After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the
So, as I wrote about here, I have a new dressage saddle. I completely adore this saddle. I love how it has shorted panels so I can actually get my leg down on my horse. I was pretty confident that it fit Dreamy well and it truly fits me PERFECT.
I was able to get an appointment with my saddle fitter, Nancy Shedrick, for last Thursday. I was so pleased when she took a look at my saddle and said it was a good fit for Dreamy! YAY! She complimented me, saying I had a good eye. Well, SHE is the one to thank for that! Nancy taught me well at our first fitting in April.
I had a few concerns though. One was how low the saddle was to her withers. I mean, there was three of my tiny fingers clearance and it cleared her spine with no problems, but it did seem low. My instructor Judy echoed the same thing when she saw it. Nancy agreed that while it was a tiny bit lower than she would like, it was fine. Why? Because I am a tiny 5 foot nothing, 120 pound rider. She said there was no way the saddle was going to touch her withers. And she knew that if something changed, I would be in contact with her immediately. (She's got that right! LOL)
Second, I was not crazy about the billets. I am used to the Y billet system and this one was just plain weird. (I should take a photo...) She told me they were fine and reassured me that she could change them, but it was not affecting the way the girth hung or anything like that. OK, I can suck it up and get used to them! LOL!
And last, I thought the cantle sat just a tiny bit too low. And Nancy echoed my thoughts on this. She added a small bit of wool flocking to the panels, which was neat to see. My son thought it was the COOLEST thing ever and Nancy was very patient with him. She told us both what she was doing and let my son hand her bits of wool. :)
So now I am proud to say my saddle is exactly fitted for my horse!! :) Of course, she will change, but Nancy is just a phone call or email away. Every horse changes and now armed with my new saddle fitting knowledge, I know I will pick up on any small changes that might need to be tweaked.
THANK YOU NANCY! You have been an integral part of our success this year! :D If anyone in the New England area needs a saddle fitter, I cannot recommend Nancy enough. She is GREAT! :D :D :D
I was able to get an appointment with my saddle fitter, Nancy Shedrick, for last Thursday. I was so pleased when she took a look at my saddle and said it was a good fit for Dreamy! YAY! She complimented me, saying I had a good eye. Well, SHE is the one to thank for that! Nancy taught me well at our first fitting in April.
I had a few concerns though. One was how low the saddle was to her withers. I mean, there was three of my tiny fingers clearance and it cleared her spine with no problems, but it did seem low. My instructor Judy echoed the same thing when she saw it. Nancy agreed that while it was a tiny bit lower than she would like, it was fine. Why? Because I am a tiny 5 foot nothing, 120 pound rider. She said there was no way the saddle was going to touch her withers. And she knew that if something changed, I would be in contact with her immediately. (She's got that right! LOL)
Second, I was not crazy about the billets. I am used to the Y billet system and this one was just plain weird. (I should take a photo...) She told me they were fine and reassured me that she could change them, but it was not affecting the way the girth hung or anything like that. OK, I can suck it up and get used to them! LOL!
And last, I thought the cantle sat just a tiny bit too low. And Nancy echoed my thoughts on this. She added a small bit of wool flocking to the panels, which was neat to see. My son thought it was the COOLEST thing ever and Nancy was very patient with him. She told us both what she was doing and let my son hand her bits of wool. :)
So now I am proud to say my saddle is exactly fitted for my horse!! :) Of course, she will change, but Nancy is just a phone call or email away. Every horse changes and now armed with my new saddle fitting knowledge, I know I will pick up on any small changes that might need to be tweaked.
THANK YOU NANCY! You have been an integral part of our success this year! :D If anyone in the New England area needs a saddle fitter, I cannot recommend Nancy enough. She is GREAT! :D :D :D
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