Make Sure Your Jumping Saddle Fits You, Too

This is a good example of a show-jumping saddle. The balance point is in the correct place, the knee rolls are not going to interfere with the rider.

Photos ©Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore

Let me ask you a question: Would you try to show jump in a dressage saddle? Of course not, right? What about doing dressage in a steeplechase saddle? Same answer. My point is that the design of your saddle can have a big effect on your riding, so you have to make sure that your saddle is helping you and not getting in your way.

It goes without saying that whatever saddle you are using must fit your horse, but I will say it anyway because it is so important. Your horse's comfort and well-being come first. If you can feel your horse's shoulders come up and his back relax in the show-jumping saddle you've borrowed, you have to use it—even though it feels like it's burning a hole in your seat bones—because your horse is telling you it is comfortable for him. While you are looking for one that fits you as well as your horse, tell yourself you can stand anything for a little while. I mean, just look at your ex-boyfriend or -girlfriend!

Before I tell you how to find out if your jumping saddle fits you, let me make this point: If you are currently using an "all-purpose" saddle for all three phases of eventing, continue using it, but budget for a new saddle. If you are serious about improving your riding and the way your horse goes—which, of course, means improving your position—you are soon going to need at least two saddles: one designed for dressage and one for jumping. Why? Because what makes a saddle good for one discipline makes it wrong for another.

The relationship between the design of the flap and the placement of the saddle's balance point (more on these

The straight knee roll and deep flaps of the dressage saddle are exactly where you would want them to be for dressage. But the moment you shorten your stirrup leathers, you will no longer be comfortable. All-purpose saddles invariably compromise, but there is no compromise in this saddle.

in a moment) determines the suitability of a saddle for a specific discipline. For example, if you lengthen your stirrups to ride dressage in your all-purpose saddle, you're probably going to be sitting a little too far behind the motion of your horse because the balance point—where your seat bones naturally want to fit—is located farther back to allow for jumping. In fact, if it's not located farther back, it's going to be a very awkward saddle to jump out of, because a saddle shaped like this causes your lower leg to slip back. (You'll do fine through Preliminary level with two saddles that fit both your horse and you. When you start riding in the rarified atmosphere of the upper levels, however, you will need three saddles—one for each discipline.)

Now that you know why you need a dedicated jumping saddle, let's move on to how it fits you. Remember: If your saddle fits you, it will help you, and if it does not fit you, it will get in your way.

To check the fit of your jumping saddle, perform this simple test: Have someone hold your horse while you drop both stirrups and let your legs hang straight down. Move your seat bones all the way from the cantle to the pommel. Now scoot back in the saddle until your seat bones feel comfortable in the lowest part of the saddle. Saddle makers refer to this place as the "swale"; I call it the "balance point."

This is my old 4-pound steeplechase saddle. The balance point of the saddle is almost against the cantle, there are no knee rolls in order to save weight and maintain a feel of the horse, and the flap is not very deep so as to allow the rider to feel his horse.

Photos ©Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore