A vast majority of endurance riders use
English saddles of some sort or the other. A whole industry has sprung up
from endurance riding and there are now a large variety of saddles, saddle pads,
pouches, saddle bags bridles, bits.....you name it.....that have been designed
with the endurance rider in mind. You don't say where you live, but if you
can make it to Reno for the AERC convention on the 27th and 28th of February,
you will be greatly rewarded with lectures, seminars, and a huge trade show that
features almost everything an endurance rider could want, except the
horse.
Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! As a
former mid-atlantic hunter/jumper/dressage rider, it's nice to find
an equine sport that's not so...how should I say this...exclusive. I'm
even thinking of taking *western* riding lessons (sounds like fun to me, but
I'm sure my old trainer is rolling over in his grave right now).
That reminds me, though...one more
question. I've always ridden in an english saddle, because I just like
them better. There's nothing wrong with western saddles, but I just find
them a bit heavy and uncomfortable. I saw someone on this list
posting about using a dressage saddle. Is there any reason why doing
CTR/endurance in an english saddle would be a bad idea?
Also, if there are others who use english saddles
here, maybe someone can point me in the direction of english traiol
saddles. I remember seeing them in the Dover catalog many years ago, and
I'm sure they're still sold somewhere. Dover called them "park saddles"
or some such. They had lots of D rings and a much more padded
seat. Dover also used to sell different kinds of pouches and saddle bags
to fit english trail saddles. Anyone heard of any of this
lately?
