For the horses who come in for training I have a variety of saddles so I usually have something that will fit anyone that arrives. For my personal horses, though, I want the fit exactly right since this is the equipment I'll be asking them to use long-term and not just for a month or two of training when I can get away with shimming saddle pads to make things work. Raven has been riding well in my Bates jumping saddle with the straighter tree (I have 3 Bates, each with very different trees). However, when I tried her in a County Innovation she morphed into a smooth, light, jumping machine. Flawless flying lead changes, bascule for days over the fences, and she HUMMED throughout the ride. That's really the deal maker, when the horse is so happy and breathing so well that she hums while she's working.
This was the first saddle she liked. It worked great for her, but the flap wasn't the right shape for my leg. I could either have my buns in the right place and my knee poking over the front of the flap, or my knee in the right place and my haunches hanging out the back door. You can see we have a good plumb line drawn in black on the photo, perpendicular to the ground and connecting my ear, shoulder, hip, and heel, I just needed the flap to accommodate my femur better.
I then began my search for a County that would fit not just Raven, but also me. This next photo is of another County saddle, but the balance point on it is much farther back than the first one I tried. You can see why I had such dramatic issues keeping my balance in this one, based on the plumb line drawn in. It connects my ear, shoulder, and hip, but my leg is really far in front of the line because that's where the saddle placed it. In a jumping saddle my base of support and balance is my leg, and to have it so far out in front of me made it very difficult to ride. Every time I tried to post and get up out of the saddle it was like trying to get up from sitting in a bucket because my feet weren't under me! Raven was thrown off balance because I was so off balance, and she actually did some bucking and a little bit of rearing as she tried to shove me into the right position during the test ride.
I then decided to take a break from saddle shopping. I knew exactly what I wanted, so I ruminated on it and sent all my superhero vibes out into the universe in an attempt to manifest exactly what I needed (and in my limited price range).
I spent the following weekend at my friend Carol's place near Boulder. I took Raven and Miles the Border Collie with me for the time spent on my mini vacation. We rode around the fields with my dog tagging along through the pastures, and Raven was able to demonstrate both her sassy-ness as well as her good behavior to some old friends.
On a whim during one of the evenings, Carol and I took the dogs to a local tack store that's pretty close to her place. We rummaged through the sale bins and I found a great down-like red vest as well as some navy blue breeches with a brown stripe down the leg and stylish logo for 50% off. I had written my dream saddle's specs on the back of my business card, and I handed it to the woman working at the store. I explained exactly what I was looking for, and asked if they ever got any County saddles in on consignment?
To my surprise and delight, they had the exact saddle I wanted sitting on a rack in the back of the store. It had been there for more than a year on consignment with no takers because the tree was extremely narrow and most have a broader back like warmbloods or quarter horses. Raven is a quintessential Thoroughbred and requires a very narrow tree to be comfortable. The saddle also happened to have a low and forward flap, and was my size. I sat in it in the store and liked it, so we took it back to the ranch with us to test out.
That evening I rode in the saddle in the arena at Carol's. I did some work there and hopped Raven over a few low fences.
Then we adjourned to the back hay fields so I could really open her up and let Raven gallop. I mostly will be galloping and jumping in this saddle, so I needed to hike up my stirrups and test it at speed to know if it would really work for my purposes. Raven thought this was a great idea. Since this was the first time I've really let her run in the open, after hopping around and bucking a little in playful exuberance she lowered to the ground and kicked it into another gear. She ate up the ground and shot across the field like the racehorse she could have been. We galloped both directions and used both leads, but when we were done Raven quietly came back to a walk and we finished our ride with Carol on a loose rein. Such a great brain on this mare, when all the many components of her mind, tack, body, and excitement levels come together in the right way.
I loved the saddle. Raven loved it. It was easy to ride in two point position, especially once I got my stirrups short enough. The flap was placed exactly right for my leg. It's interesting to really gallop fast on a Thoroughbred, the entire body of the horse dramatically stretches out and contracts with every stride. It's so much movement that I just want to tuck my legs up high to stay out of the way, hence the really short stirrups. Raven was game, and she had a blast at the high speeds out there.
I made an offer on the saddle and the seller accepted happily since there had been no offers in the year it had spent at the shop. It felt like a great victory to get exactly what Raven and I wanted, at a comfortable price for us.
We rode in it some more this weekend, and I'm playing with the saddle pads a little to lift the back just a touch. I got it right this afternoon and Raven and I had a terrific jumping session.
I'm extremely pleased with how Raven is going in this saddle, especially over fences. It feels great to me, it's just right for a forward seat in two point position for jumping and galloping. Next I address her dressage saddle and getting that re-flocked so it's correct for her, and then we'll be fully outfitted for her to begin her competition career!
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