Linda Senser looks back on seven decades in the saddle…
These wonderful photos encapsulate perfectly the joy and fulfilment that come from a lifetime’s devotion to horses.
Linda Senser will be 87 years old in December, and continues to ride after 68 years in the saddle. She’s owned more than 60 horses since buying her first, Honey Pot, in 1953, the same year that Queen Elizabeth II was crowned and Eisenhower became the US President. Arthritis, a total hip replacement and back problems may have led her to give up skiing recently, but Linda has absolutely no intention of retiring from riding.
Indeed, Linda has found that at times when she could barely walk due to back pain, the agony could be alleviated through riding.
She says:
“Over the years, I’ve had times when my back would ‘go out’. I would be bent double with pain, unable to stand up or walk. I found that the best cure was to climb onto a horse, and ride for an hour at a walk. The movement of the horse would loosen up my back, so I could walk again!
“Would I ever consider stopping? Well, I’ve always told everyone, they will be burying me with my horse!”
Linda was born in Alabama in 1933. By 1952, at 18, she was living high on a mountainside west of Boulder, Colorado, and it’s here she started riding under the tutelage of a couple of real, working cowboys from Texas. Honey Pot – “the spookiest horse on earth” – was her first.
“I may not have learned what to do, but I certainly learned what NOT to do from that horse!” she recalls.
“We used to lead the horses down the mountainside twice daily for them to get water from the creek, since we did not have water in the corral. Back then, cowboys didn’t worry about horses always having fresh water as long as they got what they needed. Horse care wasn’t anywhere near as touchy-feely as it is today. We didn’t know any different. We never had a horse become ill or colic.”
“Horses have
always been a
major focus
of my life”
Part of the family…
Linda rode almost until she was in labour with her two children, and horses became an important part of family life. She and her husband, Rudy, rode on many trails over the years, while she trained her daughter through the Dressage movements and coached her junior pony club to victory in a multi-state championship. She enjoyed adventures across the wild terrain of the American Southwest.
“We rode up into the Rocky Mountains, sometimes riding as many as 12 hours, covering over 50 miles in a day,” she recalls.
Linda was a foundation member of the Rocky Mountain Dressage Society and has ridden and studied with several prominent clinicians, including the pioneering Swedish-born cavalry officer and Olympian, Major Anders Lindgren.
She says:
“I’ve always enjoyed seeing people improve their relationship with their horse, and improve their ability to ride effectively and safely.
“My passion is ‘correct’ riding, and the pursuit of that. I have read every book I could get my hands on, watched videos and sat through many cold, wintry days watching every clinic available.”
The photographs were taken recently by Becca Tolman of Impulsion Images, who arranged the session through Linda’s daughter, Suzanne. Becca was blown away by Linda’s continuing enthusiasm for her passion, as well as her clear expertise.
“I love how this session was so real and captured Linda’s authentic joy and intense devotion to horses,” Becca says. “When she was on the ground it was all fun and games, but once she got on, it was business, and she intended to ride correctly regardless of hands that hurt, and legs not quite as strong as they used to be.
“I want to be like Linda. I don’t want to let anything get in the way of pursuing that things I love, that bring deep joy!”
Linda has experienced a few tumbles in the last 10 years or so, but she’s determined to maintain the passion that has been with her for almost 70 years.
“Horses and Dressage have always been a major focus of my life,” she says.
“I’ve lost a lot of confidence in recent years, but I now have a lovely little Fell Pony. She’s 13.2 Hands, downsized in stature, but wonderful to ride and be with. I never gave up, and I’m gradually gaining in confidence day by day.”
Linda’s zest for life and commitment to equestrianism is surely an inspiration to us all! Check out more great stories here…
Words by Richard Mulligan
Images by Impulsion Images
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