[Kalimac]

Raefindel - it's in "The Palantir" in TTT, when Gandalf is riding to Gondor with Pippin as supercargo; Pippin asks him why he is riding bareback, and Gandalf answers "I do not ride Elf-fashion, except on Shadowfax..." and goes on to explain that Shadowfax won't wear a saddle, rather he'll "consent to bear" you and after that it's his business to make sure you stay on, no bridle or saddle needed. So the implication is that Elves didn't generally ride with saddles, though you probably could explain the Glorfindel (or, in the movie, Arwen) thing by saying that he was looking for the travelers and may have brought the saddle out of expecting that Asfaloth may need to give someone a lift. Or possibly "Elf-fashion" could just be an expression, like "English" and "Western" riding styles (sorry equestrians; I know I'm butchering the terminology). All I mean is that riding Elf-fashion could just mean that it developed and is still widely used among the Elves - it wouldn't imply that every Elf rides that way any more than it would imply that every rider in England rides in a certain fashion.

Alas, the only riding experience I've had is when I went to visit a second cousin's farm at the age of four and was given a pony ride. I've sometimes wished I could learn how to really ride, especially considering the kind of stuff I like to read, but here in suburbia it's difficult to know how to get started. OTOH it means I didn't notice anything wrong in the "Noro lim, Asfaloth!" scene - sometimes ignorance is bliss [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img].