Shamless brag! My new side saddle!!

sidesaddlegirl

sidesaddlegirl

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 November 2007
Messages
2,594
Location
Wigston, Leicestershire
www.sidesaddlegirl.co.uk
I waited 9 weeks for it to arrive and the saddler came out on Sunday to fit it to Hattie!!

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It's one that I ordered from a independent saddler on Ebay who started making the Manorgrove side saddle over the past couple of years. It was in my price budget and I needed a new one as finding an antique one to fit Hattie's awkward conformation AND fit me too, is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I'm so pleased with it as it's SO COMFY and he even made it with an extra wide fixed head to support my poor arthritic right knee. He put a point strap on the off-side to help it stay put and put the girth straps close to the tree points to stop it going forward. He even made me a special three buckle 3-fold girth so that the weight of the saddle was evenly distributed to stop the saddle tilting forward and digging into her shoulders due to having to buckle the girth on the point straps and the forward placement of the straps.

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I also discovered how out of shape I am from being "broken" these past two months but we managed to get a canter in on both reins, did walk/trot transitions, 20m circles and popped a diddy jump. The first jump was perfect and the saddle felt comfy but the 2nd time we did it, my energy and position was starting to flag due to me being out of shape and she refused it but the saddle still kept me secure AND more importantly, didn't slide onto her shoulders, whoo hoo! We jumped a 3rd time to end on a good note (I summoned my last ounce of energy) and Hattie jumped it perfectly again.

Hattie refusing due to my sloppy riding..

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I'm looking forward to schooling in it regularly and getting back into shape with it too! The saddler is going to investigate having an off-side one made for me as well. The flocking is still bedding down so I'm going to have to have him come back and adjust the flocking once we start working it in regularly.

I'm know some of you guys out there were wondering about the seat sizing of it. I'm 5'9" and about 13.5 stone and got the 17" seat. My saddle actually measures 17 1/4" from cutback to cantle or 21" from front of fixed head to cantle and it fits me but I have stupidly short 20 1/2" thighs for my height anyways. The seat width is a comfy 14 1/2" wide.

It's so beautiful though and I have it on the bed beside me here so I can sniff the leather (LOL, I'm a saddo).

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You should have a go! :) I'd love to go hunting side saddle but I cack myself even jumping the diddy jumps and I'd NEVER be able to hold Hattie back while everyone was galloping. She'd over take the hunt master!! It's dressage only for us although I have to do an occasional jump in the middle of practising our tests to keep Hattie interested and to stop irrational fear from taking over my brain :D
 
Lol it wasn't cheap was just made for someone a lot bigger than me. But had a really short seat. Even with my pad behind my knee. It was meant for someone with tree thighs and a big bum (I mean super human) I'm five foot and eight stone but we put it on ebay being honest and got some money back and an email saying how well it fitted this lady! Takes all soughts!
My antique saddle fits me with a pad amd fitted both my 14.3hh cob and my 17hh hunter (with slight adjustment) lucky muchly.
Been hunting several seasons side saddle ot is the way forward. Wool habit keeps me warm for one and much more stable than astride! Again I am very lucky that my pony has immaculate manners hunting so no pulling. Yay! Will try and find photo but not optimistic. Ps. I don't look very elegant in any of them!
 
Tharg said:
Can I ask SS how you knew he was doing it right?

I'd love to give sidesaddle a go!
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I did some research on the saddles from some people who had bought them and asked about them at the National show at Addington (two side saddlers there said that they were indeed English made in Walsall and looked to be made properly) and found out that they were indeed made on a proper English made Alton & Butler side saddle tree, the same as what every side saddler uses here.

I already knew what I wanted in a saddle and what it should be like to fit Hattie and told the saddler that. The saddler seemed really receptive to making the saddle work for her conformation and knew where to tweak a side saddle's flocking properly. I've had other side saddlers come out to me before to do Hattie's side saddles (some good, some bad) and this one seemed to know what he was doing. I'm not a saddler myself but judging from how the saddle did not slide forward on her shoulders after he adjusted it, he accomplished what other saddlers (side and normal) failed to do in the past for Hattie!

Just for that, I would not hesitate to get another saddle from him.
 
Finally found the picture!
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Excuse the head carriage the hounds were the otherside of a large hedge. :D
And we had been out about 2 1/2 hours at this point.

Sorry its so small its from my facebook!
 
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I know it is irronic, as ladies of old wanted to ride astride, but I would LOVE, to ride side saddle, it is soo elegant, I am really jealous, well done you though for that saddle

Please let us know how you get on, and please where I can learn side sadle
 
I learnt when I was 5 and 6 but took it up again when I was 16 and had some lessons with ..... erm.....*much brain racking* Roger Philpot, pittern hill stables in Warwickshire. They do lessons there. (never had a side-saddle lesson on their horses (had my own) but did my riding and road safety there 12 years ago and rode one of theirs 'piccalo' who was very well mannered (how sad that I remember her name!).):D
 
Llewellyn said:
I learnt when I was 5 and 6 but took it up again when I was 16 and had some lessons with ..... erm.....*much brain racking* Roger Philpot, pittern hill stables in Warwickshire. They do lessons there. (never had a side-saddle lesson on their horses (had my own) but did my riding and road safety there 12 years ago and rode one of theirs 'piccalo' who was very well mannered (how sad that I remember her name!).):D
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Thankyou, is there a website that I can go to to tell me locally whre I can learn to ride side saddle?
 
Well I just searched it on google to see if their was anywhere in Staffordshire (where I live now.) and it was pretty useless but Pittern Hill Stables has a link back to the sidesaddle association which would imply that somewhere on the SSA website is a list of establishments but can't see it. :mad:
Had lessons in Berkshire from Nicola Greenwood who teachs side saddle.
So thats teachers in Berkshire and Warwickshire. Two of the 48 counties in England covered! (googled that too!!!!)
 
daisydo, your best bet would be to contact the SSA as they can send you a list of instructors in your area BUT you may also want to google "side saddle lessons lincolnshire", etc and see what pops up. My instructor isn't on the SSA but she is more than qualified and I won 1st place at my first equitation show under her instruction! I found her by googling to see what was in my area.

I need my saddler to come out and adjust the flocking as it's packed all down from being new, may have him do my off-side saddle too while he's here. I really want to get this saddle going as there is dressage at the end of the month!!
 
Congratulations, you both look super comfy. You are so lucky to have a good saddler, my sister has had to make an equiform of her horses back and send that and her saddle back to England to have adjustments made. The other side saddle she has fits my Section D perfectly, but unfortunately is a tiny bit short for my well upholstered behind,so I've decided it's cheaper to lose some of the human padding than search for a new side saddle
 
Llewellyn said:
I learnt when I was 5 and 6 but took it up again when I was 16 and had some lessons with ..... erm.....*much brain racking* Roger Philpot, pittern hill stables in Warwickshire. They do lessons there. (never had a side-saddle lesson on their horses (had my own) but did my riding and road safety there 12 years ago and rode one of theirs 'piccalo' who was very well mannered (how sad that I remember her name!).):D
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I rode there with Roger about 10 - 12 years ago now, I used to have lessons on their horses and got to compete and to do my sidesaddle exams on them. Roger is amazing. We must have been around there at the same time! I was even lucky enough to appear on Countryfile when they turned up to film after the Nationals when Blue Button and Liz won.
 
i really miss mine, i sold it about a year ago , i'm sure oneday i will get one again, i went round an open xc course in it.. and got so annoyed with my OH saying i was jumping to small in it that i made him have a go. needles to say he stopped calling me such a wimp after that.....:p

me jumping...

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adams first time aside

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not so easy now adam huh!! ( would you belive when i made the cross pole for him he said, dont be so silly put it up, he changed his mind in mid air me thinks...) He never said sidesaddle was easy ever again!!!
 
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