Side-saddle cob
“MY BEST FRIEND AND THERAPIST – MY WORLD”
WHEN Lucinda Mitchell was 27, her life turned upside down. Waking up one day with a painful leg, she spent three weeks in hospital before being diagnosed with chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
“I went from being an extremely active person to someone who couldn’t walk and had to use a wheelchair or crutches”, she explains.
Lucinda already had Splash (A Splash Of Colour, left), whom she had bought from the side of the road as a yearling. But following her diagnosis, she found herself unable to ride.
“It was so painful to ride astride, even without stirrups,” she says. “For a few months I was in a dark place. I would sit with Splash and tell her how I felt. Horses listen; they don’t judge.”
It was her mother who had the brainwave of trying side-saddle. Lucinda discovered that the nearby Talland School of Equitation taught side-saddle, and she had a go.
“It was fantastic,” she says. “I could ride again. I then took Splash to Talland to try her in a side-saddle, and she took to it like a duck to water.”
Lucinda’s health has deteriorated over the years, and she now has a spinal cord stimulator to help with nerve pain and spasms.
She has also been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, which is extremely painful.
Despite this, she still rides Splash, competing in dressage and side-saddle showing classes, and in 2018 they won 10 trophies at the National Side Saddle Show.
The pair also compete in open equitation side-saddle classes.
“Equitation classes are judged on the overall picture and elegance of the rider; having to keep my body where it should be is a huge task,” says Lucinda. “To win these classes against able-bodied people gives me a huge boost.”
Her aim is to win the intermediate equitation class at the side-saddle nationals this year.
“Our bond particularly shows when we compete in side-saddle showing classes. Often the class will last over an hour and sitting on Splash that long kills me. There have been a few times when I can’t steer her because I am in so much pain. It’s like she says, ‘It’s OK, I know what to do – you just sit tight Mum!’
“Splash is my best friend, my therapist and my world”, explains Lucinda. “I can lead her off my mobility scooter, and I often refer to Splash as ‘my legs’, as she makes me feel normal.”