2009

After breakfast we started on our tack shop search, taking the Tube to Hyde Park, and, thanks to the GPS, we located the Hyde Park Stables featuring the Kensington Tack Shop upstairs.  The stables were small, with horses packed tightly into small stalls or tied to the wall with enough slack in their ropes to eat their hay.  Of course there was no option for turnout, although one can just ride the three blocks into the park for about five miles of trails and the use of two outdoor riding arenas.  The “tack shop” was little more than one room in a flat, filled with apparel: Pikeur breeches, Harry Hall, etc, and Ariat boots and half chaps.  Seeing as all of the horses are owned by the stable, all of their equipment is provided, so the tack store primarily caters to rider apparel.  Still, it made me thankful we have Olson’s!

The hike to the second store was a lengthy one, as we crossed Hyde Park entirely then found our way to Thackeray Street to “Riders and Squires.” This shop caters largely to polo players, selling hats and mallets and boots galore.  The shop was much more organized than the first, and offered more variety.  Still, neither shop can hold a candle to Olson’s.

After shop #2 we decided to buy tickets to the Big Bus tour.  Like all other touristy things in London, the price was high (£25 per), but enabled us to hop on and off the bus at will while listening to historical tidbits that only began to unravel the intricate layers of the lovely city of London.  Unfortunately, we opted to seek out the Blue Line that took the extended scenic rout around the city.  That, coupled with the 20 minute stop at Baker Street, meant we didn’t get to St. Paul’s Cathedral (Bret’s one desire to see) until about 2:30.  And of course we were then rushed through the tour as they were nearing closing time. Still, we rented the audio guide and headed into the crypt to see the final resting places of hundreds of distinguished persons of ages past.  Fascinated with that, we headed upstairs only to find the whispering gallery located up in the dome closed.  We were most disappointed.

Finished at St. Paul’s, we scurried to the Tube to Trafalgar Square and had tea before out London Ghost / Pub Crawl Tour, an added benefit of the Big Bus Tour.  What fun!  That tour alone was worth the admission to the the Big Bus.  We started out with the Sherlock Holmes Restaurant and Pub, then snaked our way through alleyways and side streets as our guide, Ian, delighted us with spooky stories and further chunks of depraved London history.  The tour ended at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, where we had some pints and pudding for dessert.  We walked to the Temple Undergraound station and headed back to the hotel for the last time.

Wednesday, 4 November, 2009

We took our time packing after breakfast, begrudgingly bringing our trip to England to a close.  After a brief taxi ride to Paddington Station and the Connector train to Heathrow, we would up at the airport with nearly two hours to spare.  We spent a few minutes picking up some last minute souvenirs before having lunch at a posh little airport cafe, where I had my last meat pie before heading stateside.  Who’d have thought I’d have grown to love them so?

The flight was pleasant enough, well, as pleasant as can be when you’re crammed into a tight place for 9 hours 15 minutes.  I have to say I was planning ahead for my legs killing me on the flight home and wore my Back on Track leggings.  My legs didn’t swell up or hurt at all!  Considering the fact that on the plane ride to England I had to get up and stretch my legs pretty much every hour on the hour, I was happy that I only had to get up twice, and that was to use the rest room.  I love Back on Track!

While we had a wonderful time in England, we were happy to get home and sleep in our own bed.

Saturday, 31 October, 2009

Talk about information overload!  In the Society of Master Saddlers’ inaugural bridle fitting class, it was obvious that lectures were hastily prepared as the lecturers scrambled to organize their PowerPoint presentations.  Time constraints were frustrating as the instructors spoke faster and faster to cram stuff in.  Admitedly, the course should have taken up two full days (I would say three), and the instructors were most apologetic.

Still, we made the most of our truncated lectures, learning the basics of bridle making and measuring, with emphasis placed on the preferred method for the placement of straps and buckles.  We were enthralled with the presentation given by the veterinarian who discussed horse physiology as it pertains to saddles.  Today he brought out a horse’s skull and proceeded to discuss the anatomy of the horse’s head as it pertains to placement of the bit.

The subject of bits could have taken up two full days by itself, as they embrace a subject that is incredibly vast and complicated. I confess feelings of inadequacy where my knoweledge of bits is concerned.  Sure I have a basic understanding of what constitutes soft and severe, but there are so many subtle nuances that vary from bit to bit I find myself getting intimidated.  Of particular interest to me is that the function of a true “gag” bit is to encourage the hrose to lift its head, not for leverage.  Also, gags are ideally ridden with two reins so they aren’t as severe.  I don’t think many American riders use them appropriately.  The same is true for curb chains and lip straps, one often fitted too tightly, one hardly used at all.

Today’s practical had us taking measurements on a snarky pony named “Pip,” and going through various bits and bridles on other horses, learning to fit them properly.

I must note that in the UK, crank nosebands are rarely used, and the majority of show bridles lack both stitching and padding.  The ultimate goal in selecting a show bridle is finding one that best flatters the horse it’s on.

After class we ventured back to the hotel and had dinner at the neighboring Porridge Pot restaurant.   My head swimming with information, I had difficulty falling asleep despite being plenty tired.

Friday, 30 October, 2009

Day two of the class was entirely practical in nature.  The class was split into five groups, each group rotating through various stations: Template Taking, Conformation, General Purpose Saddles, Close Contact Saddles, and Dressage Saddles.

In Template Taking, we were taught the proper way to record the shape of the horse’s withers and back.  This technique is useful in determining what saddle should be used in the immediate future, as well as measuring and chronicling changes to the horse’s back, as horses’ backs do indeed change with work (or lack thereof).  We also used weight tape to calculate approximate body weights.  Not only is this helpful in determining the saddle to be used, but it’s again helpful to track changes in the horse’s body, especially with young horses.

In Conformation, we learned to identify aspects of a horse’s conformation and the challenges that conformational changes can present when fitting a saddle (young horse, obese horse losing weight / thin horse gaining weight, etc.).  We further learned to identify subtle lamenesses and how they influence movement and subesquently saddle fit.

In the various saddle stations we were presented with horses used by the school and asked to select from dozens of each saddle type to find a saddle to fit each horse.  My group began with a cob/arab type with a relatively healthy back.  This horse was pretty straightforward to fit, requiring a medium-wide tree and flatter panels to acommodate his broad, flat back.  The remaining horses had extremely large withers and were more “slab sided,” presenting an obvious challenge when finding the saddles to fit them.

Interesingly, all horses displayed significant muscle atrophy around the wither (although the cob’s atrophy was minimal).  Further, most of the horses had various degrees of stiffness and lameness issues.  When it was discovered that all of the horses in the school use inexpensive synthetic saddles (whose name I shall not reveal), the situation became obvious.  Apparently the school was given these saddles to use on their school horses, and although one horse was in his late teens, the others were too young for such unfortunate body conditions.  Their atrophied backs are directly due to improper saddle fit.  What an amazing and sobering display.

I will say that the degree of lameness varied from horse to horse at the school, but I wouldn’t be able to declare a single horse as sound.  One sad gelding in particular could barely walk, the arthritis in his hocks was so bad.

Although the condition of the horses was somewhat sad, the fact that they were able to quantify the perils of improper saddle fit filled me with gratitude that I may be able to help prevent problems like these from arising in other horses.  Thankfully, the students of the college paid close attention to our fitting assessments which were validated by the instructors representing the Society of Master Saddlers.

After class, our new Icelandic friend joined us for dinner at the Windmill Inn at Stratford upon Avon.  It was supposed to have been the pub where William Shakespeare himself was entertained, and was over 500 years old! I wonder whether there’s anything in the US’s history that’s quite that old – anything still standing and still performing its original function, anyway.   The food there was wonderful (as was the ale).   I had braised beef with mushrooms while Bret had a burger – how American of him.

Thursday, 29 October, 2009

We left the hotel around 8:30 am, fighting a surprising amount of traffic to make the morning tea in the nick of time.  Class began promptly at 9:15, and was comprised of equine professionals from all walks of life.  Some were retailers, some aspiring saddle makers, a fair amount were equine chiropractors and osteopaths, and other equine care practitioners.  Among the students, only 3 were non-UK residents: one from Norway, one from Iceland, and myself.

Class today consisted entirely of lectures with a saddle fitting demonstration at the end.  The philosophy behind good saddle fit practices revolves around the premise that above all, the horse’s comfort must come first.  The problems that can often arise as the result of an ill-fitted saddle are numerous and devastating, and are, according to the Society of Master Saddlers, completely unnecessary and preventable.

It is the general consensus that attempting to generically fit a saddle to multiple horses is a daunting task given the fact that no two horses are built alike.  There is danger in attempting to fit a saddle to more than one horse, making it  essential that great care is taken to ensure that the proper pads are used when taking on such a fitting.

Interestingly, the British view of American riders is that we tend to scrap good saddle fit practices by compensating with pads.  Ideally, only a very thin pad should be used,  but only with a properly fit saddle.  I did try to come to our collective defense, citing our new shift toward thin yet functional pads such as ThinLine and Back on Track saddle pads.    Apparently British horses are missing out!  No one in the class, save for the students from Iceland and Norway, had heard of either product, and were most interested in learning about their benefits.

After class, Bret and I drove our classmate from Iceland back to the hotel before heading out to the top-rated pub in Leamington Spa, the New Inn.  We sat at the bar, the supposed place to sit if you’re interested in socializing (apparently if you want privacy you sit off at a table).  Sure enough, once our American accents were noticed, we found ourselves surrounded by some kindly locals who were most interested in learning all about us.

We had some lively discussions about politics and the state of public education (Public education in the UK differs vastly from that in the US, primarily because Publicly educated children are considered to be of the highest echelons of society – so basically Public education in Britain = private education in the US – see, I’m learning a lot!).

The food at the Inn was, well interesting.  Bret had a meat pie (which I wish I had ordered).  Having no idea what the various entrees were, when I asked for a “healthy” entree I was directed toward “jacket potatoes” with various toppings.  I decided upon a Jacket Potato with Shrimp.  Boy was that a mistake.  A jacket potato is simply a baked potato, the one I ordered coming with canned shrimp dumped unceremoniously upon it.  Trying not to offend the cook (who, incidentally, kept peeking out of the kitchen to see how I was enjoying my meal), I dutifully devoured as much as I could before declaring myself officially stuffed.   I must say I enjoyed the hand-pulled ale (Bret and I both had “Stella”).

After dinner we ventured to the local grocery store in Leamington Spa to pick up goodies to bring home from the UK.  I stocked up on Polo Mints, having promised to bring them home for the Olson’s girls to give as rewards to their horses, and Bret picked out various kinds of candies to present to one of his British friends who pines for food from his homeland.