To Borrow Freedom

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, Greenfield 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 Lee 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 inThe New York Times. When the 1993 feature film The House of the Spirits was filmed in the area, Greenfield was given the privilege of teaching actor Antonio Banderas the basics of riding. Today, Greenfield lives in Ireland. This is her first book.