Whether you are looking for a saddle for a Hunter, Jumper, or an Event horse, our jumping saddles have wool panels that can be adjusted to address the asymmetry of the horse’s back and a strong gullet plate that can be easily adjusted on-site, for the exact shape of the horse’s wither.
For the Thoroughbred and Irish Sport breeds, which often have high withers with deep shoulder holes, we add small adjustable air panels in the pommel area where those deep shoulders are located. As shown in these before-and-after pictures, taken six months apart, this horse became a successful upper-level dressage horse. We do the same thing with our Jumping saddles.
The security issue for young girls riding in the Jumping Disciplines is that the horses they ride can easily take advantage of their inexperience. They often lack the strength and coordination that older girls attain with more time in the saddle. Unfortunately, saddle manufacturers aren’t focusing on the rider’s safety; instead, their emphasis seems to be on how soft and pretty they can make a saddle, which is not approachable.
The two-point position is a technique and a way to enhance your horse’s performance. By shifting your weight off the horse’s back, you give your horse more freedom of movement. Simultaneously, you align your center of gravity with your horse’s forward balance, creating a harmonious partnership.
This is a straightforward explanation of the two-point position, which can be problematic for some riders.
Examining the two riders in the images, it's clear that both are attempting the two-point position. However, the rider on the left demonstrates a secure position, distributing their weight evenly across the saddle’s panels. In contrast, the rider on the right is insecure, concentrating their weight on the horse’s wither, which often makes a horse unable to jump at their physical capabilities.
This comparison highlights the importance of designing a jumping saddle that allows the rider to have the correct weight distribution in the two-point position.
On the left side of the above sketch, the position is demonstrated for most male riders. The two equal-length, double green arrows above that left sketch indicate that the rider is balanced, with equal weight behind and in front of his irons. This is accomplished because most men have equal upper-to-lower leg lengths (green arrow on the left sketch), allowing them to easily ride in a balanced frame. In that balanced position, if his horse were to stop or veer to one side suddenly, he would merely have to sit down to maintain balance.
However, many women and young girls who often have longer upper legs and femurs (red arrow on the right sketch) place them in an unbalanced frame. With their upper-body weight cantilevered in front of their irons, notice the double red arrow above her head, on the right sketch, compared to the shorter red arrow on that same sketch, is cantilevering her weight in an insecure position, in front of her irons. That unbalanced position makes her susceptible to losing her seat if her horse suddenly stops, as in a fence refusal, or veers to one side to avoid a jump. In that case, where the momentum of the horse may suddenly stop, it doesn’t necessarily mean the rider can do the same, resulting in being dismounted or, worse, an avoidable injury.
Another problem with most young girls and women riding in an unbalanced frame is that when their weight is centered over the horse’s wither muscle, the red arrow on the above picture, the horse can go into submission; the reason the horse refuses a fence in the first place. Called the ‘bite-of-the-saddle.’ That is the same response the kitten in the above picture is feeling when being carried by their mother in a submissive fetal position.
That bite puts the kitten in a state of submission, but for the horse, that bite can be unpredictable. Some horses balk, some bolt, some rear, and some will try to do anything possible to get rid of the person creating that pain—therein lies the problem.
There are a lot of good horses that are deemed dangerous and then sold, or even shipped for slaughter, when the only thing wrong with them is that they were being ridden in a pretty, soft saddle rather than a saddle that would address the ‘live’ weight position of the rider.
Our five-position adjustable stirrup bars are our solution for getting a young girl or woman rider to sit in the saddle in a balanced frame. This allows the rider to ride in their 2-point position within the saddle seat and keeps their weight off their horse’s sensitive wither muscle.
So why don’t other saddleries use the same concept? First, it would require them to design a saddle with a more vigorous tree to support the longer stirrup bars. But mainly, why would they go to that bother when most are already selling thousands of their poorly designed saddles?
All of our saddle fitters have been trained to not only identify the correct and compensating musculature of the horse, plus supporting tendons and ligaments but also what needs to be done with the saddle adjustment to assure that the horse can move in its natural biomechanical frame and give the rider an ability to communicate its aids in a relaxed position.
The gullet plate can be adjusted on site to fit the wither of the horse correctly, plus the wool panels can be adjusted for the horse’s asymmetries to ensure that the rider can sit in a relaxed, balanced position - that is our specialty.
Measuring both Horse and Rider for a Jumping Saddle
HIGHT __’ ___”s
INSEAM _____”s
Orange MID THIGH ______”s
Brown MID HIP _______”s
Blue Length of lower leg _____”s
Red Length of upper leg _____”s
Green Height of Pelvis _____”s
These measurements are required for the saddle's size, openness, depth of the seat, and flap's length, width, and rotation.
We keep most size and flap rotation saddles in stock; however, if physical anomalies require a custom design, we can do that at no additional charge.
Delivery for custom orders is 6-8 weeks.
· Sizes: 16-18 inches w/ three flap rotations
· Secure balanced seat for young riders.
· Luxurious Italian leather in Black and Havana colors
· Wool flocking or Pommel air-panels for narrow withered horses.
· Extra strong and long gullet plate that can be adjusted many times on site.
· Adjustable stirrup bars that allow all riders to sit within the seat of the saddle.
· Our price is $3,695 - We can charge that discount because we make all our components in-house, and we don’t sponsor riders with free saddles - instead, we pass those savings onto our clients.
For more information: call us at (224) 447-5414 or Email us at conradreupert@gmail.com