Julie Size and her "Riding Aside" blog
It is the Guild's regrettable duty to inform our readers of the discovery of the worst case of copyright infringement in the history of our organization
This occurred when the Guild received an unsolicited email from a life member and certified judge/instructor of the World Sidesaddle Federation.
"A blogger by the name of Julie Size has copied your historical entry on Irene Benjamin and entered it as her own writing. Sad, given that she's an editor of Saddle and Bridle, a reasonably well-known horse magazine here in the US. I write to inform you of this because Ms. Size has a long history of taking other people's words and images without consent, and as someone who puts out a lot of sidesaddle material, I have an interest in stopping this. Your site is not credited. If she does indeed have your permission, please do let me know so I can ease the worries of some colleagues."
An inspection of the website in question revealed that during the period covering January to November, 2010, blogger Julie Size had routinely looted rare images and historical data from various Long Riders' Guild websites. This included the theft of an entire original short story commissioned by the Guild and written by the famous Welsh Long Rider and international author, Jeremy James.
While there have been occasional examples of lazy writers lifting a paragraph or two from a Guild website, and neglecting to credit the LRG, our organization had never before experienced this sort of unashamed theft. When confronted with the overwhelming evidence of her literary crimes, Ms. Size offered no apology for her actions, stating instead that she had "removed the posts." It was, it seemed, a guilt free crime.
On her sidesaddle blog, Ms. Size gleefully informs the public, "Working as the Regional Editor for Saddle and Bridle magazine allows my literary creativity to flow."
In the face of such alarming pilfering, it would appear that there was in fact very little "literary creativity" involved.
Ironically, in an age when every equestrian magazine is struggling for survival, and the need for clear editorial leadership is paramount, the Guild sought the professional input of the publisher and editor of "Saddle & Bridle" magazine. Despite repeated messages, no acknowledgement or assistance was forthcoming from that publication.
The Equinest website states, "There are very few blogs out there about riding aside so in a way Julie's sets the standard."
The Guild is left wondering, is this the sort of person who "sets the standard" which represents the editorial policy of America's oldest running equestrian magazine? What is certain is that all acts of literary shoplifting will be revealed to our readers by the ethically strict Long Riders' Guild.
First Violation of Copyright
In addition to being probably the best known side-saddle rider of her day, Irene Benjamin was also a determined Long Rider. After a near fatal riding accident which left her partially paralysed, Irene was told she would never walk again. Determined to prove the doctors wrong, Irene not only eventually got back into the saddle, she gave mounted displays all over the world and undertook extended equestrian journeys in America and Australia. In 1998 Irene set out to ride from Glasgow, Scotland to Surrey, England in order to raise money for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Having recently survived cancer chemotherapy treatment, many advised this extraordinary woman not to attempt the journey. Irene was determined not to succumb to either disease or dissent. She set off on the 1250 mile ride full of determination and courage. Sadly, a few days into the journey Irene fell ill with pneumonia and was taken to hospital, where she died nine days later. In honour of her extraordinary courage, the International Side Saddle Organization instituted an annual “Irene Benjamin Handicapped Rider Award.”
Julie Size’s Blog entry for November 1, 2010
In addition to being probably the best known side-saddle rider of her day, Irene Benjamin was also a determined Long Rider. After a near fatal riding accident which left her partially paralysed, Irene was told she would never walk again. Determined to prove the doctors wrong, Irene not only eventually got back into the saddle, she gave mounted displays all over the world and undertook extended equestrian journeys in America and Australia. In 1998 Irene set out to ride from Glasgow, Scotland to Surrey, England in order to raise money for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Having recently survived cancer chemotherapy treatment, many advised this extraordinary woman not to attempt the journey. Irene was determined not to succumb to either disease or dissent. She set off on the 250 mile ride full of determination and courage. Sadly, a few days into the journey Irene fell ill with pneumonia and was taken to hospital, where she died nine days later. In honour of her extraordinary courage, the International Side Saddle Organization instituted an annual “Irene Benjamin Handicapped Rider Award.”
Second Violation of Copyright
It was 1933 and Magdalene Weale was faced with a dilemma. How to best explore her beloved English countryside? A motor car was denounced for its lack of involvement with the landscape. The bicycle, a “useful vehicle,” was nonetheless ruled out as it restricted the traveller to much the same view afforded from a car. Plus walking allowed only a limited degree of rural investigation. It seemed logical therefore to set out on horseback! What better way to do justice to the glorious "Highlands of Shropshire" or experience a sense of wild freedom than from the back of a saddle? A picturesque part of England steeped in legend, Weale discovered that Shropshire hosted ancient stone circles once frequented by sun worshipping primitives, Roman ruins close to their still tightly cobbled roads, and the remains of Saxon, Norman and Viking settlements. Through the Highlands of Shropshire contains page after page revealing the poetic observations of flora and fauna, birds and wildlife, as seen from the back of Weale’s ambling mare, Sandy. Part historical account, part Edwardian remembrance, it invokes a gentle, softer world inhabited by gracious country lairds, wise farmers, and jolly inn keepers. Complete with pencil drawings and detailed maps, this fine little book begs the reader to follow Weale’s advice. “Go thou and do likewise.”
Julie Size’s Blog entry for July 19 2010
It was 1933 and Magdalene Weale was faced with a dilemma. How to best explore her beloved English countryside? A motor car was denounced for its lack of involvement with the landscape. The bicycle, a “useful vehicle,” was nonetheless ruled out as it restricted the traveller to much the same view afforded from a car. Plus walking allowed only a limited degree of rural investigation. It seemed logical therefore to set out on horseback! What better way to do justice to the glorious "Highlands of Shropshire" or experience a sense of wild freedom than from the back of a saddle? A picturesque part of England steeped in legend, Weale discovered that Shropshire hosted ancient stone circles once frequented by sun worshipping primitives, Roman ruins close to their still tightly cobbled roads, and the remains of Saxon, Norman and Viking settlements. Through the Highlands of Shropshire contains page after page revealing the poetic observations of flora and fauna, birds and wildlife, as seen from the back of Weale’s ambling mare, Sandy. Part historical account, part Edwardian remembrance, it invokes a gentle, softer world inhabited by gracious country lairds, wise farmers, and jolly inn keepers. Complete with pencil drawings and detailed maps, this fine little book begs the reader to follow Weale’s advice. “Go thou and do likewise.”
Third Violation of Copyright
The Long Riders’ Guild’s Classic Travel Books website -
"I have often prayed that I may "wear out my life, and not rust it out," and it may be that my dreams and aspirations will be realised."
Fanny (Frances Isabella) Duberly was the epitome of the Victorian heroine, whose courage, intelligence and determination set her apart from the majority of men who travelled alongside her. Though she was raised in a culture which frowned on women risking their lives in foreign places, Fanny managed to express her joie de vivre by marrying Captain Henry Duberly, an officer in the dashing 8th Hussars. Thanks to the lax military restrictions of the day, in 1855 Fanny was able to accompany her husband and his regiment when they went into battle in the Crimean War. Despite the dangers from cholera which slew thousands around her, having ridden through cannon fire and having witnessed the “charge of the Light Brigade,” the indomitable young woman was the only officer’s wife who stayed with the army during the length of that brutal campaign. It was while she was still camped in the Crimea that her first book became a runaway best-seller.
Yet not long after Fanny had returned to England, alongside Henry and his regiment, the Hussars were ordered to sail to India in order to help suppress the Sepoy Rebellion which had broken out in 1857. Having already survived enough hardships to make a marine weep, upon arriving in India the indomitable Fanny saddled her horse and proceeded to make an extraordinary journey alongside the English army. This superb horsewoman rode sidesaddle nearly 2,000 miles through the deserts of western India, all the while surviving 120 degree heat and Indian ambushes. Fanny’s suffering, especially when the army doctor was forced to perform a crude operation on the young woman, was extreme. Perhaps because she was no stranger to hardship, Fanny Duberly welded an extraordinarily bold pen. She lashed incompetent British generals when they allowed their men to die in droves in the Crimea. She revealed the secrets of Indian harems. She regaled her readers with a fascinating mixture of terrors, adventures, secrets, everyday events and ferocious characters. She was what many women dreamed of being and few men dared emulate.
In an age which normally prided itself on restricting a woman’s choices, Fanny Duberly was an icon of bravery, talent and individuality. This is the first time her two travel books have been published simultaneously."
Julie Size’s Blog entry for Wednesday, July 14, 2010 -
"I have often prayed that I may "wear out my life, and not rust it out," and it may be that my dreams and aspirations will be realised "
Fanny (Frances Isabella) Duberly (27 September 1829 – January 1903) was the epitome of the Victorian heroine, whose courage, intelligence and determination set her apart from the majority of men who travelled alongside her. Though she was raised in a culture which frowned on women risking their lives in foreign places, Fanny managed to express her joie de vivre by marrying Captain Henry Duberly, an officer in the dashing 8th Hussars. Thanks to the lax military restrictions of the day, in 1855 Fanny was able to accompany her husband and his regiment when they went into battle in the Crimean War. Despite the dangers from cholera which slew thousands around her, having ridden through cannon fire and having witnessed the “charge of the Light Brigade,” the indomitable young woman was the only officer’s wife who stayed with the army during the length of that brutal campaign. It was while she was still camped in the Crimea that her first book became a runaway best-seller.
Yet not long after Fanny had returned to England, alongside Henry and his regiment, the Hussars were ordered to sail to India in order to help suppress the Sepoy Rebellion which had broken out in 1857. Having already survived enough hardships to make a marine weep, upon arriving in India the indomitable Fanny saddled her horse and proceeded to make an extraordinary journey alongside the English army. This superb horsewoman rode sidesaddle nearly 2,000 miles through the deserts of western India, all the while surviving 120 degree heat and Indian ambushes. Fanny’s suffering, especially when the army doctor was forced to perform a crude operation on the young woman, was extreme. Perhaps because she was no stranger to hardship, Fanny Duberly welded an extraordinarily bold pen. She lashed incompetent British generals when they allowed their men to die in droves in the Crimea. She revealed the secrets of Indian harems. She regaled her readers with a fascinating mixture of terrors, adventures, secrets, everyday events and ferocious characters. She was what many women dreamed of being and few men dared emulate.
In an age which normally prided itself on restricting a woman’s choices, Fanny Duberly was an icon of bravery, talent and individuality. This is the first time her two travel books have been published simultaneously.
Fourth Violation of Copyright
Martha Wadsworth - in April 1912 made an equestrian journey from Washington DC to her home in Genesee Valley New York, and back. According to contemporary accounts, Martha "made it an annual custom to ride from Washington to her New York home, taking a different route each time." In May 1907 she was accompanied on a 1200-mile journey by her cousin, Harriet Wadsworth Harper.
Julie Size’s Blog entry for May 10, 2010
Martha Wadsworth - in April 1912 made an equestrian journey from Washington DC to her home in Genesee Valley New York, and back. According to contemporary accounts, Martha "made it an annual custom to ride from Washington to her New York home, taking a different route each time." In May 1907 she was accompanied on a 1200-mile journey by her cousin, Harriet Wadsworth Harper.
Fifth Violation of Copyright
Harriet Wadsworth Harper, was a cousin of Historical Long Rider Martha Wadsworth (below). Unlike other women of her time, Harriet was unusual in that her side-saddle placed her legs on the right-hand side of the horse, not the left-hand side. "The family woke up one day to the fact that I had begun to look like a crooked little gnome. Something was wrong, so off I was sent to a surgeon, who ordered a steel and leather brace for me and suggested that a saddle to go on the right side of the horse should be made. This was to help correct my crooked back. No girls rode astride in those days - it was unthinkable.... I never changed back to riding on the near [left] side," Harriet wrote.
But what sets Harriet apart from other Historical Long Riders was not her saddle. It was the fact that she and Martha are the only Long Riders in history to have undertaken an equestrian journey together during which both riders used a side-saddle. In May 1907 they made a 1200-mile journey "down through Virginia to West Virginia, up the Ohio River, across Pennsylvania, and home to Genesee, New York. We stayed at farmhouses, in mining camps, any place that had spare beds."
In an interesting historical aside, one of the "pleasant companions" who joined the intrepid side-saddle Long Riders for a brief period was Gutzon Borglum "the sculptor who carved the heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt into Mount Rushmore, South Dakota."
Julie Size’s Blog entry for May 7, 2010 -
Harriet Wadsworth Harper, was a cousin of Historical Long Rider Martha Wadsworth. Unlike other women of her time, Harriet was unusual in that her side-saddle placed her legs on the right-hand side of the horse, not the left-hand side. "The family woke up one day to the fact that I had begun to look like a crooked little gnome. Something was wrong, so off I was sent to a surgeon, who ordered a steel and leather brace for me and suggested that a saddle to go on the right side of the horse should be made. This was to help correct my crooked back. No girls rode astride in those days - it was unthinkable.... I never changed back to riding on the near [left] side," Harriet wrote.
But what sets Harriet apart from other Historical Long Riders was not her saddle. It was the fact that she and Martha are the only Long Riders in history to have undertaken an equestrian journey together during which both riders used a side-saddle. In May 1907 they made a 1200-mile journey "down through Virginia to West Virginia, up the Ohio River, across Pennsylvania, and home to Genesee, New York. We stayed at farmhouses, in mining camps, any place that had spare beds."
In an interesting historical aside, one of the "pleasant companions" who joined the intrepid side-saddle Long Riders for a brief period was Gutzon Borglum "the sculptor who carved the heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt into Mount Rushmore, South Dakota."
Sixth Violation of Copyright
Daisy Bates was an Irish-Australian journalist, welfare worker and lifelong student of Australian Aboriginal culture. She migrated from Ireland to Australia in the 1880s. When an opportunity arose to start a cattle ranch in a distant part of the country, Daisy rode three thousand miles in her sidesaddle across the Outback. She spent the rest of her life championing the rights of the Aborigines, was the author of a book on the subject and was later awarded an OBE by the King of England for her charitable work.
Julie Size’s Blog entry for April 27, 2010 -
Daisy Bates was an Irish-Australian journalist, welfare worker and lifelong student of Australian Aboriginal culture. She migrated from Ireland to Australia in the 1880s. When an opportunity arose to start a cattle ranch in a distant part of the country, Daisy rode three thousand miles in her sidesaddle across the Outback. She spent the rest of her life championing the rights of the Aborigines, was the author of a book on the subject and was later awarded an OBE by the King of England for her charitable work.
Seventh Violation of Copyright
Long Riders' Guild Academic Foundation website -
All the Pretty Horsebreakers by Jeremy James
High society and la bella figura – a posturing in the Park. No-one but the upper crust dared appear. No tradesmen, no trades vehicles were allowed. The crest of the wave in Victorian England was in full plunge. It was the roaring 1860’s and Rotten Row was where you went if you wanted to go and glitter in the limelight. Fine looking young men on glossy steeds went clattering past young ladies with their parasols and lace – it’s where you got a wife – if you were looking for one – or not, if you weren’t. It’s certainly where you got something that passed for a wife, even if it was just for the night - at a price. Horses were superlatively turned out, with red brow bands for Royal stock. Men in frock coats and top hats, strode past in heroic posture. Rich young ladies wafted by in stunning costume. It was all part of the London Season. A display of coquetry, a trysting place, a place to show off. Etiquette was strict and deportment mattered. Appearance was all. And those young bucks without the wherewithal to go cantering by on a million quid’s worth of horseflesh hung onto the rails and dreamily ogled the passing form.........
Julie Size’s Blog entry for February 17, 2010 -
All the Pretty Horsebreakers by Jeremy James
High society and la bella figura – a posturing in the Park. No-one but the upper crust dared appear. No tradesmen, no trades vehicles were allowed. The crest of the wave in Victorian England was in full plunge. It was the roaring 1860’s and Rotten Row was where you went if you wanted to go and glitter in the limelight. Fine looking young men on glossy steeds went clattering past young ladies with their parasols and lace – it’s where you got a wife – if you were looking for one – or not, if you weren’t. It’s certainly where you got something that passed for a wife, even if it was just for the night - at a price. Horses were superlatively turned out, with red brow bands for Royal stock. Men in frock coats and top hats, strode past in heroic posture. Rich young ladies wafted by in stunning costume. It was all part of the London Season. A display of coquetry, a trysting place, a place to show off. Etiquette was strict and deportment mattered. Appearance was all. And those young bucks without the wherewithal to go cantering by on a million quid’s worth of horseflesh hung onto the rails and dreamily ogled the passing form.......
Eighth Violation of Copyright
Long Riders' Guild Academic Foundation website -
The Old West had many courageous and hardy women pioneers, but the ride of this woman surpasses all in female bravery. Because their careers were flamboyant and spectacular, the stamina and hardihood of women like Calamity Jane, Belle Starr and Etta Place have been much acclaimed in sagas of the Old West, even though most of their adventures were outside the law. Often we forget the courage and guts with which many an ordinary, respectable wife and mother met the hardships and dangers of frontier life. One such woman was Clarintha, wife of George Washington Draper of Arkansas and Texas.
Julie Size’s Blog entry for January 22, 2010
The Old West had many courageous and hardy women pioneers, but the ride of this woman surpasses all in female bravery. Because their careers were flamboyant and spectacular, the stamina and hardihood of women like Calamity Jane, Belle Starr and Etta Place have been much acclaimed in sagas of the Old West, even though most of their adventures were outside the law. Often we forget the courage and guts with which many an ordinary, respectable wife and mother met the hardships and dangers of frontier life. One such woman was Clarintha, wife of George Washington Draper of Arkansas and Texas.
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