Welcome to the thirteenth installment of the Ladies of Castor & Pollux.

When The History of Animals is written there will most certainly be a chapter entitled "Friends of the Animals."
This chapter would be remiss without including Sarah Montague. e.g she often stops by the store to provide
treats for the dogs which are so gourmet that Zuni Cafe would be proud to serve them, she wrote a book about horses
entitled The Adult Rider, and she has both a city and a country cat so as not to deprive herself of the company of mousers.
Hopefully the audio version of this book will include her speaking voice which she brings to both C&P and to the
airwaves of WNYC where she is an award winning producer. In the words of designer/friend/store regular
Nathan McCarthy, "I could happily listen to her read the phone book for the rest of my life." Agreed.

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The Ladies of Castor & Pollux - Lady No. 13 - Sarah Montague

Photo by John von Pamer

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Favorite recipe?
Salmon baked with slivers of prosciutto, from Rozanne Gold’s Cooking 1 2 3.
  Very easy to make, and instantly elegant.

Last great book you read?
I try to re-read something of Jane Austen’s every year; it resets my moral compass, but I
am currently passionate about a fantasy novel by Sherri Tepper called The Family Tree.
  A wickedly imaginative inter-dimensional thriller with a powerful environmental message.

Summer drink of choice?
Pimm's Cup or Frozen Margaritas with salt.

Your animals - names and breeds?
If you mean my own then my dim-witted Bull Mastiff, grandly called, Louis First Earl Mountbatten of
Burma and known as Batty.  City cat: Emily, a needy Siamese; country cat: Sylvia, an aloof mouser,
who is the daughter of a feral mother.  Retired horse: Jonathan, a Thoroughbred/Warmblood
cross now reading the Sunday Times at an equine retirement facility.

Do you exercise? What do you do, if so?
I ride every weekend I can, and while I am dubious about exercise for its own sake,
I have started doing a bit of Pilates because it helps strengthen the same parts
of the body that need to be strong and independent for riding. I also belong
to a beagle pack that provides a great excuse for long walks in uninhabited countryside.

Salty or sweet?
Salty.  I could happily subsist on high-end bar food, and cheese is my desert island food group.

Who inspires you and why?
I am drawn to people who make disadvantages into strengths—Virginia Woolf (madness); Jane
Austen (circumscribed life, lack of privacy or power); our current president.  Also to women
who work courageously and intelligently with animals—Temple Grandin (a splendid entry in the
first category, as well); Jane Goodall; Dian Fossey.

Pool or ocean?
Ocean, though I’m not a strong swimmer.  I prefer grand unpredictability to tidy resolution.

Favorite city?
Venice.

Last great vacation?
Last autumn I went on a riding holiday to Kefalonia in Greece, where I got to take Haflinger
ponies for a swim in the Ionian Sea.

Favorite TV show?
I don’t have network television, so I watch things in epic cycles once they’ve come out on DVD.
   I am very fond of quirky medical shows—so the original CSI with Peterson before it became a
self-conscious franchise, and Bones.

Weirdest job you've ever had?
My first job out of university involved typing (those were the days) the captions for an art book
called The Erotic Art of India. These were mostly descriptions of quite imaginative ‘positions’ frequently
involving several people and a cow or two. I was extremely prudish, and my face was flaming by the end
of the day. All in all, a stellar first job.

 Favorite restaurant?
I am very partial to The Little Owl, in our neighborhood, at the moment.

Favorite object in your home?
I have a 1940s advertising poster (I cannot even remember what is being advertised) showing an
idyllic scene with a teenage girl against a mountain backdrop, holding a pony, with a dog at her feet.
  Sometimes, like Alice in Wonderland, I just want to fall through the frame and be there.

Favorite piece of clothing?
Other than the lovely things I buy from you, probably an ancient Liberty headscarf that is beginning to disintegrate.

Favorite blog or website?
Not really.

Something you're scared of?
Being late.  And loud men.

Favorite record?
The Brandenburg Concertos.

Favorite popsong?
Probably a tie between “They Can’t Take  That Away From Me”
(the Gershwins, for Fred Astaire) and “Clouds” (Joni Mitchell.)

Your ideal day?
Something that represents the whole spectrum of my life, so: early morning hunting; reading a
script over breakfast; walking Batty; shopping; and a dinner party with friends.

Favorite gift you've ever received?
Difficult, because gifts are attached to the givers, but I was given a saddle, unexpectedly, when I was quite
young, and I remember the pleasure and astonishment of the occasion.

Favorite flower?
Lilies—they come both humble and grand.

Favorite scent?
Old fashioned enough to still love Chanel No.5 - the little black dress of scents - but
I also like many of the Jo Malone combinations - I'm wearing her white jasmine and mint
a lot now, and for winter her nutmeg and ginger.

Astrological sign?
Leo, with Pisces rising.

What do you do for a living?
I am a producer of spoken word, documentary, and dramatic programming for the public radio
system, and a writer on dog and horse topics.  I’ve just published a book, The Adult Rider, which
aims to give mature equestrians a ‘leg up’ into the very varied world of riding.

Where do you live?
In the Village, and near Hillsdale, New York in the country.

Your lucky number?
I don’t think I have one; when I have to make them up for codes, I choose literary references and
then turn them into numbers by using the telephone key pad.

What piece of art would you buy if you had no budget?
Something by David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, or William Wegman.