PrintMiss Brittney knows when it’s her time to shine. From the moment she steps onto the show grounds, the 21-year-old Thoroughbred-Quarter Horse mare puts on a performance, which is just part of the equation that helps her excel in the side-saddle ring.
“It takes a special horse [to do well in side-saddle],” said Jeanne Blackwell, owner of “Brittney” and Mad Cap Farms in The Plains, Va. “They have to be beautiful, kind, well-broken and a performer. [Brittney] is a real poser and knows when she’s in the appointments line up. She focuses on something and is just beautiful.”
Brittney became a part of Blackwell’s life in 1991 when she was donated to a therapeutic riding program.
“She was donated by a nice family from Middleburg [Va.] who used her to foxhunt, but she wasn’t really holding up to that,” said Blackwell. “They wanted to make sure she had a good home, so they donated her. She did therapeutic riding from 1991 to 2003 and mainly served the adult population, especially those with cerebral palsy, stroke and partial paralysis.”
Blackwell said that Brittney excelled in the program because of her kind and quiet nature, as well as her smooth gaits. After contesting the local hunters with Brittney, Blackwell began introducing her to side-saddle about five years ago.
“The first thing I had to teach her was to move forward,” said Blackwell. “The therapeutic horses are usually led, and it can shorten their gait, and they’re used to quiet work. The first year was spent reconditioning and retraining her muscles to move forward.”
Blackwell, who is passionate about keeping the side-saddle tradition alive and runs a vintage clothing business in addition to her farm, started using Brittney to teach side-saddle lessons.
“She’s an amazing mare. I can teach first timers up to advanced riders on her,” said Blackwell. “I’m careful with my lessons, but she’s like, ‘OK, here we go.’ She’s just a happy, happy horse.”
Harrisburg Blue
For Holly Sorensen, Fairfax Station, Va., who took an 11-year hiatus from horses and horse showing, getting back in the tack helped fill a void in her life. She began taking side-saddle lessons on Brittney from Blackwell, and, with her encouragement, hit the horse show circuit again.
“I loved the elegance of it,” said Sorensen. “I remember as a young girl watching the ladies ride side-saddle at [the Upperville Colt and Horse Show (Va.)] and thinking how beautiful they looked and how well turned out they were. I always said to myself that one day I wanted to do it. The whole vintage feel of it, finding the appointments; it’s a real by-gone era. It’s exciting and beautiful. And I always wanted to learn how to tie a stock tie myself!
“Jeanne was so generous,” added Sorensen. “She loaned me priceless vintage appointments and a wonderful horse. The whole thing was completely foreign. It’s a different center of balance, so it was OK to feel like that was kind of an awkward feeling. Jeanne kept saying I’m a natural at it, so I’ll just keep on pretending that I am!”
Sorensen and Brittney made their show ring debut at the Pennsylvania National in October, and for Sorensen, who was a successful A-circuit hunter/jumper as a youth, Brittney helped her achieve her goal of returning to the show ring.
