Everyone knows I hate my current western bridle. The leather is cheap and poorly dyed, the stitching was already popped on the browband when it arrived, and it's just ugly. But when riding western, draft sized tack is not exactly easy to come by. Yes, I'm a tack snob, but the fit and leather was just hard to live with. Why have such a pretty saddle and such a meh bridle?
Ugh, why is it so awful???
Enter Buckaroo Leather and their custom bridles. After ordering my custom chinks I decided to email John with my bridle wish list. He replied with a seriously reasonable price tag and I took the plunge on a custom western bridle. After five weeks, it arrived!
There are no words for the sounds I made when I opened the box and pulled this beauty out.
I really need to replace my kitchen floor
The leather is so nice! I expect zero break in. The conchos match my chinks and the wild rose tooling looks fantastic with my floral tooled saddle. Also note the lovely rawhide detail on the browband.
Love, love, love this bridle
I decided on loop reins since I keep dropping my split reins at awkward moments, like after the judge has rung the bell for me to start my test. Theo has learned to turn his head and let mom grab the dropped rein but loop reins still seemed a wise choice. I got a 10' loop rolled rein that was designed specifically for cowboy dressage. The leather quality is wonderful and the buckles match my bridle. I love the way they feel in my hands. Hubby was impressed with these since it's apparently a lot of work to get leather burnished and finished like this.
Cameo appearance by my turtle tattoo and my kitchen wall that is under construction
Theo's got a big head so this vintage style bridle will suit him very well. I can't wait to show it off! A pity I missed all of the second half of the western dressage season with my health issues, but I should have one more schooling show this year. I also have 2020 and our Level 3 debut to look forward to.
Chap leather lining
Can't recommend John at Buckaroo Leather enough. Communication is great and it really is whatever you want., sky is the limit! For the cost of my PS of Sweden headstall, I got a bridle made to Theo's measurements, a set of reins, and a curb strap. It's all hand tooled and the bridle is lined in chap leather. The leather quality is wonderful and I expect it will serve me for many years. No, it's not the crazy padded anatomical beast that is my PS of Sweden headstall (which I still love and would totally buy again), but it is a high quality, beautiful bridle I will be proud to take on the road.
I've already got the hackamore set I want all picked out, just need to wait for all this moving nonsense to be done so I know what my budget looks like. If I'm going to be the weirdo western rider in a barn, I will be a very fashionable weirdo. I finally found someone to buy my spare western saddle off of me AND sold some spare tack at the consignment shop so I have space for some new gear.
I get asked this a lot, especially at shows when I mention that I do both. Sometimes even in the same weekend. What's the difference between western dressage and traditional dressage?
Here's the perspective of one rider that started with traditional dressage and then stumbled onto western dressage.
Our western dressage debut in 2018
Tack, obviously. That freaking 35 pound saddle is a dead giveaway as to what style I'm working on. Horns are not required on the saddle but western style fenders are. There's also very different rules regarding bits. My loose ring snaffle is allowed for both disciplines, but a curb is allowed at all levels in western dressage. Ports of up to 3.5" are allowed as are bitless bridles, bosals, and spade bits. You see quite a variety of rigs, though the hands down most common is a small Myler curb bit. Even Theo owns one. For some riders having more bitting options is a reason to go western but I've heard rumor that the rules will change to snaffles only at the lower levels in the future.
Short shank Myler bit, good occasional reminder when pony decides he wants to hang on my defective shoulder
Two hands are allowed at all levels and with all bits, but one hand is also allowed with a curb bit. Two reins (a bit and a bosalita) is also allowed and I'm tempted to train Theo to a bosal with the goal of going two rein. Probably this winter to keep us from going crazy in the indoor. One day, in the distant future, I want to ride a test one handed. It's a good goal to work toward.
The movements are a bit different between the two disciplines. Turn on the forehand is seen in competition starting at Level 1 and keeps showing up right through Level 4. Turn on the haunch is a stationary movement and goes up to 360 degrees. Want to work on your horse's balance and attention? Do a 360 degree turn on the forehand right into a 360 degree pivot on the haunches. There are no mediums or extensions, just lengthening of stride in jog or lope. Not all tests have lengthens or might only lengthen one gait. A lot of movements hint at reining patterns. No flying changes until Level 4, but you also get half pirouettes and a canter entrance at that level so it's a big jump from Level 3. There's more halts in general and a lot more reinback, including reinback on centerline. Yikes.
Level 4 Test 4, currently the highest level test
You can talk to your horse and cluck at them, which I love.
Jog and lope are, in reality, not that big of a change from trot and canter. Especially with the collected gaits, I change very little between the two rings. The neck still lifts, the hocks step under and take more weight, all of that. I turn the dial up more for the traditional dressage ring so that he shows a bigger trot and canter. In western dressage, Theo's natural collected gaits are quite good and I let him just do his thing. Not having to turn the dial up keeps him in happy, floppy eared pony land and keeps our harmony score up. It's most definitely not western pleasure gaits but don't expect to get great scores just because of big gaits. If it doesn't look easy to ride, looks tense, or feels frantic, it's not going to score well. Think about the kind of gaits you'd want to live with if you needed to spend hours in the saddle or the gaits you see in ranch pleasure classes. You want to get there in a timely fashion, but it needs to be something you can live with all day. Your horse also needs to look like they can keep it up for awhile.
Doing a good job of looking very chill
The biggest difference in my experience is in the expectations and the scoring. The emphasis is on a horse that looks obedient, attentive, and easy to ride. Light contact, light leg, harmonious picture. Heavy contact is a big no no. Instead of a submission score, it's a harmony score with a coefficient of 2. Harmony is usually our best mark. When the judge says your horse looks like a blast to ride, you know you just got a good score. You're being scored on how easily and smoothly you as a team complete the test. Your goal is to make your horse look like a super fun, easy ride that the judge wants to kidnap for their own barn.
Not really all that different
In traditional dressage, I get hit a lot for Theo not having big enough gaits or enough energy. Those requirements change in western dressage. Your horse must be forward thinking but not at the expense of rideability. Your horse needs to be uphill in collection but it can't look tense. I still get 'needs more ground cover' in my lengthens, so that doesn't change. A horse that doesn't halt well or jigs is going to have a hard time. Halts are everything in western dressage since you're doing it all. the. time. Also straight lines away from the rail and down centerline. The Level 3 Test 4 with the canter-halt-turn on haunches-canter sequence is brutal if your horse drifts. Spoiler: Theo drifts.
This is the old Level 3 Test 4 but you get the idea, scored 76.7%. This was also our judge at our last show
Western dressage is getting more popular. It seems to hit that niche for riders that find traditional dressage to be out of reach for them or their horse but still want to focus on the precision that the sandbox requires. Several of the more nervous ladies I know feel much more comfortable presenting at the jog and lope in a western saddle. Less emphasis on 'get them more forward' and more saddle for them to grab on. Showing in jeans? Sign them up! And the pretty saddle blankets. They own QHs and paints because that type of mind makes them comfortable. Now they have a chance to show them in a venue where they feel comfortable and those wonderful minds are rewarded.
For Theo, western dressage is the better fit. It matches his personality and natural abilities. We will still show traditional dressage because, I want that dang Bronze. I also find that the traditional dressage training pushes us to improve his power and forward thinking so my western dressage tests look easier and easier.
If you've got access to a western saddle and there's a western dressage show, it's fun to try. Some horses do very well with the change in emphasis. It's new movements for a seasoned competitor to learn and you get to show in jeans. Seriously, showing in jeans is amazing. White breeches are dumb, give me dark wash jeans any day.
He lights up like it's the Fourth of July, grabs the bit, and has a blast. We did 2'3" and 2'6" courses just for fun and a change of pace. It was 90* out which really didn't help our speed but he loved getting out to do something different. On our last course I was able to get right up off his back and let him cruise between fences with that steady, balanced canter we've developed. His first course was a bit shaky while he figured out what game we were playing but each course got more forward and more confident. He keeps this up, I'll have to rethink taking him into the equitation ring. He was hitting his distances in the related lines and happy as a clam. Slow, but happy as a clam. A jumper he is not but we took all of the inside lines and kept ourselves out of trouble with the clock.
Super fancy show horse right here
Seriously, all the inside lines. If you can canter a 10m circle, there's all sorts of inside turns that open up. Every inch counts when your pony is kind of slow. I will admit to making faces and struggling a bit in the warm up with my jumping length stirrups. It's been awhile.
And then I take him out to do this.
Level 2 Tests 1 and 4. He was sore on Saturday after his jumping efforts (the fences are 2'6", you do not need to put in an extra foot), but his massage therapist was out to put things right and he had his game face on for our show on Sunday.
I really can't complain about this horse's versatility. He's pretty game to try whatever I toss at him so long as there are cookies in my pocket. I like to keep him guessing and keep all three saddles in rotation. He gained a couple of new fans this weekend with his incredible ability to sidle up to people and convince them that his ears need scritches. I'm trying to remember a course or a test and then I look down and realize Theo has abducted yet another stranger to shower him with praise and love. How does he do this?
He managed the somewhat spooky indoor and got a 67% and a 70% from Lynn Palm. That got him the champion ribbon for adult ammy at the level (just 0.5 behind the professional showing at our level on her stunning QH). We got an 8 in our collectives for harmony and Lynn said he looked like an absolute blast to ride. She's not wrong.
And so ends our crazy June of showing. We now drop off into the July break. We've got despooking next weekend, then a real break while Theo gets his joint injections done. We'll do one show on the 20th to support the local western dressage community but that's it. We're going to chill, absorb all of the feedback from the past six weeks, and tune some stuff up. Or sip margaritas in the heat, one or the other.
Background: Theo is a 16.2h Perch/Cheval Canadian cross with big honkin' shoulders, very long withers, a short flat back, and an uphill build. This is basically the opposite of your run of the mill stock type horse. He was tricky to fit for English saddles, western saddles proved to be borderline impossible. I spent the better part of 1.5 years trying to get him in a western saddle. He couldn't go in a full QH bar tree but he also struggled with the semi QH bar because it pinched his shoulders. Saddles rocked on him. I finally gave up and settled on a treeless saddle to get us into the ring but it didn't give me the support I needed as we moved up the levels. As Theo's back came up and he got more bounce going, the treeless saddle didn't work for me. Theo was happy but I was struggling. I took a chance and ordered the demo of the Harmony Western dressage saddle as it was one of the few advertised for the discipline.
The Product: The Harmony Western Dressage saddle is made by a subsidiary of Foxtrot and is built on an elastomer tree from Steele Saddle Tree. That means it is a flex tree but as a hybrid, it has rigid parts to keep it from collapsing. It also features a Sil-Cush lining for shock absorption. Every saddle is custom made. You can pick the leather colors, the tooling, the type of horn, anything. The saddle was originally meant for gaited horses but was so popular with western dressage riders that they decided to market to them. The stirrup and seat are designed to keep the rider in the correct alignment for western dressage. It comes in three models based on weight. I had the original with the round skirt and semi QH tree shipped out.
Base price is $2,495 and it goes up from there.
Review: I absolutely LOVE this saddle, as does everyone that borrows it. It fits most of the horses in the barn since it's a flexible tree and the right width for most English discipline horses (aka horses with withers). The short, round skirt suits my horse and makes it flexible enough to fit a lot of other horses.
Every show I go to, someone comments on how attractive this saddle is. I've been riding in it for months now and it gets better looking as it wears. It's the basket weave/floral tooling option with silver conchos and it gives me just enough flair without making us look overly flashy. I also like looking at my swell and seeing pretty flowers.
It fits Theo nicely. We did have to play with saddle pad and cinch options to get it settled but I've learned that's expected with western saddles since you can't flock them. Theo needed a 1" thick, 28" long Five Star wool saddle pad and a Total Saddle Fit cinch to get everything settled. The dropped rigging is wonderful for stability but with a standard cinch, I found the saddle inching up on his shoulders throughout the ride and his saddle pad slipping back. His girth groove was forward of where the cinch landed so it would creep forward and take the saddle with it. The Total Saddle Fit cinch fixed that and the thicker Five Star pad got everything settled and locked in.
With the gear settled, this saddle is rock steady and neither the chiro nor the massage therapist have noted any problems. Theo does all of his laterals as easily in this saddle as his dressage saddle. I took it trail riding and found it very easy to relax with the horn and cantle to keep me feeling secure. The seat is memory foam but under that you can definitely feel the rigid ground seat. Everyone that has sat in it finds it very comfortable but it's not butt candy soft. A good thing if you're in the saddle for hours, an overly soft seat starts to suck, but don't expect it to be a pillow. The twist is wider than my English saddles but my hips adjusted just fine after a couple rides. This is the first western saddle where I don't feel like I need to fight to keep my position, especially in the canter.
The negatives? It's freaking 35 pounds. Some of the ladies can't use it because it weighs too much to get up on their horses. With my tall horse, it's a bit of a show watching me saddle him. There are lighter models with the Ultra Light coming in at 25 pounds, but it has less tooling options and a fleece skirt instead of the Sil Cush and leather. I wanted the tooling and extra shock absorption so I deal with the weight.
Due to the flex tree, you can't drag, rope, or otherwise abuse the saddle. Not a concern in my world, but it is a limitation if I decide to dabble in trail classes or cow work. It's not meant for sports that put a lot of stress on the tree. The flex tree was a concern for me in terms of holding up, but it comes with a 100% Lifetime warranty on the tree so I decided to take the risk.
Also cleaning the basket weave sucks. Why would anyone do this to their saddle? It's such a pain to clean and I'm sitting on large parts of it so you can't even see it. Cleaning a saddle with a toothbrush is enough to make someone question their sanity. That has nothing to do with the saddle quality, the tooling is gorgeous, but I freaking hate cleaning it. I like handling the leather since it's so nice, but the tooling makes me batty.
Conclusion: Awesome saddle that's made for the discipline. It's comfy, stable, and does well on horses that are not the typical western shape. English riders find it comfortable and don't feel like it's putting them in a weird spot. Customer service was fantastic. If you want to invest in a saddle for western dressage competition, check this one out.
Saturday was awesome. Super awesome. But I fell asleep to the sound of pouring rain and that was not what I wanted. On Sunday I was slopping through the rain on the way into stabling. I wanted a good spot for my trailer so I hitched up from the overnight parking and moved it around first thing in the morning and I soaked my jeans climbing around in my truck bed.
It was also freezing so my friend and I were quickly rummaging around for more layers. I got dressed early for my class because chinks are nice and warm. I realized my new western saddle was going to get soaked and cried a little about that.
We still had to walk Theo and we took a pass around the competition ring to check out where it had been rearranged. The judge's booth was removed and replaced by a car, probably due to the judge freezing. While walking around, I could see that the rings were quickly going under water. They didn't drain worth a darn and the warm up was all standing water. The footing was still giving way under my feet and the first bit of doubt started to filter in. Why was I even going into the ring?
I talked to my western dressage friends and we all convinced each other to go for it. We'd all driven a long way, it seemed dumb to pack it in without even trying. There was an indoor arena for warm up for the coliseum, but as I discovered when I tried to go in there, saddle seat warm up is a unique experience. I walked Theo in hand while trainers glared at me for being there and whooped and hyped up the horses. After hand walking for ten minutes under a sheet, I gave up and took Theo outside.
It was so cold. So, so cold. 40* or so and with the wind, it felt like it was going to snow. The rain was coming down hard and I was out in warm up completely alone. Everyone else was hidden inside and Theo was pretty sure this was the hands down dumbest thing ever. We slopped around warm up, trying to get his muscles warm while not slipping in the footing. After ten minutes, lunch break ended and I got the green light to go in whenever I wanted.
I headed straight for the ring. Theo was just getting pissed in the rain and we were so cold. If we were going to try it, might as well try it. He entered beautifully and I am super proud of him for that. Not properly warmed up, alone, in the driving cold rain, and he marched down center line. It wasn't until we tried to canter into C and the water was up to his fetlocks that he broke and started to give me trouble. He swapped leads, then refused to canter through the lake. He's not an eventer, it's not like we practice that sort of thing. I'm good with mud and rain, I jumped him in a soaked ring on sand just a week ago. This was different. This wasn't a nice sand ring that was full of puddles. C was completely underwater, Theo was slipping, and I put my hand up. Another withdrawal. I felt dumb for trying to show in that mess.
Theo went back in his stall to be toweled down and bundled up while we packed up for departure. The show announcer sent out a warning about ice on bridges and I felt better about my decision to scratch. We got the stall stripped and Theo loaded up with no trouble. On the drive back, we had sleet. Gross.
So my show did not go at all to plan with Sunday being a complete wash out, but it wasn't a total loss.
Pony's got all the moves for Level 2 and started the season in a very reasonable way. I'm going to focus on the good stuff and let the problems from Mother Nature just roll off of me. Was I a quitter to withdraw twice in one weekend? Probably, but Theo had such a good weekend that I feel more confident going into our next outings. That was our goal.
There will be other days and other shows. We got what we needed, which was some good trips in an all new facility. Onward and upward.
Saturday dawned absolutely glorious. Sunny, warm, and my friend that volunteered to groom arrived. All of a sudden I had another pair of hands. She took Theo out for a 30 minute hand walk while I cleaned his stall. It's the little things that help with a show. I don't need a lot of help, just someone to entertain the heathen while I do the day to day chores. When I didn't have pins for my number, she ran out to buy some so I didn't have to descend into a panic. She was a life saver in so many little ways.
Theo was delighted to have another human to annoy and coax into providing treats.
Kisses for his new best friend ever that learned to carry cookies in her pocket
I rode him in the morning to see what I had in the tank and ended up doing about 30 minutes to burn off some of the excess energy from being in a stall. Interesting discovery, western and English riders are not supposed to warm up together under USEF rules. This is due to differences in equipment rules and makes it easier for the stewards to watch us. Half of the warm up was a sea of mud with water standing on top due to the previous night's storm. The temp rings just didn't drain at all. Yeah, it rained hard, but that was over twelve hours ago! And the footing was more like mud, not wet sand. I don't care about wet sand, I'll even jump in that, but this was sucking mud. Guess which side the western dressage got? Yeah, it was gross. I should have gotten a picture of Theo after his warm up. Mud up to his midline and all over my tack. I also noticed that the footing was sliding and we couldn't canter much, but the competition ring was in good shape with just one muddy corner so I didn't worry too much. Theo doesn't need to school movements, he knows them by heart. I can burn energy safely in trot.
Theo went straight to the wash rack for a bath after that work and then back to his stall for more hay and a nap. I cleaned my tack and changed into my show clothes, finally getting all of my new show look together.
Pro show pony knows when to chill and save energy. He looks like a total mule in this picture.
Cream shirt with purple flowers, my new chinks from Buckaroo Leather, my new shorter boots, my brown Troxel, and a purple saddle blanket. I'm in my English spurs since they work fine with my boot cut jeans and are more precise than my rowels. You really can't tell with my jeans over top. Theo has the same hideous bridle since the color matches. That's my next thing to replace.
Level 2 Test 1 was up first.
Considering some of the melt downs he had the day before around that competition ring? I was so, so, so proud of him for that test. As soon as he hit centerline, it was show time. It is such a pleasure to ride a horse that understands the job and is happy to do it. He broke when he found the mud next to C but it felt like he was genuinely surprised to have the footing slip under his feet. I had to forgive it and he cantered through it each time afterward. We got rapped hard for our halt that didn't really commit and our shoulder ins that didn't have enough bend, but we still got a 65% and won the class. I am not complaining at all. He looked so good down that final centerline, so happy and relaxed while bouncing along.
Level 1 Test 2 was next.
They decided that setting up all of the office work in the second judge booth was a good idea, so Theo was struggling with all of the noise coming from that cave. People arriving and leaving, the printing calculator, moving equipment, etc. I heard a noise from the booth right before he bucked so I know what happened. He came right back and only one score was affected. We got another 65% and won the class with comments about our leg yields needing better bending. Yeah, I know. I know that right down to my soul.
For the first time ever, I tried doing three tests at a show. I wanted to see if he could handle it since western dressage is point based. You get awards based on accumulated points. Doing three tests would make it easier to get to his bronze in western dressage.
Level 2 Test 2
You can hear that screeching sound on the video. That was a trailer jack knifing next to the ring (right next to that arch in the background). I startled badly because it was sudden and I thought it was an injured animal. When I startle, Theo startles badly. You can't hear the staff yelling at the driver and the driver yelling back while they (noisily) tried to get things straightened out. I did try to pick my canter back up, but Theo wasn't having it since I was still rattled. Neither of us do well with sudden, scary noises. I put my hand up and withdrew. There was no positive experience to be had in that situation. The trailer and yelling staff weren't going anywhere and Theo was distracted at a level I couldn't work through while doing a Level 2 test. Our next movement was a simple change at X, followed by a lengthened lope heading back toward the commotion. Hahaha, no. I walked out rather than give him a bad experience after being so good. He didn't try to dump me or leave, so it's still progress.
The judge flagged me down to ask what happened and I told her that there was no positive experience to be had, so I was stopping. She complimented me for choosing my horse over the test and said she was looking forward to seeing the test the next day since it had started so well. We did discuss whether or not he was a personality that could handle three tests and I'm leaning toward no. It's still hard for him to march out there by himself and three may be too much for him to handle mentally. I'm thinking that he'll always be a two test pony, which is a disadvantage at western dressage shows. But whatever, he's a super star and we're becoming known in the local western dressage crowd. He's made for this discipline and tough to beat.
I tucked my tired dressage pony into bed and went to watch the Arabian show in the coliseum for a couple hours. Interesting, but not my cup of tea. Especially the saddle seat classes. Just . . . not for me.
We headed out when the show wound up around 10pm (can you imagine showing that late at night?!) and managed to snag six hours of sleep. The forecast was for cold and rain on Sunday. The rain was already starting when we went to bed.
Three day show, so not going to try to fit it all in one post. I'm still recovering from my post horse show hangover and the idea of that much typing makes me want to go to bed, crawl under the blankets, and never come out.
On Friday I packed up the beast and hauled him two hours to the Eastern States Exposition for the Arabian Horse Club of Conneticut's annual show. It's a huge facility. I took Allen there many years ago for an equitation final. I took Fiona there to be a demo horse at Equine Affaire. It was Theo's turn to experience the chaos.
Theo did not approve, especially as our first show of the season.
The usual dressage ring was under construction, so we were in a temp set up in a field. The footing was fine, but it all seemed a bit cobbled together. There were big cement blocks holding up the fencing around the warm up area. We were right next to the pallets full of bedding and had cars/trailers/even the occasional semi going by the ring.
The view from the warmup ring
While tacking up I realized I forgot my wool pad for my western saddle. Fortunately my new saddle has silicone cushioning and I could ride him in just a saddle blanket for the weekend. Not how I wanted to ride and not something I ever want to do again, but at least I didn't have to bribe someone to rush my saddle pad down so I could ride.
I worked him in the warm up for about an hour when we got there. It was nerve wrecking at first because he was so distracted and very quick to spook and spin. But then I put my leg on and asked him to come back to me and he actually freaking did it. The spooking dropped away to nothing and he let me give him a little bump to refocus him when he tried to jump away from the fire hydrant for the tenth time. It was massive progress for him (and me) that I was able to work him through his distraction in a positive way. Walk, trot, canter with no attempts to unload me and just some spooking at things like pallets being moved and unloaded. Which is pretty fair, let's be honest.
No schooling allowed in the competition ring, but I did take Theo for a walk around it after the Arabian dressage show was done. He did fine until he realized he was the only horse in sight in any direction since everyone else had left for dinner. He then had a small meltdown. Twenty more minutes of convincing him that he was not going to die got him walking around calmly enough that I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get launched.
The behavior in the stall has not changed at all. Much angry head shaking and demanding to be let out. I put about 30k steps on my Fitbit on Friday, much of it handwalking to avoid the stall being destroyed.
The best grass was next to warm up,, the pallets of bedding are just out of frame on the right
I also found a restaurant where I could get street style tacos and a margarita. That helped the weekend get off to a solid start.
All hail the well made margarita
During dinner we had a band of storms go through with torrential rain, but it was over in an hour. Didn't seem like a big deal and Saturday was forecasted to be 66* and sunny. Just perfect. Overall the first day went about as well as I could have hoped. We settled in the stabling, we worked, and no one completely melted down. I kissed my pony goodnight, went to my motel that was only .25 miles away from the facility, and proceeded to not sleep a wink because I'm bad at sleeping in motels.
The tail is trimmed, the chestnuts have been hacked and filed into shape, and the mane has been conditioned. That must mean it's show time.
Since I made a lot of changes in the off season, I'm still practicing riding in my new show gear. That means it's time for some dirty mirror selfies!
The outfit still feels foreign to me, but I'm getting used to it. The helmet is a Troxel which is far from my favorite brand, but I'll give them credit. This doesn't feel like the flimsy thing I was wearing when I took my serious concussion back in the early 2000's. It's comfy and light while blending with my ranch pleasure inspired look. My chaps/chinks are such a nice color and I love the conchos with no extra strings or bling. The conchos look a lot like the ones on my saddle and I'm thinking about getting a bridle with matching conchos so we're all coordinated. You can just barely see my new Ariat boots. The rowels are the ones I got last year with the very gentle flower rowel.
The shirt was a random plaid shirt I got for $3 at Walmart years ago. I've got some different shirts for showing and some colored saddle blankets to go with them, but I actually really like the natural color saddle pad with this outfit. He looks like a genuine, functional western horse.
I, on the other hand, am struggling to figure out how to wear my lovely chaps and get my saddle in the right spot on his back on the first try. I keep pushing the saddle too far forward and I never get the chinks on in the same place twice which means a lot of adjusting and wiggling around in the saddle, ugh. Where the heck are these things supposed to rest, anyway? I feel like I'm that stereotypical older gentleman with my pants hauled up far too high.
Health paperwork was finished today so the show is on. Friday morning we take off for a weekend full of Arabian horses and brand new dressage tests. Should be an adventure.
I thought it would be straightforward. I ordered up some western boots in my size, excellent reviews, off we go. Right? Not so much. I thought I wanted a tall shaft (height of the boot) so I could wear my jeans/breeches tucked into my boots and show them off with some chinks. It was something I spotted in several photos from ranch pleasure turn outs. My boots arrived and I was delighted with the height, but they weren't meant to go so high on my leg. I'm 5'2" and my legs aren't particularly long in comparison to my body. The Justin boots were completely straight from ankle to the top. The boots hit the wide part of my calf and stopped, causing them to wrinkle a lot where they are not supposed to and hit my ankles uncomfortably. It also made my legs look weird with the wide part of my calf sitting on top of my boots.
These look super weird with the fat part of my calf jutting out
I tried some heel lifts like I've used with breaking in tall boots but I had to get an inch of lift before my legs kind of worked and even then, my ankles were getting beat up. And a one inch silicone lift is not fun to walk in when it's jammed in a boot. I gave up on my 13" boots and looked at something a bit shorter.
With the heel lift, still looks weird
Much heartbreak in that decision, they were so pretty and were otherwise perfect. So comfy.
I stopped by my local Tractor Supply and there were some Justin and Ariat boots to try on. I tried on some Justin's in an 11" shaft and they were nice. Not perfect since a wide fit doesn't show up in stores, but nice. Then the hubby pointed out some boots for me and it was all over. A pair of Ariats with a round toe and some subtle embroidery in pink around the top. 10" height and they fit wonderfully. A hair tight around the little toe but all boots are tight on me when I get them. I have a can of boot stretch and my feet are used to it. Ariat is a brand I'm very familiar with and have stuck with through the years.
Much better, you can see some gap around the top and it's not being forced to sag
I bought the boots and now I get to start the break in process all over again, but I feel like I really have a shot this time. At least the shaft isn't biting into my calf or making my leg look weird. They mostly fit! I think they're super cute and they're nice to ride in. I'll have to take some quality time breaking them in for width, but I think they'll be stomp around all day boots once that's done.
I'm embracing the idea of riding in jeans and a tee shirt.
If you have an average/slim calf, I highly recommend the Justin boots. The quality was obvious and they fit my foot so well (they do come in a wide which is nice). I may go back to the Justins but with a shorter shaft. My calves are quite wide and short so I'm not surprised that the tall shaft boots had trouble. I put on a pair of 11" shaft boots from Justin while I was at Tractor Supply and they were lovely. Ariats had a touch more room in the instep so I went with them. I have freaky high insteps, so most people will find that the Justins are plenty roomy. Style wise, I preferred the Justins. For my freaky feet, the Ariats won the day.
I have my new brown leather helmet, my new chinks, and now some new cowboy boots. I'm almost ready for my first show of the season. Good thing, since it's less than two weeks away. Procrastination? Me? Never!
How many western saddles have I tried? I've lost count. But my treeless wasn't holding up as I upped Theo's bounce so back on the market. I had my heart set on the DP Vario Flex, but there was this one other saddle that kept coming up in my searches. When my annual bonus arrived, I went ahead and had the demo sent out. If nothing else, I figured I could at least quit visiting the site and staring at the pictures and options.
This is the Harmony Western Dressage saddle (www.westerndressageridinggear.com). It's by a division of Foxtrot Saddlery. Now don't do what I did and immediately turn your nose up at the Foxtrot part. These are not run of the mill, cheapo saddles. These are custom made saddles that are focused on western dressage. This means you are naturally lined up, shoulder/hip/heel. No fighting the chair seat! It's also very pretty.
The demo program is great. You have a Paypal approval for the price of the saddle and they send you the Travelling Saddle with a cinch and saddle pad. You ride in it for a week like it's your own. When I asked for an extra day, it was no problem. Customer service has been excellent.
The tree is elastomer which is helpful for me with the horse that has the insane back where nothing fits. It's definitely got a tree, I can feel that added stability and support, but I didn't have to worry about the rock (curve). I got the width right and the rest sorted itself.
I love riding in this saddle. After fighting every western saddle I've sat in, it was such a relief to sit down and not feel like I had to fight it even when cantering. It's wide compared to my English saddles, my SI is still debating the wide twist, but I'm so comfy in it. Theo is quite happy in it and moves out at the walk beautifully. I've done two trail rides and I find the deeper seat and horn to be a great support for keeping me chill through Theo's natural, looky behavior. Instead of grabbing his face I put my right hand on the horn and ride him western down the trail. Loops in the reins and neck reining convinces Theo everything is fine. I don't worry about ripping the horn off because it's part of the saddle. It's a proper, heavy (35 pound) western saddle. I can't rope off of it, the tree isn't strong enough, but it's very stable.
It's not perfect, I have saddle pad slipping problems. It's also a flexible tree so tightening the cinch after mounting is kind of crucial. Which is most of my saddle pad slipping problem. I'm still messing around with pads. I hate the pad it came with, it's so freaking long it looks like it belongs with a different saddle. My existing Five Star pad looks much better, but it's a bit thinner than I want under this saddle. Guess I'll have to do some saddle pad shopping. The cinch it came with is a Smart Cinch and it makes it possible for me to tighten the cinch from the saddle. Score!
So after eight days I emailed the company and asked if I could just buy the demo. It was the exact color and size I wanted, it matched my bridle, the tooling options picked were beautiful, and I wouldn't have to wait 6 - 8 weeks with show season right around the corner. Sure enough, they sold me the demo. I win!
I'm going to dump my treeless saddle (and a bunch of other tack) at the local consignment shop. I have to finance my crazy expenditure some how. I'm already shopping for the perfect 5 Star pad to go with this saddle. I'll keep the cinch since I can actually tighten it from the saddle.
Fingers crossed that I now have all three saddles and I can take a break from the hell known as saddle shopping.
While I've been very focused on my standard dressage, I didn't forget my western dressage. Let's face it, Theo will probably always get better scores in western dressage where his chill is more appreciated. He may be learning to be prancy pony but his natural state is still sound asleep.
I tried moving my stirrups back to the further back position to fix the part where I end up in chair seat in the canter when I ride in my western saddle. It fixed me going into a chair seat but they were too far back and I ended up with a heating pad on my SI joint. Ouch. I didn't even know that was a thing humans had to worry about until mine decided to lock up. So that was too much adjustment. I measured and it was about a two inch change between the two positions. I put my stirrups back in their forward spot and bumped the cantle of my saddle up a little less than an inch.
Seriously, every part of this saddle can be adjusted, the entire seat cover comes right off
This saddle is crazy adjustable. I can adjust the stirrup position, the width at the fork, the spine clearance, and can even move the cantle forward and back. Bumping it forward just under an inch got me out of the chair position and stopped the saddle from trying to suck me back by moving the lowest point forward. When I took it for a canter, it was much easier to stay where I was supposed to be. Still not as easy as my dressage saddle, but that's more a matter of practice. By the end of my ride, I was cruising around with no trouble.
Good thing since I spent my new saddle money on fixing my truck. Ugh. That truck is lucky its so sexy. I felt like such a cowgirl at the barn today when I climbed out of my big truck in my western boots and my Carhart jacket and dragged my western saddle out of the back. I was even wearing Wrangler brand jeans.
So my western saddle is home and tied to my saddle rack while I reshape it for it's new size. The cantle is what provides stability to the back half of the tree so moving it shifted the shape of the tree slightly. It needs to learn how to saddle again. I'll leave it for about a week, then ride Theo in it a couple days in a row. That should be enough to reset it and make it saddle shaped again. Theo doesn't care either way, it's purely aesthetics. The weight is spread out, off his spine, and behind his shoulders, he's a happy pony. The new cantle position makes the back skirt look a bit longer and more western like. This makes me happy. If I'm going to ride western, I want to look the part!
With that in mind, I started shopping for my western show outfit. Last year was purely experimental. I didn't know what look I wanted. I went with basics that felt familiar. The result was totally acceptable, but I felt like I still looked like an English rider.
Piper breeches, Ariat paddock boots, Charles Own helmet, and my saddle blanket is on sideways. Is it possible I'm an English rider?
This year, I'm going ranch pleasure. I ordered my very own pair of chinks.
I'm excited. It's the look without the fuss of full chaps. And not so sensitive to any weight fluctuations I might have. You think white breeches are unforgiving? Try chaps. Yikes. I got workman style chinks since extra bling on the legs makes me crazy (I really don't have the leg position to support that) and I want minimal fringe. I don't like fringe. I don't know how I'll survive riding western when I don't like fringe.
I'm pairing my chinks with some taller, brown cowboy boots and jean breeches. Should be super comfortable and familiar feeling for me. I got some tops off usedhorsestuff.com to show in. One is pink, one is light tan with purple flowers, and one is black with a white geometric pattern. I also picked up a navy one with some little bitty white horse heads on it from Tractor Supply. I already have my royal blue one. Top it off with a brown helmet and I'll totally look like a western rider.
No, I'm not giving up my helmet. Just no. And the riders that not so quietly commented on me not respecting their traditions can bite me. I make a living off my brain and I know just how devastating a concussion is. Helmet is not optional.
I finally found some saddle blankets short enough for Theo. One is purple, one is pink. What can I say, I gotta be me and I want him to match my shirts. I'm keeping my workmanlike tack, but I did see this bridle while I was on Buckaroo Leather and it totally seems like the perfect blend of workmanlike and, well, being me.
You know Theo needs a bridle with heart conchos on it. And there's matching reins! Split reins are very western but I'm constantly dropping one when I lead him. I'm better with loop reins.
My first sanctioned show of the year will be a western dressage outing at an Arabian breed show. They're hosting an open western dressage division and we really can't be too picky out here. Two days of showing and only two hours away? Yeah, we'll be there. There are not a lot of western dressage shows, so Theo and I will be overnighting at an . . .Arabian breed show. Yeah, we're going to stick out a bit.
And now for all the stuff that happened at the championships while outside the show ring.
* Theo is now the 'random' bit check horse wherever he goes. I got 'randomly' selected for bit check on both of my tests since my horse will stand in an over crowded warm up with his bridle off and not move a foot. It also doesn't bother the rider. This means Theo is now learning to follow a steward out after his test. He tucks in behind them or right at their shoulder, looking for cookies or pats. Funny thing, all stewards have pats and ear rubs for him. He got so many ear rubs. Random small children were rubbing his ears. He didn't want to go in for his second test because he was getting so much love in the warm up.
* Theo, when bored, drags his nose along the bars like a prisoner banging a metal cup against the jail cell bars. He doesn't drag his teeth up the bars anymore, it's not aggression, he just wants out. I was trying to talk to someone and they kept looking behind me with a perplexed expression. Theo was dragging his nose back and forth, top lip bouncing away. I gave in and took him for yet another hand walk. He looked so pathetic.
* After I was done showing and while I was trying to get Theo's stall stripped, I changed into my jeans and hung up my show pants on my stall. I loaded up my cart and hauled my stuff to my trailer. Once I got there, I realized I had forgotten my truck key in the pocket of my show pants. Turn around, walk all the way back. Where are my pants? I'm looking everywhere in the stabling area, no sign of my pants. My horse is staring at me and all of a sudden it dawns on me. I pull open his stall door and find my pants in a sawdust covered, soggy heap. My beloved jackass had sucked them up between the bars like spaghetti and worked all of the treats out of the pocket. There were some tense moments while I tracked down everything else that had been in my pockets, including my truck key. I found my key safe and sound, but I still think he ate a dollar bill. Still not sure how he got all of the treats out of my pocket without tearing them. My poor pants.
* After loading Theo in the trailer, I went to open his windows. The window on the escape door was a little sticky so I had to give it a hard push to get it moving. It got loose, slammed open, and shattered into a million little pieces that rained down on me and the driveway.
Just . . . what? Seriously, what?
So I'm down a window and need to figure out how to get it replaced. My best guess is that there was a small rock or gap in the rubber around the outside and it shattered the tempered glass. I swear Theo was laughing at me while I stood there in shock. I've never even heard of that happening!
* I got my big, beautiful ribbon and headed back to my stall. I was on Cloud 9, giggly and kind of bouncy. I wanted a picture of my horse with his ribbon, so I pulled him out, put his ribbon on his halter, and pulled out my phone. At this point, I realized I was going to have trouble. A random rider immediately spotted my problem, dismounted, ground tied her paint, and came over to play photographer.
I was so delighted. I rarely get pictures of us together since I'm usually the photographer. Of course my horse was a total mooch and I'm laughing in all of the photos because he was trying to mug me and eat his ribbon. Once the riders figured out that I was showing completely on my own, many went out of their way to help. Holding my horse when I forgot my whip, inviting me to dinner so I didn't have to eat alone, lending me a wheelbarrow so I didn't have to go get mine, lots of little things to help me survive my away show. I really don't like showing solo, but they made it much easier. After some online interactions I wasn't feeling welcome at western dressage as a primarily standard dressage rider, but as usual, real people are much nicer than the online trolls.
* I got Theo fitted for a DP Vario 1300. The saddle fitter/dealer brought the saddle back to the stabling area so I could see it on him. I didn't take a picture because I really didn't want a reminder of how beautiful it was on him, but take my word on it. Gorgeous.
That saddle but with a bunch more tooling and some gorgeous antiqued hardware. I led Theo out and I swear the saddle dealer almost forgot her saddle. Turns out she had Cheval Canadien horses herself and immediately recognized Theo's face. These Canadian horses have to be everywhere, I find owners at every show that think Theo is one of them! She invited me to an Expo in Connecticut, might have to follow up on that. The saddle will wait until I see what my vet bill is on Friday, but I'm planning on the upgrade over the off season to something with a tree that will cope with collected work better.
* People think Theo is a western trained horse in warm up. I do most of my warm up on the buckle, encouraging him to stretch and be chill. I was riding one handed for part of my warm up because, well, when in Rome. Someone actually asked if he was a QH. Then I shortened my reins and got him ready to go in. Presto, instant dressage horse. Neck lifts, booty engages, and he looks like something else entirely. Someone suggested I try him in ranch pleasure since he'd do just as well there as he does in western dressage. Hm . . .
* I brought Theo home and he rolled like crazy before snorting and bucking down his field to mess with his neighbor. I went out with the hubby to celebrate.
We each have our way of celebrating a job well done.
