I'm going to Sandon Saddlery tomorrow

sidesaddlegirl

sidesaddlegirl

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www.sidesaddlegirl.co.uk
My OH decided to do something different this weekend and go drive somewhere so I said Sandon Saddlery as I heard they had a good 2nd hand selection. I want a black cutaway jacket to go with an orphan side saddle apron I have so thought maybe I'd have some luck there.

What is it like there? Is it one of those places were you can't help but to spend?

Is there anything else horsey (like tack shops) or shopping places to see around in the area while we are there too? Any good places to eat?
 
It's delightfully old fashioned, lots of goods just piled up in places, all sorts of rooms and hidey holes. Most of the secondhand stuff is upstairs, and the elderly women who run it do tend to follow you round, but I think just because they like to assist you, rather than think you are shoplifting :) It takes them forever to compile the bill as they do it with a calculator and add the VAT on separately - aaaaagh!

About half a mile further on is Sales of Sandon, which is a countryside store selling horse gear, feed, and shooting stuff etc. Worth a visit if you are that near. It's got parking opposite and is on a bend.

Could try The Three Tuns in Ashwell for lunch - it's quite upmarket though and might need to book on a Saturday. There are two other pubs in Ashwell which might be more casual if you just want a sandwich. Will have a think if there are any other places.
 
It's like stepping back in time 50 years. Be prepared to spend alot of time there, not be left alone and to see bits/tack that have been along time not used. fascinating place (and they will buy stuff from you) but you either find loads of what you want or nothing at all. I'm not a local anymore and havent been since the early 90s s can't help wrt to other places. mum used to take me to Sandon annually to sell my old stuff and get me 'new' old stuff and it's still run by the same women. definitely worth a look before it disappears forever.
 
Completely agree with the other posters. It is a delight (to me) and leave lots of time to make the most of it! Sales of Sandon is a good alternative - how such a little place ended up with 2 saddleries is remarkable.
 
OOOOOooo, i'm all excited now!! My OH is bringing a movie for him and my son to watch on the laptop while I'm in there as I always take too long in tack shops, LOL! I bet he will be "thrilled" to hear that there is another nearby, I need some more Fast Fibre anyways so a feed shop would be good.

Mmmm, will check out those pubs for lunch too. I will probably be broke afterwards to a bacon sarnie will do :)
 
Ha ha! Good luck! I suppose if you have the whole day it will be an experience at least.......

Let us know how you get on!!!
 
Just thought!

The Cabinet at Reed is a really nice pub, just a few miles away up the A10 in a sweet little village. It's got a lovely atmosphere, quite modern and light (The Three Tuns is more old fashioned and dark) and the food is good, but again it's quite smart although I went there on the way to the Barn Shop (which is just outside Royston) wearing jeans and wellies after doing my horses and forgot to put some shoes in the boot so had to go in wearing socks - they didn't mind! It's one of my fav pubs altho probably more a gastro pub than a burger and chips pub.

Hope you are making notes - anything else you'd like to know? :)
 
It really is an amazing place :) Great selection of second hand goods.

The two old women are rather entertaining as well :) Wonderful experience, even if you walk away empty handed
 
Right, I've sorted the pub for you. You want the Bushel and Strike in Mill Road, Ashwell, SG7 5LY. It does burgers and chips and all the usual stuff, it's very child and walker friendly and has a few big sofas to chill out on as well as tables.

We ended up in there on New Year while daughter went hunting, loads of families were piling in and out all day, and there was a huge pile of wellies outside the back door which made me laugh.

Bonus point for Sandon - if son has a sweet tooth, he will want to come in as they sell sweets and do those 2p laces/5p sticky strawberry type sweets that take ages to choose and probably don't pass current heath and safety standards but it keeps my teenager amused for half an hour deciding which e-numbers she should stock up on :) Also chocolate and cans of soft drink, sadly no coffee for OH so take a flask.

Funnily enough I was thinking of going there tomorrow to look for a 2nd hand rug - you will think I am stalking you!
 
I am fabulous and fifty darling and I went there as a small child to get all my riding and horse equipment. You most certainly will be in for a treat and if you are lucky the old biddies in there will have learn't how to use calculators now!!!


Oooh ladies, can I come too and take a trip down memory lane lol
 
Thank you Llewelyn!! My OH said to jot the pub down for tomorrow!

If you see me in there when you go for a rug say "hi", I'll be the tall woman with her hair in a bun, wearing my purple Tesco winter riding coat and navy blue full seat jods. :)

LOL, my son will probably come in for the sweets and go back out to the car to watch the movie. I'd rather my OH NOT be in there as I don't want him to know how much I spend!! :p
 
My view on Sandon Saddlery? Its where old and mouldy tack goes to die, and it smells too.

The women are unfriendly and I wouldn't put any of their tack near my horse. I would go to the other place down the road.

Not sure how far you are travelling, but the pub meal could be the highlight of the day.
Sorry, I know that everyone has different views, so here is mine, warts and all
 
I am very local and have been there hundreds of times.

yes there is a huge pile of rotting old tack, yes the 'ladies' can snap and be rude (but I'm a bit odd I find it amusing!).

But, it's like an aladins cave you can find all sorts there, good and bad. They are knowledgable about side saddle and have a variety of items (many in need of some tlc.

The owner is now well in her eighties and is rather deaf, but still works every day.

She is incredibly kind hearted and lent me masses of stuff when my tack room contents were stolen, the only ex wide saddle they had was a brand new Jeffries, she insisted I 'borrowed' it for as long as was needed. 2 weeks later I asked to purchase said saddle, she took 25% off the price as it was now secondhand!!!!!!!

Be warned though, they hate you to leave without purchasing anything.

Sales round the corner is less of a 'saddlery' sells feed, rugs, supplements and some bridlework/headcollars etc.

I second The Bull at Cottered, the Jolly Waggoners at Ardeley is also good.
 
WELL, THAT was an experience!!

For me it was well worth the 140 mile round trip as even though I didn't find a black cutaway jacket, I ended up with an Edwardian OFF-SIDE side saddle for days when my wonky hip is acting up, an off-side apron (I need to lose another stone to fit into it but I'm on my way there), a pair of side saddle queens for an off-side and a near-side side saddle and a brown fleecy side saddle numnah!

I even met fellow H&H'er, Llewelyn, too who was looking for a rug and got side tracked by a dressage tail coat :)

Off-side side saddles are so hard to find and to find tack and attire to go with them is even harder but they had it! If I had more money, I would have bought the rest of the side saddles there, there were so many!! And they all looked like they would fit Hattie and me!!! Darn her Thoroughbred conformation for suiting side saddles!!

I'm really pleased with the saddle as it fits my butt and judging from the wither tracing, looks like it will be a really good fit for Hattie. It even has a point strap on the near side that Hattie needs to stop saddles from sliding forward. I can't wait to try it out tomrrow and Miss Dodd-Noble wants me to let her know how I get on with it. I told her if I use it in the dressage next month, I'll send her a photo :)

I wanted to buy some more side saddle numnahs but I was spent up. When I get paid, I'm going to ring and see if I can send them a cheque for some more to post to me.

Yes, there was tack of questionable condition and a few moth eaten habits but I really enjoyed routing around in the buckets and boxes for stuff. It's my kind of shop and Miss Dodd-Noble was REALLY nice! She told me about horses she bought in the past and showed me a lovely photo of her partner riding a grey horse side saddle.

I wish I had more time to look round the shop properly but we had to get back to put the chooks in (it was pitch black when we got back to Leicester as we got stuck in a rolling roadblock while workmen picked up cones off the carriage way!!).

We had lunch in the Bushel and Strike (thanks Llewelyn!!) which was good and cozy.

Bonus points for my OH and son who spent the whole time in the car watching a film until the batteries ran out in the lap top. :p

It was a really good day!
 
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