About 20 years ago I was riding in the Cool area in an English Jumping saddle-Stueben Siegfried (now, come on folks, some of you did this too!)...with English irons. I met him on the trail, and we rode together awhile. I said something about his stirrups and that they looked so comfortable. He told me about them, and said I could get them from him. Now, as a single mom, riding was a luxury I felt guilty enough about..and spending $50.00 or so for a pair of stirrups sounded outrageous. He told me to come over and he would fix me up. So, of course, I did. He gave me a pair of stirrups that had been returned and re-welded. I rode in those for over 10 years. The weld came undone once up on the Pacific Crest Trail, making an interesting ride back! I took them to a shop in Tahoe where I lived at the time, and had them re-welded...and rode another 5 yrs or so in them..replacing them finally about a year or so ago for some lighter weight ones. (The early ones were pretty heavy)
My favorite memory of him is seeing him hauling butt on a horse named Sombro he got from a friend of mine...boy that horse could fly! Last year at the Georgetown fun ride, he watched all of us go out from a lawn chair..and just smiled...just about every rider said hi to him as they went by..
Sue, may you keep remembering the great times and the great man he was....all of us who ride without burning toes can be thankful he was so forward thinking.
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
