Article by Krissy Greenleaf
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One event I look forward to attending each year is Whiskey Road Foxhound's Hunt Week in Aiken, SC. Kicking off the first Wednesday of February and ending the following Tuesday, it consists of hunting by day and partying by night, and it usually requires a few days of rest after the festivities have ended to return to a normal schedule. It was at my very first WRFH Hunt Ball in 2017 that I happened to bid on -- and win -- a sidesaddle. Did it matter that I had never ridden aside? Nope! To this day, I blame the cocktails (and the fact that no one else bid) for this wonky habit of mine. That saddle, a 19.5" x 12" Orpwood rebuilt by Hans Biglajzer, was sadly too small for me; however, it served as my gateway to meeting some amazing ladies who have inspired me to ride aside in a myriad of ways, including showing, parading and hunting.
One of those ladies happens to be Lisa Cowan, who was my roomie at last year's Camp Leaping Horn. We immediately hit it off over our love of fashion, riding horses, drinking wine, and learning about the art of sidesaddle. I was over the moon when she agreed to drive down from New York and stay with me for this year's WRFH Hunt Week. She arrived the Saturday prior, which happened to be the same day that the Aiken Ladies Aside club was hosting a Give It A Go Day. This event is a great fundraiser for the organization and allows ladies who have never ridden in a sidesaddle to give it a try. Lisa jumped right in with helping wherever she could, answering questions about appointments, tack and history. We had 13 ladies attend the event, and even made the cover of the local newspaper, the Aiken Standard!
Photo Above of Krissy Greenleaf trotting Eddie aside.
Photo Credit Bill Richert
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The day before Hunt Week officially kicked off, Lisa and I were able to schedule a sidesaddle lesson with Sue Sisco at her farm, Sunfield. Sue is an accomplished hunter/jumper trainer, both astride and aside, and I feel fortunate to know her and to have learned from her over the past few years. In our lesson that day, Sue had Lisa and I focused on straightening our positions and using our seats to shorten and lengthen our strides at the walk, trot and canter. This transition work proved helpful over fences, as we worked on finding the right distance to optimize the feel of the jump when riding aside. Not only was our lesson fun and educational, but Sue and I were able to talk Lisa into coming back down for the Aiken Horse Show in April (which is a story for another day)!
Photo Above of Lisa and Felix taking a lesson with Sue Sisco-- Photo by Krissy Greenleaf
After our lesson with Sue, we spent the afternoon sipping wine, cleaning tack and mapping out our plan for Hunt Week, which consisted of:
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Thursday hunting in ratcatcher attire at the Jackson fixture, followed by a cocktail party at one of Downtown Aiken's favorite equestrian retail stores, Equine Divine
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Friday hunting in formal attire at Blackberry Hill, followed by an upscale barn party hosted by a WRFH member
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Gala at the Constantine House Saturday evening
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Sunday hunting in formal attire at the Lexington fixture, followed by a hunt breakfast at New Bridge Polo & Country Club
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Monday beagling with the Sugarsand Foot Beagles
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Tuesday hunting in ratcatcher attire at the Allendale fixture, with everyone departing from there
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We knew we wanted to hunt aside at least one of the days, and that we wanted to do so in our formal attire, so we chose the Sunday hunt at Lexington. The Lexington fixture is breathtaking, offering views of rolling hills from expansive hayfields and winding trails through the endless pine forests. It also happens to be a fixture from which we gain access by one of two ways. The first being a leisurely stroll along the side of a hay field and into the forest, where we eventually access the property from which we hunt. The second being a long ride down a clay road, followed by a hard right into the pines until we meet the huntsman with the hounds on the other side of the fixture. If you're riding in first or second field, you usually head down the road at a forward trot, but if you opt for third flight, it's typically mostly walking with some trotting to get to the end of the road. Our guest huntsman happened to be the great Tony Leahy that day, and he brought with him 9 of his staff and an air of excitement that was clearly visible with over 120 riders in the field - the most I have ever witnessed at one of our hunts.
Photo Above of Krissy and Lisa aside. Photo Credit Z. Huang
Before we had time to sling back the last sip of our port and triple check the tightness of our girths, off we shot down the road at a big, forward trot, giggling (and slightly cussing) away as we attempted to minimize the bounciness of the pace. Luckily, we found comfort in a nice collected canter with third field, who were also a bit caught off guard at the unexpected, yet exciting start to the hunt. For the next three hours, we enjoyed following the field at a bit of a slower pace than which we started, watching the hounds work, and chatting away with Hunt Week guests when it was permissible to do so. Our epic day was topped off with Lisa winning the Best Turned Out award at the hunt breakfast, a title she set her sights on prior to arriving in Aiken. From her beautiful outfits throughout Hunt Week, to braiding her horse for both formal days, and hunting aside, she was the clear winner.
Photo Above of Hunt Field at Jackson Fixture. Photo Credit Bill Richert
Photos Above Left and Right of WRFH Master Betsy Minton presenting the Best Turned Out award to Lisa. PC Krissy Greenleaf
Selfie Above of Krissy and Lisa in the woods.
Photo Credit Krissy Greenleaf
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Photo to Right of WRFH Gala at Constantine House with Tony Leahy, Krissy, & Lisa.
Photo Credit nice friend
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Photo Below of Lisa and Krissy at stirrup cup
Photo Credit nice friend
Photo to Right of Lisa and Felix in Aiken's historic Horse District
Photo Credit Krissy Greenleaf
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Lisa and I agreed that the ladies back in the day did it right: they had grooms! When hunting aside in the future, we both plan to bribe a friend or significant other to lend a hand from the ground and arrive earlier than we typically do when hunting astride. I am grateful to Lisa for being my partner in crime this year at Hunt Week, and I look forward to enjoying many more wonky adventures together. Cheers to our sidesaddle sisterhood!
Thank you Krissy for this enlightening article!