Esther and Charles Osborne

Esther and Charles Osborne

My brother, Rafael, fondly remembers Charles and Esther, “Charles was always ready to help a fellow rider and discuss the intricacies of horsemanship. Esther was so much fun while I was growing up. A lifelong teacher, she would teach me new words everyday and during the day at the clinics, I would try my very best to use the word of the day in a sentence to impress her.”

Kathleen Roller of Forth Worth says, “I rode with Charlie for a few years about 10 years ago. I adored him. My parents and my husband used to love to come with me to ride with him. He would let me use his own horses to learn the “feel”. It was one of the most wonderful things in my life. One thing I remember that was great….he would let me ride his Lippizan mare and Andalusian stallion. It was great to get that feel. He was also happy to jump upon my “less than well mannered” thoroughbred gelding (much to my horror and fear to have 80 year old man jump on him) and teach him some unbelievable things. It was a learning experience above all…after many years of wanting to “show” I truly learned the value of Classical training versus show training. Including not limiting my horses abilities by the “level” that he could do in show arena but instead concentrate on his true aptitudes.”

In Charles Ethridge’s own words:
Nana and Grandpa met in Galveston, sometime in the late 30′s or early 40′s. They were married in November of 1943. They had 2 daughters, Lynn and Gail. I think that originally, Grandpa bought his first 2 horses (Spooky and Sam: a Morgan and a cow-pony) for his daughters to ride and begin a hobby the whole family could enjoy. The girls loved riding, as did Grandpa, but Nana did not care for it. Horses were large, dusty and dirty creatures that didn’t compliment the spotlessly clean world she craved. But, as in everything else, she saw how much Grandpa and the girls loved it, and so was an avid supporter…all be it from the sidelines and upwind! I swear there were times we would come home from the horses and she would literally be right behind us pouring Lysol in our footsteps! She was always very much the lady. Very prim and proper. She was the type of person who could sit and eat dinner with royalty or paupers and never seem out place.

My grandfather never had trouble meeting people and making friends either. As he strove to learn more about horses and training from local Western trainers, sometime in the mid to late 60′s, he became friends with an old US Army Cavalry Colonel who had extensive dressage training. Grandpa became fixated on dressage and trained his Morgan gelding Spooky, to probably 3rd level dressage within a few years. He also became familiar with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna and The Royal Hermann Lipizzan Show that toured the US quite frequently then. His appreciation for dressage continued to grow, far beyond the bounds of what 1960′s Texas could hold.

Charles and Dulzon De La Parra

I know at some point he told me, but I cannot remember how he came to learn of Nuno Oliveira. All I do remember is that by the early 70′s he was traveling to Portugal most summers to study with Maestro. Between horses, dressage and classical Italian opera, Oliveira and my grandfather became fast friends. Grandpa organized and helped run quite a few clinics here in the states that brought both Nuno, and Joao to the states.

Nana came to Europe in the early 80′s (I believe) to witness what Grandpa had described to her thousands of time. They would start in Portugal, go to her homeland of Germany and on to Vienna to see the Spanish Riding School. Once Nana saw Oliveira’s horses and those of the Spanish School, she realized the beauty and the art aspect of classical dressage. As a result, she became an ardent supporter of classical dressage, and like it or not, probably knew more than any non-rider ever could know about the subject.

They were truly fantastic people. Flip sides of a coin for the most part, but they supported each other to the fullest. They supported everyone they cared about to the fullest. The years with them, learning to ride and eventually break and train horses, are times I truly miss and will never forget. My family and I now live in their old house and I have leased a horse and keep him at the same stables where Grandpa had his horses for the last thirty years. This horse is just a bomb-proof old cow pony (just like Grandpa started out with), but he has me back in the saddle, and planning to start my children riding once I get back in the swing of things.

I don’t know if I can be to my kids what my grandad was to me. But I do know that what I experienced over the years with my grandparents, the horses, and all the wonderful and fascinating people (such as yourselves)was so terrific, that I would not forgive myself if I didn’t try to involve my family in the world of horses.

Other little things you might not have known:
1. Grandpa was a professional saddle-maker. Several of his saddles are in museums and I still have the historical ones and the Portuguese ones.
2. Grandpa won marksmanship medals in the Army and was an excellent swimmer. He taught well over 100 students in his training days. His style of instruction was one that many either loved or hated, but no one has ever taught me more and made me want to keep going to learn more and more in any subject.
3. Grandpa was an electrical engineer and was directly responsible for the design of several power plants in the DFW area and was also highly involved with the design of Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Facility. He also loved to build and fly model airplanes.
4. Nana was a school teacher in the Fort Worth ISD for 20 plus years.
5. She loved crosswords, antique glass, and genealogy; at which she would toil for hours a day over many years. She traced the family all the way back to Richard the Lion-Hearted.
6. She was the most fantastic person to talk to I’ve ever known. Even as a teenager, when I didn’t want to talk to anyone usually, she was still amazing. The woman was so intelligent, I don’t believe there was any subject she couldn’t speak with someone about. And even then, she always listened with an intent, hungry for more smile that said she was absolutely fascinated with what you had to say (no matter how unimportant or trifling). I watched the same look on her face as my little ones began to talk, and she could do it for hours.

Thank you so much to Charles Etheridge for writing about his beloved grandparents and sharing more of them with us. The passion they had for sharing their love of classical dressage and sharing their beautiful relationship with everyone they encountered is truly an inspiration.

Maestro and Charles Osborne at Andalusians De La Parra

All of us at Andalusians De La Parra were sorry to hear of their passing, but we also know how blessed we are to have had these two passionate and giving people in our lives.