This beautiful home is full of greenery and subtle touches of equestrian style!

Patricia Salem is a freelance writer specializing in the equestrian niche. After living in Mexico for seven years, she recently decided to move back to the United States. She enlisted her sister, Barbara McDonough to help decorate her new home in the desert of Southern California.

While in Mexico, Patricia had been working as an equine massage therapist, but the commute was starting to get to her.

“I was crossing the border as often as every day to see clients in both San Diego and LA, and sometimes they would cancel after I had already done that horrible border wait. I knew I couldn’t keep that pace up, so I gradually transitioned to doing more writing work from home. Taking in a rescue dog who couldn’t be left at home alone for long because she was a puppy really sealed the deal. While I started as a generalist, writing about everything under the sun, I was able to slowly work my way over to an equestrian specialty. After a while, clients started finding me, and I began covering international events for the FEI, which I’m still thrilled to be doing.”

A History with Horses

Patricia loved and admired horses at a young age, but being from a large family, horse ownership just wasn’t in the cards.

When she was 17, Patricia moved to the Netherlands as a foreign exchange student. She lived with a Dutch family that signed her up for riding lessons. She’s been a recreational rider ever since.

“About 10 years ago, I was made redundant in a big pharma merger, which was when I started my equine massage therapy practice. I loved the hands-on aspect of it, and I felt I could understand their aches and pains as a former dancer,” Patricia explained.

“I was lucky enough to serve on the board of the San Diego chapter of the California Dressage Society, which taught me a great deal about shows and show management. I worked as a scribe and ring steward, which in that part of the country means having Olympians in your ring as a matter of course. It was a life-changing experience for me.”

Today, the commute isn’t missed but, Patricia does miss the daily equine contact, so she still does a bit of pro bono massage work, and cares for her next door neighbors’ horses when they travel out of town.

When it comes to decorating Patricia embraces a feminine style with prairie and cottage influences. She shares her space with three dogs and a cat, so everything has to be durable and animal friendly.

One of Patricia’s favorite equestrian pieces is this old hitching post that has been converted into a towel holder.

The bench under the coat rack is an old garden bench, pieces of leather and tack can be found throughout the space.

Patricia and her sister shopped for some pieces together, but Barbara sourced a lot of pieces from Craigslist, estate sales, and various online shops.