For all the years I’ve owned Sebi I’ve had the same saddle.  A Western saddle that I bought just months after I bought him back in 1986.  Both the horse and I were and still are amateurs.  I had never owned a horse before and Sebi hadn’t really had much experience being owned.  He’d been left on a pasture to starve until I came along so the combination of zero experience on both sides was a dangerous one.

As a family we collectively have two additional saddles, both of these are Western too.  When you’re not much of an expert rider all that leather and places to hold on seems to add an element of security.  I shyed away from English for a couple of reasons. First my riding is limited to trail riding strictly for pleasure and second it just didn’t look like you had much there to help keep you on the horse if something unplanned happened, like the horse under the saddle bucking, spooking and shying unexpectedly.

In the early days something unplanned seemed to happen with fair regularity when I was on the trail with Sebastian.  If something startled him it was almost a matter of course he would put his head down and buck for just a few seconds in response.  Once he nearly pulled my arm off as I was leading him through the hallway of the barn.  Someone moved a trashcan from the left side to the right side and the unexpected presence of the can in a new spot scared Sebi enough to produce a sudden backward retreat that caught me off guard.

A wide variety of these kinds of experiences produced a response from me that I’m sure isn’t recommended in any textbook or training program.  I adopted a firm policy of “if I find something that works never change it” strategy that 20+ years later has resulted in my using the same saddle, same bridle, same bit, well… you get the idea.  For a brief period of maybe two or three years I did ride often enough that the horse settled down substantially and I got comfortable enough to actually ride frequently with just a bareback pad (it was the kind with stirrups and a small nylon handle where the horn would be on a saddle).  Sometimes I even rode without the bareback pad.

When my children came along I wasn’t able to ride as often so some of the not so pleasant behavior from Sebi returned and had me again clinging to my old western saddle for security.  That routine has continued over the years as life has gotten in the way of much riding.  I have made a firm promise to ride more often.  I made an impulse purchase this past weekend brought about primarily due to a brief experience last summer on a borrowed English saddle and as a result of this renewed vow to get back to trail riding.

On the 4th of July last year I was invited by a neighbor of mine (you’ll be hearing more about her later – her name is Sandy) to come as near as I could to dressing like a Colonial soldier and riding my horse around The American Village during their 4th of July festivities that day.  Let the kids pet the horses, add to the Colonial atmosphere there, etc.  I couldn’t very well show up with a Western saddle so Sandy let me borrow an English saddle of hers.  I loved it.  It gets blazing hot here in the summer, especially July and August, and having a lighter saddle that was easy to manage was a welcome treat.

This past weekend my husband Mark and I attended Bluegrass & Burgers, a fund raising event held annually at The Spirit of Hope Youth Ranch (something else you’ll hear me talking about a lot if you come back often enough).  They had a room set up where you could pick out some leftover tack in exchange for a donation.  Among the many offerings were a selection of several English saddles.  The prices were just too good to ignore, so I bought one.  As I was leaving, Missy Cox, the trainer out there at the Ranch explained the saddle I now own belonged to a former Olympic gold medalist and this was the very saddle he used during that win.  Since I was on my way out I didn’t get a chance to absorb those details but don’t worry, I’ll be revisiting that topic with Missy as soon as I see her again and will share what I find out.

I have a new, old saddle I’ll be testing out soon.  You’ll have to come back and hear how it works out.