Another Historical Horsewoman

Continuing in my current fascination for historical horsewomen, I found, in a reference to the equine Belle Beach, a link to a woman of the same name, for whom the mare might have been nicknamed. Ms. Belle Beach was herself well bred and educated, a superb horsewoman of considerable repute. She taught riding and driving to students and showed horses for the likes of Astors and Vanderbuilt's. She was called the greatest equestrienne of the time, and indeed there is a record of Tom Bass' defeat by Belle Beach in a show in Kansas City in 1904. But, by all accounts Ms. Beach was very private and little by way of details is recorded of her life.

In 1912, Ms. Beach published the book, Riding and Driving for Women. It is mysteriously inscribed: "To My Friend, Without whose help this book could not have been." The book itself is perfectly suited to its target market- women-during a time in history when the roles of such a market were being redefined. Ms. Beach tells her feminine readers that if they are expecting to hunt, they should be expecting no special favors from the men, as they might otherwise in the drawing room.

The power and grace of her prose is no less a portrait of her skill as a horsewoman than the photos that illustrate her fine treatise on equestrienne form. Nearly one hundred years later, her words still have relevance and serve as an inspiration to me...

"That which takes but a moment to tell has taken me years to learn; learned as a pupil; learned as a teacher; learned by observation; learned by exhibition; by many a triumph, by many a heart-break; much of it a pleasure, much a hard task, but all of it repaid by my comrades through it all- the horses."

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

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