To Borrow Freedom

＂In her debut memoir, Sheila Greenfield tells the story of her unique business’s genesis and its heyday as it became a favored European travel destination, with repeat visitors returning every year. From high-speed gallops through the surf to free-spirited parties under starlit skies, readers will be entranced by the stunning natural world Greenfield’s uniquely sensitive prose brings to life. With honesty and vivid reflection, she captures the unglamorous realities and daily challenges of life as a host, entertainer, employer, and caretaker. It is a story of endurance and discipline, but also of camaraderie and communion as guests had the chance to experience life-altering partnerships with Greenfield’s herd of 35 exceptional pure or cross-bred Lusitano horses, the breed native to Portugal. Along the way, readers meet the horses and learn their backstories, benefitting from the remarkable lessons the animals with both their day-to-day caretakers, and the visiting riders who knew them only for short but intense periods＂--

Born and raised in Portugal, Sheila Greenfield inherited her mother’s love for horses, learning to ride at the age of five. Following her passion, she went on to study the art of classical riding, training for three years with the late Lord Henry Loch and a further three years with classical instructor Carlos Pinto, who represented Portugal in the Sydney Dressage Olympics and was a former pupil of the late Nuno Oliveira. After training in Portugal and England, Lee obtained her instructor’s diploma in Germany before returning to her home country to be with the Lusitanos she loved and set up her own classical riding and trail riding center: Caminhos do Alentejo (Trails of the Alentejo) grew into a leading name in European adventure travel, and she and her husband Robert entertained guests from all over the world every week for 15 years. Their company was spotlighted on the Australian travel and lifestyle television show Getaway, the German international news channel Deutsche Welle (DW-TV), and in a feature called ＂Lower Alentejo at a Canter＂ by Elizabeth Marcus in The New York Times. When the 1993 feature film The House of the Spirits was filmed in the area, Lee was given the privilege of teaching actor Antonio Banderas the basics of riding. Today, Lee lives in Ireland. This is her first book.