Regina Kear Reid riding sidesaddle in 1968 at Heather Hall in Great Britain.
The year is 1967. Just out of high school, Alexa Goodwin travels from the old south to a small town in England to work as a schooling student for one year at Heels Down Hall. Her plans are to earn the British Horse Society Assistant Instructors certificate - a globally recognized teaching credential – and to eventually ride for the United States in the Olympics.
“Heels Down Hall,” by Regina Kear Reid is an absorbing read for all who love horses. Readers will get a unique insight into how things were done ‘back in the day,’ with everything from the ingredients for the drench used to aid a colicking horse, to tips on riding sidesaddle, and the differences between riding in America and riding and showing in Great Britain.
Regina draws inspiration from her time at Heather Hall in Great Britain (1967 to 1968). Her own real-life adventures mirror those of Alexa, including references to her travels to Africa and beyond with her parents.
If you’ve been involved in horses for many years, you might recognize Regina’s name. Not only did she write for East Coast Equestrian before moving to Florida, but she was well known in equestrian circles. Her formal training includes a B.A. and M.A. from East Carolina University and years of intensive training at British Horse Society Riding Schools in various locations in the United Kingdom. Regina directed Pace University’s (NY) Equine Studies programs for 15 years while competing in major horse shows in hunters, jumpers, and ladies’ hunter sidesaddle. She has coached Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) regional and national champions in hunt seat and stock seat equitation. She’s played and coached arena polo, hunted, and worked with Pony Clubs in both the United States and Great Britain.
After marrying Robert Reid in 1996, Regina moved to the Wind-Hi Farm in Northeast Pennsylvania where her husband had a tack and leather shop called Leathers by Reid. They boarded horses and raised ponies as well.
“I helped with the shop and marketing, but Bob was a saddler. He restored many side saddles, and Civil War saddles, and he custom-made hand-tooled western saddles, including a few for Hollywood cowboys. Because of the interest in sidesaddle riding in our local Hunt, and my former contacts, we developed a line of sidesaddle accessories.”
Regina’s affair with riding sidesaddle is woven into Alexa’s story, with a spectacular synchronized sidesaddle exhibit on the grounds of Heels Down Hall. Tips on how to ride sidesaddle are woven into the story.
“I learned to ride sidesaddle at Heather Hall [in 1968],” Regina recalled. “While I was Director of Equine Studies at Pace, I watched the ladies' sidesaddle classes at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden. I thought, well I know how to do this, and I have the horse to do it. I returned to Heather Hall in England the next summer and took a refresher course… Then when back [in] the US, I bought a sidesaddle and started training, The next spring I entered Devon and placed sixth. I taught several of my Pace students how to ride sidesaddle and they competed in recognized horse shows and two of those riders competed at indoors.”
Regina and her husband were members of the Abington Hills Hunt and she was an honorary whipper-in for several years.
“The hunt would frequently schedule meets on our farm,” she said. The Hunt was a big part of the social fabric of the equestrian community. “On our farm, we boarded a few horses and some of my students’ ponies and I bred some ponies. We were blessed to live in a farming community, and one could trail ride around fields and through the woods.”
The paper chase Regina and her husband held on their farm for the Abington Hills Pony Club evolved into an annual event for local riders who were a. mix of western and English.
YA Novel
Regina’s first novel is a tribute to her early training, but she thanks her brother for helping her decide to bring it to fruition as a young adult novel, something she did while enjoying her retirement in Florida.
“I had just finished writing what I considered to be my memoir,” she said. My English friend, J Johnson (the illustrator of HDH) was in Florida visiting me. My younger brother Robert, who of course accompanied our family to Africa and on all other travels, is an author himself. I told Robert what the story was about, and his first reaction was, ‘This has to be on Amazon.’ It was at that point and at my brother's urging that I re-wrote the memoir as a teen/young adult novel. It had to be historically accurate for the story to make sense.”
These days, Regina – who no longer owns horses – said she gets her horse fix by watching world-class equestrian events in Ocala and Wellington, Florida. She’s taught some freelance riding lessons, helped a few riders re-school off the track racehorses, and taught a few clinics.
“For a while, I taught at a local therapeutic riding center, Harmony Farms. I used the pandemic to get the technical aspects of the book together.”
When asked why she wanted to write this book, Regina offered wise words. “There is sometimes a misperception that only the rich and famous can enjoy horses. I hope to help inspire young people to work as hard as takes to make their dreams come true.”
For more information on Regina, visit the website at hoofbeatsandhorsetales.com
Purchase your own copy of 'Heels Down Hall' on Amazon.