HORSE SENSE

Saddle Club Has Been Shaping Childhoods for Decades

Lifelong islander Kathy Countryman remembers showing up to her 8th grade banquet in a bright pink dress with a bright red sunburn. She had been out riding April, her quarter horse, all day, only to realize she had made it all the way down to the south end of the island from her parents’ place near Wilkes Elementary. And now she had to make it back up north before the festivities began.

BY ISABELLE HAINES PHOTOS BY ANNIE GRAEBNER

That was more than 50 years ago, back when young island equestrians could cross Highway 305 with hardly a worry about traffic. Countryman viewed her access to a horse as a ticket to freedom before she was old enough to drive a car. It was also a chance to be alone, or at least not around other humans; a peaceful refuge on quiet trails through the woods. Countryman was 12 when she got April as a 3-year-old filly. “I still had her when she died at 29.”

Melissa Davis has similar memories dating back to 1982 when she moved at age 7 to Bainbridge with her parents. Davis described her parents as “city folk,” but said they decided to buy horses upon moving to the island—perhaps, in part, to keep their daughters occupied. Rides across Bainbridge were also a staple of her childhood.

She recalls trips to meet friends from various parts of the island to explore trails in the Grand Forest or traverse Manitou Beach at low tide. To get around, “we had permission to cross through several different pieces of private property,” she said.

“The horses I grew up with as a kid were whatever my family could afford,” said Davis. “They were quite the variety of misfits. The horse I rode all over the island was a mare named Tana,” an

Appaloosa-Thoroughbred cross that, oddly, didn't have a single spot. “She was my best friend and trusty steed.”

Both Davis and Countryman have watched Bainbridge transform over the past few decades. Crossing busy roads like Miller and Highway 305 is no longer safe on horseback, and the woods aren’t as quiet as they used to be. But the island still boasts a strong equestrian tradition thanks, in part, to the efforts of the Bainbridge Island Saddle Club.

Founded in 1948, the Saddle Club provides riding facilities to more than 280 members and hosts monthly hunter-jumper shows from April through September. Both Davis and Countryman are long-time club members and currently sit on its board, Davis as president. Countryman and her daughter, Katie Countryman Starks, along with fellow board member Megan Lawson, organize and manage the club’s shows, which are free for spectators and open to the public.

The club also hosts clinics and special events. For the past couple of years, Davis has run a clinic on mounted archery, a sport she picked up in 2019, which is just as formidable as it sounds. While the club doesn’t provide lessons, it remains a gathering place for young riders who build community at shows or a week-long summer campout for island Pony Club members. Davis remembers those campouts as the highlight of her childhood summers. “I more or less grew up at the club,” she said.

At its current location on Day Road, the club provides direct access to the trails at Manzanita Park and maintains more than 8 acres. Evergreens tower over its two arenas. For an island that has seen a lot of change, Countryman feels strongly about preserving that place for the equestrian community and for future generations of riders.

“It’s almost a little look into old Bainbridge,” she said.

The Saddle Club acquired the Day Road property in 1969 and began construction on a clubhouse. As the club is 100 percent volunteer run, members would swing by on Wednesday evenings to help with construction, with the work parties topped off by potlucks and a bonfire. Horse shows and facility maintenance are also left up to volunteers, but those who work with horses aren’t strangers to hard work and responsibility. From a young age, Davis woke up early to feed and care for her horse before school. She blames the fact that she’s a self-described “ridiculous morning person” on that particular habit but is grateful she learned responsibility at a young age.

“I have actually not been without a horse since I was 7,” Davis said. “And my parents are still wondering when the phase will end.” She credits much of her lifelong passion to the Saddle Club and hopes that she can pass that passion along to new riders. Membership has remained steady over the past few years, but Davis said the club hopes to grow. Both individual and family membership plans are available, including for non-riders who want to support the island’s equestrian community.

“I still ride. And a lot of that is because of the foundation I got growing up at the club,” Davis said. “That’s why it’s so important for me to preserve the club as it is today.”