It’s funny how life changes in just a few short years. Nine years
ago I bought this saddle. Looking back I can’t believe I asked my parents
to spend so much money on something as small as a saddle, but when it came to
horses, there wasn’t anything my parents wouldn’t do for me.
Now, here I am, 24 years old, married, trying to work and pay bills and I
haven’t ridden in this saddle in over four years. Half of those four
years it was in Indiana in the corner of my trainer’s tack stall, and the
other half it sat in North Carolina in my parent’s barn, somewhat forgotten. The red
and black bag that protected it was covered in cob webs and dust
until about a week ago when I got this “bright idea” to sell it.
Why do I still need it when it hasn’t been touched in four years? Why do I
still need it when I don’t have a horse to put it on? (I know I have Dawn,
but she is a western horse, not English.) The answer is… I don’t NEED it
anymore. It’s just hard to say goodbye.
This saddle carried me through tears of joy and tears of sorrow. I was
reserve congress champion in the hunter under saddle in this saddle, was
top ten at the youth world and congress more times than I can count on two
hands in this saddle. This saddle and I saw the sun rise 1,000 times
and 1,000 times we watched it set (literally). There are countless
hours I spent in this saddle practicing so I could be
“perfect.” There is dirt in the stirrups, and dust on the seat, and I
swear when I sit in this saddle, it was made to fit me and only
me. There were moments we were invincible and moments we fell apart
at the seams. But, together, we never gave up.
I’m forgetting one important part in this equation and it is the horse I
rode. I never shared this saddle with another horse, mainly because I
didn’t have another hunt seat horse to ride, but because the three of us
together where a team. We shared in a lot of memories together… a lot
of memories that made me the person I am today.
But… I must be honest with myself, it is silly to keep something that
hasn’t been out of the bag in four years. It’s silly to keep something
when you have no place to use it. So, it is time to bid farewell to this
old friend and hopefully pass on some luck to the next owner. Maybe they
will share the same love for this saddle that I did. 🙂
Update: I found a new home for it – it’s going to a girl in the barn where I board Dawn, so it’s
only moving 15 minutes down the road!!! I wish her all the best with it and hope it is as good to her as it was to me.
